New York City FC delivered a resounding 5-1 away win over the rival New York Red Bulls and got the exact results they needed elsewhere in the Eastern Conference to officially clinch a spot in the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs.
It was simultaneously very simple and very complicated for New York City to clinch playoffs tonight at Red Bull Arena. They could only do it with a win, but they also needed other matches to go their way.
It was that kind of great night for New York City FC. They earned their own big win, but all the dominoes fell into place elsewhere. That included Toronto FC either losing or drawing away to Chicago Fire, DC United losing or drawing against Columbus Crew SC, and Nashville SC either losing or drawing against New England Revolution.
All those results came through and now New York City can look ahead to participating in the MLS Cup Playoffs again.
SEE YOU IN THE PLAYOFFS 🫡 pic.twitter.com/ErDKhzzGEa
— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) September 29, 2024
This playoff clinch is a big reversal from one year ago when New York City failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since their inaugural 2015 season.
It wasn't always a smooth ride to the MLS Cup Playoffs for this New York City squad, as this win over the Red Bulls snapped a nine-match winless run in MLS play.
Yet this win to seal a playoff spot also completes a season sweep of the rival Red Bulls and is the team's fourth away victory of the season, both signs of major progress from 2023.
Last year, NYCFC's best result against the Red Bulls was a 0-0 draw at home, and in that unsuccessful season, Nick Cushing's team won just one match on the road all season long.
That has flipped significantly in 2024, and now a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs is fully confirmed, though which playoff seed New York City claims still needs to be resolved.
The win sees New York City jump ahead of the Red Bulls, but the Boys in Blue remain in Fifth Place in the Eastern Conference, right on the heels of Orlando City SC in Fourth Place, who just got an away win over FC Dallas to solidify a two-point advantage over NYCFC in Fifth.
The two final "home" matches of the MLS season at Red Bull Arena against FC Cincinnati and Nashville SC now could go a long way towards deciding if New York City can grab that Fourth Place position and guarantee a second potential home match during the best-of-three series that is Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
The win over the Red Bulls was significant in numerous ways, but the simplest degree of importance might be that it punched a ticket to the tournament that gets played to hand out this year's MLS Cup. Nick Cushing spoke after the win over the Red Bulls of the importance playoff qualification holds for him after not qualifying for the playoffs last year, saying "There's only two coaches in team history who haven't delivered playoffs for New York City and I'm one of them, and that motivates me, to deliver that."
Cushing delivered that playoff spot in his 100th match in charge of NYCFC, and now the focus will begin to shift to how far he can lead this young team through the lengthy, unique MLS Cup Playoffs.
