Nick Cushing is keen for his team to be more ruthless in the final third as they seek victories.
NYCFC took on Philadelphia Union on Saturday night at Subaru Park with the hosts ending the night 2-1 winners thanks to goals from Jose Martínez and Chris Donovan.
The Boys in Blue did secure a consolation goal thanks to Andres Jasson's first for the Club, but they were ultimately, left disappointed by the result having dominated the ball and outshot their opponents 11-5.
Speaking after the game, Cushing encouraged his team to show a clinical edge in the final third.
"Ultimately it's another game where we have six goal chances to two, we had the game that we wanted, but we gave away two really poor goals," Cushing explained.
"We have to improve. I've said before that I think we've been relentless in our play but not ruthless enough, and I think it's the same again tonight."
While Cushing expressed frustration at his team's performance in the final third, he also evaluated their defensive performance - highlighting how they can improve that aspect of their game.
"I think we've got to deal with the counterattack better because we turn the ball over central the ball should go wide. If the ball goes wide, you get an opportunity to close the game off," he said.
"It was a really sloppy moment from start to finish and it shows an area of our game that we have to improve, and if we don't improve that we won't win football games.
"I think both goals are disappointing because they're cheap goals [to concede]."
NYCFC are still desperately keen to secure a place in the playoffs with ten games remaining of the regular season.
The Boys in Blue are just below the playoff line as it stands, with Cushing adamant they can string together the required form to earn a postseason berth.
"We're a high possession team, we want to have more ball and the other team," he said.
"It was eight to two it was 12 to two but we've not won the football game. If I look at my team and our team to play I want my team to be dominant, but we give two really poor goals go away and we don't win.
"Do I think we can win seven from 10? I think we can win every football game. I felt we could win today. I knew that we would have the ability to dominate the game and get opportunities to create goal chances.
"If we have more goal chances than the opposition away from home we've got more chance of winning football games, but I'll say again, we have to be clinical because we're not hitting the level at the moment.
"If we're going to win seven from 10 then we have to improve."
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