Amidst all the noise of New York’s first playoff Hudson River Derby, NYCFC head coach Nick Cushing clarified, “The next game is the most important part.”
“The whole focus is hosting a playoff semifinal at home,” Cushing said in his pre-match press conference on Thursday. “We’re really proud of what we’ve done to get to this opportunity, but there are many more challenges ahead, and the first one is Saturday. We cannot look further than the first 10 minutes of the game because that is our main focus.”
NYCFC had a two-week break since their penalty shootout win against FC Cincinnati in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series on Nov. 9 — an uncommon feature in most soccer teams’ schedules when it comes to tournament runs. The MLS Cup playoff schedule usually falls right in the middle of the November international break, the last round of international fixtures in the calendar year.
However, Cushing confirmed that the break has allowed everyone on the team to return to fitness. Twenty-one-year-old winger Malachi Jones was the only injury doubt and is still “doing his rehab” but has trained with the team on a few occasions. Tayvon Gray returns from suspension after his red card in Game 1 against Cincinnati, creating a small selection headache at right fullback for Cushing, who has used Slovenian Mitja Ilenič. Ilenič has performed solidly, assisting on Alonso Martinez’s opening goal in Game 2 and scoring the winning penalty in Game 3.
“It’s not been ideal to come off the back of a high against Cincinnati and have a break,” Cushing said. “It is what it is; every team has to have a break. For some guys that go through a three-game series against a really tough team, it’s been a good opportunity to rest them. We went through the first week making sure everyone was healthy, and this week, we got a conference semi-final at home, right?
“It’s been a really exciting week, and we named our stadium as well — Etihad Park. A really exciting week to get the name on the stadium, and then a full training week with an exciting game ahead.”
The Red Bulls have had a three-week break themselves, beating reigning MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew over two games, and will need to dust off the rust quickly against Cushing’s side, who like to press high and hard. NYCFC did the double over their city rivals in the MLS regular season, winning 2-1 at home in Citi Field in May, then securing a lopsided 5-1 win in their neighbors’ backyard in September.
“Both regular season games were incredibly difficult,” Cushing said. “The second game is not a 5-1 game, it was a tight game. We know Red Bull are going to be aggressive with the pressing, direct in the moments where they’re trying to pick up second balls and trying to attack off those transition moments. So we prepared for another very, very difficult game. We are off the back of an incredibly difficult three-game series for us. It’s about not about fearing the outcome, it’s about attacking the opportunity. And the opportunity is in a playoff semifinal and a chance to advance.”
