Nick Cushing: “We’ve Got Another Level in Us”

April 8, 2023 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – New York City FC News Release

Nick Cushing believes his New York City side are yet to hit their level in 2023.

The Boys in Blue have recorded a mixed start to the season with two wins, two defeats and three ties – the most recent a 1-1 draw against Atlanta United on Saturday.

Though the Head Coach was pleased with his team’s response to falling a goal behind against the in-form Five Stripes (who were reduced to ten when Franco Ibarra was sent off on the hour), he admits he and the squad expect more from themselves, especially on home soil.

“It feels like an opportunity missed,” Cushing reflected. “We played against ten for part of the game, and we had the chances at the end – chances you remember – but Atlanta are a really good team.

“It always feels like a missed opportunity [when we don’t win at home] because we’re so used to winning here, and we want to win for our fans.

“I’m content with the performance but we know we’ve got another level in us.

“We started slow, and a little bit too passive, and we grew into the game as it went on. We got a foothold in the game with the ball, but we didn’t create enough clear opportunities.

“We had moments where we got into good areas of the pitch, moments where we can create clean chances, and we know we have to improve on that – we have to continue to work with our team to make sure that when we have the momentum, and the control of the game, we create clean chances so we can go ahead, and I didn’t think we did that enough.

“It’s just frustrating because I think this is the first real ‘football’ team we’ve played this season – and when I say ‘football team’, I mean a team that wants to dominate possession, a team that plays a similar style to us.

“I thought in the first 20 minutes, we gave them too much respect, and too much space. Then, we start to be aggressive, and we start to get up the field higher and get pressure on, and then you can see we start to create chances in transition, and we start to have more moments with the ball.

“You’re going to get these games. We have three home games, and if there are a lot of games where we tie, we’re going to have a lot of missed opportunities.

“We accept it, we’ll look at it to see where we can improve, and we’ll make sure we’re prepared for next week [against Nashville SC]. We know where we need to improve, and we will look at it.

“The guys are frustrated in there because they want to win in front of our home fans. We’re not that…