New York City Defender Anton Tinnerholm says he is inspired every day by the passionate and devoted support of the City fans.
The Swede, who made a welcome return to action from injury at the start of this month, produced a fine individual performance against Inter Miami CF at Citi Field to help book our place in the 2022 MLS Playoff Conference Semifinals, setting up a trip to Montréal on Sunday.
After unfortunately missing our 2021 success through an Achilles injury, Tinnerholm says he is determined to taste glory this term and enjoy more special moments with the City faithful, having expressed his delight in Monday's raucous post-match celebrations by declaring: ‘This is why we play.’
“I’m extremely motivated,” he stated. “I always remember the feeling last year – at one point, I was devastated about my injury but then I celebrated with the boys. It was a fantastic feeling to raise the trophy.
“This year, I want to do it and be part of it on the pitch myself. You never know what will happen so I want to be part of this team and really push for another Championship.
“I said before the game [on Monday]: ‘A lot of guys’ seasons end now but for me, the season starts.’ That’s how I felt. I hadn’t had the feeling for over a year to just celebrate with the fans. To get that winning feeling after the game was fantastic.
“You can look at our reactions after the game – how we celebrated it with the fans – and to be honest, for me as a player, I depend on the fans.
“If it's a fantastic atmosphere, I'm getting 10% better because I'm feeling that I play for them. If it’s a good atmosphere, I want to do more, so that means everything for us.
“I remember last year in Portland as well [in the MLS Cup Final] – how much they helped us. I hope we're going to give them something on Sunday, and then we can celebrate again.
“It’s fantastic, the support we had all season. That is what I missed the most, having been out for a long time. It was a fantastic feeling for me personally and for the team, I think we maybe played our best game of the season so far; in the most important game so far as well.
“It’s a good sign but it’s going to be a way more difficult game on Sunday.”
With second and third place in the Eastern Conference standings and two possession-based teams going head-to-head, Sunday’s encounter is set to be an intriguing match-up between the two sides.
Tinnerholm says he expects fascinating challenge for the Boys in Blue but asserts the squad are ready for every eventuality.
“It depends a little bit how the game goes,” he admitted. “We always want to have the ball and they always want to have the ball, so in that case, we play familiar.
“They play with three at the back or five at the back as we do as well, so there's a lot of similarities between the teams, and I think it's going to be a great game.
“It's one of the toughest opponents we faced this year – maybe the toughest one – so it's going to be tough. When you play the same style as the opponent, it can be a fantastic game that goes back and forth – or you play each other in their other hands, and it can be 0-0.
“You never know what to expect really but the quality is there, and it's going to be a tougher game than the last game. Luckily, we finished the season strongly and we've won five straight games now so we're feeling like we're in good momentum right now. I want to keep on going.
““It's the feeling the group to be honest – how we talk in the locker room, how he [Nick Cushing] talks in the meeting; you can look at the training pitches… We’re feeling that we're in great shape and the momentum is there.
“I'm feeling we're in a really good place. I'm feeling we're so solid defensively, so if we just can keep that, we know the goal’s going come out up front as well.
“It's going to be a way tougher game now but we are in a position where we want to be. It reminds us about last season but we can't just think it's going look like last season – we have to put in the work and go 100% in every single duel.”
