Cushing's first match at helm ends in 1-1 draw with Colorado Rapids
By Chris Tsakonas
In the first match for interim head coach Nick Cushing, New York City FC came away with a point in a 1-1 draw against the Colorado Rapids this afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Talles Magno got the equalizer in the 72nd minute, just four minutes after Michael Barrios opened the scoring for Colorado.
The match didn’t see much offensive activity in the opening minutes, though it looked for a moment as if New York City would have a penalty in the 10th minute after Taty Castellanos went to ground while chasing a ball from Magno. No whistle was blown, and the match continued.
Castellanos had an even better opportunity in the 34th minute, controlling the ball at the top of the box before firing it off the crossbar.
As both teams went into the halftime locker room, the match remained scoreless, with only one shot on target between both teams. NYCFC fully controlled the run of play, with 67 percent of the possession in the opening half.
“I think first half for us was about trying to play our normal game,” Cushing said in the post-match presser. “We were controlling the game with the ball, and we were also controlling the opponent with the ball, but we just lacked a bit of tempo in our attacking play and a little bit of cutting edge in the final third.”
Malte Amundsen got the first good look of the second half in the 54th minute, getting on the end of a buildup in the final third before firing a shot from the top of the box off target. Off a corner in the 63rd minute, Santi Rodriguez lofted a ball to the near post, where Alfredo Morales got off a glancing header that missed wide.
The Rapids broke through against the run of play with the Barrios goal, which came off a counter that was set up by Mark Anthony Kaye. Barrios was through on goal, and he beat Sean Johnson to take the lead.
On the next chance they had, NYCFC responded. Maxi Moralez lofted in a cross from the right flank that found Magno at the edge of the six, and the Brazilian chested it down and finished from the edge of the six yard box to make it 1-1.
It’s a quick turnaround for New York City, as they’ll head across the Hudson to take on the Red Bulls in the US Open Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday night. A win there would get NYCFC into the last four of the competition for the first time in club history.