There was no stopping Alexander Callens from making the decisive impact in NYCFC’s 2-1 comeback win over Philadelphia Union.
The Peruvian’s game looked to be over before the halftime interval when he went down clutching his shoulder.
Frederic Brillant was sent to warm up on the sidelines but Callens decided he was OK to carry on in spite of the pain and it proved to be a wise decision.
Of course Callens was the one to finally put down The Union resistance with his winning goal in the 85th minute to send NYCFC into the international break with three points in the bag.
“The doctor didn’t want me to play but I told him to confide in me, I’m going to be ok as I wanted to keep playing,” he reflected.
“It hurt a lot. And I had to play against Sapong, who is a really strong player, so I tried not using my right arm but I was scared of bumping into him because that would’ve meant I had to leave the pitch.”
Adrenaline carried Alexander through the wild celebrations which followed a goal which showcased his predatory instincts in front of goal.
The 25-year old started out his career as a striker before moving back to defense and he was delighted to score his first MLS goal in this win.
He said: “Honestly, I was looking for it. I was there, following the play I saw David shoot and I figured the goalie would rebound it and I went to look for it. It fell to my right foot and I put it away.”
Scans showed no tears to the muscles in Alexander’s shoulder following the game, meaning he was left to bask in the warm glow of a hard-earned three points.
“It was a very close game, Philly contained us a lot,” Callens added.
“They contained our forwards who were very hungry for goal and their goalie played really well – he was ‘David’s villain’, as they say.
“Their goal hurt us, for me, as a defender, it hurt because I was there. The most important thing is that the team reacted. We never lowered our heads, we kept looking forward and the subs came in well.
“Jonathan, Mata and Ugo, they all came in and gave their all and this win was very important for us. We can come away with confidence and gain more belief in what we’re doing.”
