ORLANDO CITY 2-1 NYCFC, Cushing: "“I Can’t Fault the Players’ Effort and Togetherness"

New York City Interim Head Coach Nick Cushing says his team deserved more from Sunday’s last-gasp 2-1 defeat at Orlando City.

“I can’t fault their effort and togetherness, the way they’re committing themselves,” he reflected. “The attitude is excellent.

“Away from home, you’re always going to be put under pressure in the last 15. We have to continue to find a way.

“We set out the game to play our normal game, to win the game. We had a tough start, conceding a goal in the first 10 minutes, but the boys responded incredibly well – we started to dominate the ball and create chances.

“Talles [Magno], Thiago, and Gabriel [Pereira] were attacking the spaces and caused problems and then the weather started to affect the last 10, 15, 20 minutes of the half.

“It’s humid and hot and we’ve had a lot of games. It was a defensive game. We knew we’d be put under pressure because Orlando need the points – they want to push above the line and solidify their place [in the playoff positions].

“In the second half, we asked the boys to keep pushing. We knew we’d be able to move the ball and get into areas and attack the spaces – and the goal was a good example of that.

“Then Thiago has another look, which is a really close one, but he doesn’t get on the end of it and Gabriel has one…

“When you’re looking at a roster as short as ours, we made substitutions, and the boys put in an incredible effort. We just couldn’t get over the line. We just lost on the line with the last corner.

“It was only a matter of weeks ago – Montreal and Dallas – that we were defending positive results. We have to get back to those moments.

“When you get injuries and it’s starting to affect the squad, you’ve got to work with what you’ve got. We know this roster is capable of getting points and we should have got a point today.”