New York City FC left Columbus with all three points on Wednesday night, edging the Columbus Crew 2-1 in a dramatic Major League Soccer fixture at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.

The visitors struck first through Nicolás Fernández (28′), who converted from the penalty spot to give NYCFC a first-half advantage. Columbus saw plenty of the ball and finished with 58.6 percent possession, but they went into the break trailing 1-0 after struggling to turn territorial control into a cutting edge in front of goal.

The Crew kept pushing after halftime and eventually found their breakthrough in the 70th minute when Dániel Gazdag (90’+3′) scored from the spot. That late penalty gave the home side hope after a second half spent probing for openings against a compact New York City FC shape.

But before that late moment, NYCFC had delivered what looked like the decisive blow through Agustin Ojeda (70′), whose finish doubled the visitors’ lead and punished Columbus for leaving space as they chased the match. It was a clinical moment in a fixture where New York City FC made the most of fewer chances, finishing with five shots on target from eight total efforts.

Columbus did create pressure of their own, recording 11 shots and four on target, while also earning three corners to NYCFC’s none. Still, the visitors were more efficient in the key moments, and that ultimately told the story. A pair of yellow cards for Jamal Thiaré (57′) and Max Arfsten (60′) reflected the rising tension for the Crew, while Tayvon Gray was booked for NYCFC in the first half and James Sands saw yellow deep into stoppage time.

There was late drama when Gazdag calmly dispatched his penalty in the third minute of stoppage time, cutting the deficit to 2-1 and setting up a nervy finish. Columbus threw numbers forward in search of an equaliser, but NYCFC held firm to see out the result.

For the Crew, it was a frustrating home defeat in a match where long spells of possession did not translate into enough end product. For New York City FC, it was the kind of resilient away performance managers value deeply: disciplined without the ball, ruthless in decisive moments, and strong enough mentally to withstand a late push.

In the end, Fernández’s penalty on 28 minutes and Ojeda’s strike on 70 minutes gave NYCFC the platform, and Gazdag’s 90’+3′ penalty proved only a consolation as Columbus ran out of time.