New York City Football Club Head Coach Nick Cushing says his team must be sharper at both ends of the pitch, following the opening day defeat to Nashville SC.
Goals from Walker Zimmerman and Jacob Shaffelburg in either half clinched victory for the Tennessee outfit at GEODIS Park, as the home side effectively killed the contest on the counter-attack with ten minutes of normal time remaining.
Despite an improved second-half showing, Cushing was left ruing City’s generosity in gifting set-pieces, and shyness in front of goal.
“I don't think we carried enough of the ball to control the game,” he reflected. “There were far too many set-plays – we gave away far too many set-plays because we didn't carry the ball enough, which meant that they could throw the ball.
“We knew they were going to be a direct team, we knew they were going to run off the backline, and put a lot of players up against us – and the one way to control those moments happening is to have the ball.
“We didn't carry the ball enough, and if you give Nashville, who we know are a direct team and play off set-play, that amount of set-plays in the first half, they're going to score.
“For us, it's about controlling the game with the ball. It’s our identity – if the game goes up and down, the opposition are better than us. It’s a simple game.
“If we control the game with the ball like we did in the second half, then we carry enough of the ball, and we pin them back, and we keep them away from our goal, we stop a direct team being able to be direct.
“We’re really disappointed with the second goal because we had the game. We weren't creating clean chances but at 1-0, the game is there for us when we carry so much of the ball.
“We’re really disappointed with the counter-attack. Ultimately, we’ve come here and not played so well in the first half. We played more like ourselves in the second half, and lost the game to a set-play and a counter-attack, which is really disappointing.
“We had so much control in the second half that we just have to create the moment. When you have Gabriel Pereira, Talles Magno, Thiago Andrade on the pitch, all we need to do is carry the ball and we should create the moments, and we didn’t today.
“We need to be better at that – that when we have so much possession, so much control, that we create chances that really hurt the opposition.
“We’re disappointed but we'll go on the training pitch and we'll work at it.”
The clash marked a debut for new signing Braian Cufré, while Luis Barraza took his place between the sticks and impressed with a number of fine saves, and Cushing was full of praise for both defensive men.
“Luis was really good,” he added. “He made some big saves.
“It was difficult for him with his feet at the start of the game because they jumped on us – a home opener, they had the crowd on their side – but I thought he made some good saves.
“He looked confident in the goal and I was really pleased with his performance.
“Braian Cufré is new – he’s only been in for six days without many training sessions, and only played a little bit in the Portland game – but I was impressed by his performance. I think you can see his quality.”
Cushing also shared an update on Alfredo Morales, who made the bench but was not fit enough to feature at GEODIS Park.
He explained: “He was out for a long time last year with the adductor, and he felt a little bit yesterday morning pre-matchday minus one, in the pregame. We did a short practice, and he felt the adductor.
“It’s nothing serious but for a guy that was out for 10, 11 weeks, at this stage of the season, it wasn’t worth risking it.
“He came. He’s a real leader in the dressing room he had a real desire to come, but he wasn’t ready to go into the game.”
With a week of training before Matchday Two – a trip to Chicago Fire next Saturday – Cushing says the squad will regroup, examining the lessons learned from Tennessee
“Every team will take time to get into a rhythm,” he added. “It’s the nature of our league.
“We lost our first game last year, and the year before, and we went to a Conference Final, and we won the Championship in 2021.
“We know our identity: we have to be aggressive without the ball, we have to control the game with the ball, and the more of the ball we have, the less moments we have to defend the game.
“We have to carry the ball enough to create chances. In the first half, we didn’t get a chance to carry that – in the first game, away from home in Nashville’s stadium, we didn’t expect to control the game from the start.
“But in the second half, we controlled the whole game – we had the ball, we had the ball in the final third, we had opportunities to create chances and we have to be so much better at: one) defending set plays, denying counter-attacks, and then) creating chances.
“It’s our job to make sure we analyze this game, and prepare for Chicago away.”
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