New York City Football Club Interim Head Coach Nick Cushing is looking forward to returning to Yankee Stadium on Sunday.
The Boys in Blue have undertaken a testing period on the road that culminated with an enthralling 4-4 tie against FC Cincinnati midweek. Now back in the Bronx to welcome Atlanta United on Sunday, Cushing revealed how much he enjoys playing at Yankee Stadium, as his side looks to take the game to Atlanta.
“I mean, personally, I love Yankee Stadium,” he said. “I love playing in front of our fans and I know the team does. I know the team feel at home there and we feel like we can take the game to teams and we can really get the atmosphere and the crowd on our side if we play our football. That is the goal on Sunday - to get back home, get back to dominating football games and winning football games.”
Cushing also believes his side must return to the rhythm they found prior to the international break. The Boys in Blue were in the midst of a fantastic unbeaten run as the month of June began and they extended that with a home draw against Colorado Rapids. That was followed up with two defeats and a tie at FC Cincinnati midweek, with Cushing explaining that the route to getting back on track can begin with the visit of Atlanta United on Sunday.
“I think Atlanta are a really good team,” Cushing said. “I went to the Red Bull ball game last night and they're really good in possession. They look to play, they look to open you up by switching the play and they have really sharp, really dangerous attacking players. We know the team that we're playing against and we have to be defensively better. Obviously when you give up three goals in the first half [against Cincinnati] and people will look at three goals at Red Bulls and conceding two at Philadelphia it's it's not the same as eight clean sheets but I think we just have to get back into the rhythm of training and playing the way that we have before the break.”
