Ryan Richter challenged Cavan Sullivan to step up in New York. The teen phenom went on to steal the show.

NEW YORK — There were plenty of opinions on the penalty kicks that whistle-happy referee Sergii Demianchuk called in the first half. But there wasn’t much disagreement that the Union deserved to be down 2-0 at intermission to New York City FC, because they’d been outplayed for more than just those two moments.

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It was easy to figure interim manager Ryan Richter would have some choice words for his players in the locker room, and he revealed at the end of the night that he did.

“One or two things tactically, but it was more about challenging the guys to just play better,” he said. “To give more, to be more connected when they didn’t have the ball.”

Richter admitted to “challenging some guys individually,” and said at first that he didn’t want to name names. But that attempt didn’t last long, because the first player he was asked about turned out to be one of them.

It also happened to be Cavan Sullivan.

This was his first start against NYCFC, and his first time on the field at Yankee Stadium since a one-minute cameo as a rookie in 2024. It isn’t his fault or the Union’s that outsiders put a little more on this matchup than some others with him. But they do, and not just because of the famous stage.

The Pigeons are owned by Manchester City, the English Premier League giant that Sullivan will move to when he turns 18. So if he does something big against their New York siblings, it gets noticed in a few more places.

And if NYCFC keeps him quiet, as happened for much of the first half, that gets noticed too

The outside chatter isn’t Richter’s business either. All he wanted to do was hold Sullivan to the same standard he has kept all along. And he made it clear that Sullivan wasn’t meeting it.

“I can say he’s one of the guys at halftime that I really challenged,” Richter said. “Because we know about his talent. It’s incredible the things that he can do, the mentality that he has. But he can’t only play when the ball is at his feet. Every game is not going to be a situation where he is getting in these positions, can go at guys, create from there.”

He continued on, giving the media what felt like much of the speech he gave the locker room.

“He’s going to have to find the game in different ways sometimes,” Richter said. “And that was more the challenge: You have to position yourself for second balls. You have to recover in the game. You have to find the ball in the middle of the field in tight windows, and turn and make plays from there. And you have to just, yeah, play better, because you’re capable of it, bring everything at a higher level.”

Three minutes into the second half, Sullivan won the foul for the free kick that delivered the first goal, then headed Kai Wagner’s service on to eventual scorer Danley Jean Jacques. Just over 20 minutes later, he broke past New York’s defense to receive Milan Iloski’s pass and set up Bruno Damiani for the equalizer.

But it wasn’t just those two plays. It was a tackle a few seconds before the counterattack that led to Damiani’s eventual winner. It was three tackles total, one interception, seven duels won from 11 contested, four passes into the attacking third, and six shots.

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It was jumping into Quinn Sullivan’s arms after the older brother sprang free on the left and assisted Damiani’s winner. And at the end of the night, it was leading the team over to the cluster of away fans along the first base line to celebrate a wild victory.

“He’s a guy that, for a young man, that he can accept this in the moment, take it, and then put together what he did in the second half. And then have the unselfish play that he made on Bruno’s first goal — that’s what makes him different,” Richter said. “It’s this maturity and this mentality. With a lot of the guys, I’m proud of them, but I’m really proud of the way that he responded to what I think was not his best first half.”

Did it matter a little more in this game than others? Probably not, especially compared to what’s coming next: Inter Miami’s visit to Subaru Park on Wednesday, the first time Sullivan will play against Lionel Messi on the Bridesburg native’s home turf.

But you can be sure outsiders put a little more meaning into Sunday night. On top of the New York-to-Manchester connection, the calls are growing fast for Mauricio Pochettino to pick the 16-year-old for the U.S. men’s national team’s upcoming friendlies.

That, too, is for later. Right now, the Union (5-10-4, 19 points) have just two days to prepare for their biggest game of the year, and Jovan Lukić will be suspended due to yellow card accumulation.

“For the coach and the coaches, a lot of work,” Richter said of having just two days to prepare. “For the players, a lot of recovery.

Admit it: When Sullivan sent that pass to a wide-open Damiani for the equalizer, what was on your mind?

Was it Surely he can’t miss this?

This is a safe space, so you can say yes.

No doubt the critics are breathing easier now, even if the striker still has a ways to go to make up for all his misses before the last few days: two goals Sunday, and the first since February the previous Sunday against Necaxa in the Leagues Cup.

“The run that he was in prior to scoring in the Leagues Cup, you could feel the weight come off of him in that moment,” Richter said. “And tonight, like his goal against Necaxa, tonight was two striker’s goals: run to the right spot, be available for your teammate, one-touch finish, bang, easy business.”

If the Union are to make the playoffs, few things could help more than Damiani scoring consistently.

“The work that he does outside of that, that always makes the team better,” Richter said. “But his job is to put the ball in the back of the net, and to see him do that twice tonight in a big moment was really good.”

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