NYCFC Looking To Be ‘More Like A New York Team’ Heading Into MLS Playoffs After 1-1 Draw in DC

By James Nalton.

New York City FC head coach Nick Cushing believes his side is not far off being one of the best teams in Major League Soccer as the post-season approaches.

Saturday’s 1-1 draw at DC United was the latest example of what Cushing believes is his team being a whisker away from turning ties into wins and becoming one of the dominant teams in MLS.

New York City took the lead via a Santi Rodríguez penalty after DC left-back Pedro Santos clattered into Kevin O’Toole.

DC’s Gabriel Pirani had a goal disallowed shortly after when Christopher McVey needlessly got involved in front of James Sands having been in an offside position.

The home side eventually tied the game when Christian Benteke scored a penalty of his own to take his tally for the season to 19 and keep his place at the top of the MLS goalscoring charts.

“We played really well in the first half and dominated the game for the whole 52 minutes, so it feels like two points dropped,” Cushing told Hudson River Blue’s Matt Mangam in the post-match press conference.

“But we’ve got to be realistic. It’s difficult to come to a place like DC with Benteke, direct balls, long throws, and lots of corners.

“The ball is in the air more than it is on the grass when they have the ball, so that is a challenge for a team like ours.

“I think one thing we did better tonight, especially in the latter part of the game, is we didn’t make individual errors.

“We were focused, switched on, and we made sure we won our duels. It was a really professional finish to a game that is difficult when they put it up in the air and it spends all the time up there.”

With the playoffs just around the corner, Cushing believes New York City can defeat anyone on its day, and goes into each game with this mindset.

The goal conceded, and even the disallowed goal, showed some of the minor issues the team still needs to work on, and such moments are more consequential when it comes to playoff soccer.

Nevertheless, Cushing sees a team in a good place at this stage of the season.

“The hunger and desire of the team is to come away to DC and dictate the game, to go away to Columbus and completely dominate the game,” Cushing added.

“For us, the evolution is to win these games. As we develop this team, as this team gains more experience, as we move into looking more like a New York team from the wins standpoint.

“We should win away at Chicago, we should win here [in DC], we should win in Columbus, and we should win in Austin.

“We have to continue to be hungry and work to turn those ties and losses into wins because the performances are at a really, really high level.

“When we play well we are up there as one of the best teams in MLS.”

New York City could have gone in 2-0 up at halftime but also had a goal disallowed.

James Sands played a great ball through to Alonso Martínez who finished in a manner we’ve come to expect from him in this season.

The assistant referee raised his flag but replays showed the Costa Rican was onside. It wasn’t checked, or at least not for any length of time, by the VAR.

DC United had started the game with a back five of sorts, using Cristian Dajome as a right-winger/right-wing-back in the first half, but a goal down they came out in the second half in a more obvious 4-4-2 with Ted Ku-DiPietro replacing Dajome at halftime.

The equaliser came when Sands slid in and fouled Ku-DiPietro in the area after the ball had gone, and Benteke dispatched the penalty past Matt Freese.

“I’m satisfied that we defended the game really well against a really difficult direct physical team with the leading goalscorer, and reduced him to a penalty no real chances,” Cushing told J.R. DiBart of Blue City Radio at the end of his post-match press conference.

“But I want to go on the front foot and create more chances. I want to be in at half time 2-0 or 3-0, because the performance was there. I want to go from 1-1 to 2-1.

“So a point on the road, we take, moving into two home games, but I will always have that desire to win for New York.”