New York City Interim Head Coach Nick Cushing says he is incredibly proud of the way his side turned the 2022 season around to reach the Eastern Conference Final.
After a challenging period of results in August and September, the Boys in Blue embarked on a superb six-game winning run, clinching a second piece of silverware with the Campeones Cup, and securing a spot in the final four of the MLS Playoffs.
Though our defense of the trophy would come to an end against Philadelphia Union with a 3-1 defeat, Cushing spoke of his admiration for the team's spirit and determination to finish the season strongly.
“You've seen from the moment that I came in here that I will take responsibility for the result, whatever happens,” he reflected.
“We've had some exceptional results this year. We've had a period where it was really disappointing, and we've been able to turn that around, and finished third in the in the Conference and got to the Conference Final.
“For us ultimately, it's about now reflecting on losing a Conference Final. We won last year, we've lost this year. It hurts now. It's hard to even think about next year.”
Speaking after the game, Cushing added he believes Sunday’s encounter at Subaru Park was decided on two pivotal moments.
The Boys in Blue had opened the scoring through Maxi Moralez’s third goal of post-season, but fell to a late fightback as three goals in 11 minutes saw the Union advance to the 2022 MLS Cup Final.
The Head Coach admitted his disappointment to have surrendered the lead, pinpointing two key moments that turned the game in the hosts’ favor.
“There were two moments, two huge moments...” he said. “One at 1-0: the [Alex] Callens header, which was an incredible save, and then the set-play where we lose our concentration, and they make it 1-1, and we don’t manage the next two, three, four minutes well enough.
“We know what it’s like here in Philly – the crowd gets on, and they get you in that moment. The game can go from 1-1 to 2-1 really quickly.
“I think our performance was really good. We probably weren't at the level we wanted to be in the first half from a style of play [perspective], but we were competing on second balls and direct balls.
“We showed that we can compete with the real physical team, a real direct team. In the first half, we didn't get the ball down and play enough but we did manage to keep them away from the goal in those moments where they play on transition and they play direct.
“In the second half, we demanded that we wanted the ball down – we wanted to play, we wanted to switch the play, and I thought even after our goal, we were causing problems.
“We just didn't manage that period after the after the goal, we didn't manage that period well enough.”
Cushing also reserved praise for goalscorer Moralez, who finished off another superb attacking move with a drilled finish into the bottom corner to break the deadlock.
The Midfielder produced another Player of the Match display and the Head Coach once again heaped praise on the 35-year-old’s influence.
“He was incredible,” he added. “He played in that deeper role again and he showed that he's got that versatility, and he can manage the game.
“I can't speak highly enough about Maxi – he's been incredible from the moment that I came in as Interim Manager to now.
“He's an incredible professional, an incredible leader, and has had some top performances on the pitch.”
