Nick Cushing is excited to begin NYCFC’s Leagues Cup campaign in front of a home crowd.
The Boys in Blue take to Citi Field tomorrow night as they welcome Atlas to the World’s Borough for their opening game in the 2023 Leagues Cup.
Cushing is excited about starting things at home, believing his team typically thrive when playing in front of their crowd.
“I've said many times that it is really important for us to play at home,” he said.
“Whether it be at Yankee Stadium or Citi Field. This game is at Citi Field and we've had some really good results and some really good results and performances at Citi Field.
“The last game we played there was Charlotte. We were really pleased with the way that we played, the way that we dominated the Charlotte team, in the amount of chances we created, but we were disappointed that we didn't get the result.
“We know that we have to push really hard to go that next step now. This is going to be a difficult game, but I think for us, we really thrive when we have the fans behind us.
“When we get our New York crowd really behind us it gives us momentum and we're excited to play at home in front of our fans and we're really motivated so get some wins.”
Cushing also confirmed his side’s ambition to do well in the competition.
The Leagues Cup brings together teams from MLS and Liga MX, and will see one ultimate winner crowned next month.
“I think it is a good opportunity for MLS to show how we feel we've developed as a league,” he said.
“I think as an MLS team we can only speak for ourselves – we’re hugely motivated to do well in this competition whether we play Toronto or we play Atlas.
“If we're good enough to progress, whoever we face, we will be hugely motivated to try and win because we want to go as far in this competition as possible.”
Atlas are no strangers to NYCFC, with the two sides having met last year in the Campeones Cup.
Despite that sense of familiarity, Cushing was keen to note the changes his opponents have undergone since that meeting in the Bronx last year, with the players and staff having done significant preparation for Sunday.
“I think it's difficult to compare the Atlas team we played last year to this year,” Cushing said.
“They have a different coach. They don't have the two strikers that they played with, but we've done our homework, we've watched them.
“We know the challenges that they will give us. We know the problems they potentially can cause us, but we also know we're playing well at the moment.
“We know what we need to do to turn our two tie games into wins.”
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