Nick Cushing believes his side can show their growth as a team against the New England Revolution on Friday.
New York City FC travel to Gillette Stadium in the first knockout round of Leagues Cup with the winner advancing to the Round of 16. Although City finished their group stage campaign with a disappointing defeat to FC Cincinnati, Cushing believes his side now have the chance to produce a reaction and their growth as a team when they take on Caleb Porter’s side.
“It's a great opportunity,” Cushing said.
“If you look at this team it has guys that have never played in the playoffs. We’ve got some guys that have been in knockout playoff games.
“We've got some guys that have experienced that here with New York - Maxi Moralez and James Sands, Keaton Parks, Thiago Martins - those guys have experienced that but a lot of the guys have not experienced that knockout format and especially on the road.
“Cincinnati was a great learning curve and a great learning opportunity for us. It was a frustrating one.
“I've said before progress is disheartening at times and progress is difficult to take in those difficult moments, but a positive reaction is what makes you a better team.
“This is the same - a huge desire to win a huge desire to progress - but also a real opportunity to grow as a team.”
He later added: “I think for us, any opportunity to make progress is a big opportunity.
“That is the standard that we set at the start of the year - improve on last season. Now we have really big goals that we feel that we can achieve.
“There are many areas this season where we have made progress. Our road form has improved on last year, but we have a huge desire to win more games on the road and to advance in this competition along with solidifying our league position.
“This is a great opportunity off the back of a difficult result. This is a trophy that every team wants to win. New England will want to win it. New England will come prepared, they will come hungry and we have to make sure that we're up for the game.”
Cushing also took time out to praise the work of his opposite number Caleb Porter.
The 49-year-old has previously enjoyed spells coaching the Portland Timbers and the Columbus Crew Head and was appointed as New England Revolution Head Coach last December.
He helped guide the Revs to top spot in their Leagues Cup group, thanks to a victory over Liga MX outfit Mazatlán and a penalty shootout bonus point success against Nashville SC. That set up Friday’s meeting with City, with Cushing prepared for a tough test when his side take to the field.
“The coach has done an incredible job of taking a team at the start of the year, a new team, and improving the team throughout the season.
“You can see how their results have improved. We've watched all their games. I've scouted a lot of games because it's important to us to know what we're facing.
“They're a completely different team than they were when we played them earlier on in the season. Although I thought they were better than us in that game. I didn't think we played so well in the game.
“We just came away with a win which is important for us as well - executing the result. Whether the game is for us or against us, it is an important part of being a good team.
“They're a really difficult team. They have recruited really well through this period. We know they're a much different team and we have to prepare properly to play against a tough opponent.”
