New York City FC did something in the 3-2 win over FC Cincinnati on Matchday 32 that the team had failed to do all season long: Nick Cushing's club finally defeated one of the Top 3 teams to have separated themselves at the top of Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference, earning a win that should provide another jolt of confidence as NYCFC prepares for its 2024 playoff run.
Inter Miami CF (now officially winners of the 2024 Supporters' Shield), Columbus Crew SC, and FC Cincinnati have been sitting at or near the top of the table in the conference for the bulk of this season, the pace-setters, with Cincinnati also having won the Supporters' Shield a season ago.
Facing this trio of front-running teams wasn't pleasant for Nick Cushing’s team this season, right up until they got this win over Cincinnati. New York City entered the midweek meeting with Cincy with zero wins, three draws, and four losses combined in all games played in 2024 against Miami, Columbus, and Cincinnati, with a goal differential of -6 (nine goals scored, 15 goals conceded).
Hudson River Blue Staff
While New York City's players and head coach alike have spoken hopefully and confidently about how close their games have been when they’ve played against this group of top teams, accentuating the positives from a string of mediocre-to-poor results can only get you so far.
As the playoffs draw closer, it helps to have an actual win over one of these upper-echelon conference contenders to hang on to, and the 3-2 over Cincinnati gives NYCFC exactly that.
This was another game where New York City took an early-ish lead and another meeting with Cincinnati that saw NYCFC hold a two-goal lead at around the 75th minute – though unlike in Leagues Cup, there was no late collapse, despite some nervy moments and a second Cincinnati goal scored deep in stoppage time.
Cincinnati in particular has proved to be the toughest of tough matchups for NYCFC and Nick Cushing of late, dating back to when Pat Noonan took over as their head coach ahead of the 2022 season.
Cincinnati came to Red Bull Arena having never lost to New York City while under Noonan's guidance, having earned five straight wins over NYCFC in their most recent meetings, unbeaten in seven games in the head-to-head.
The phrase “bogey team” was beginning to feel relevant, especially off the heels of that meltdown in the Leagues Cup group stage. So this 3-2 win was significant in many ways.
It continued to keep New York City's momentum building, positive momentum that started when James Sands nodded home that equalizer during MessiFest at Yankee Stadium on September 21.
The win also helped prove the 5-1 walloping of the Red Bulls wasn't just a one-off, as this performance against Cincinnati backed it up and helped the team keep alive its push for Fourth Place and a home-field advantage during Round One of the playoffs.
Maybe most importantly, the win erased the sour taste of that collapse in Ohio during Leagues Cup, and it has to give NYCFC the belief and confidence that they can win against a team, like Cincinnati, that's been comfortably ahead of them in the table all season long, should they meet them again in the postseason.
The chase for Fourth Place will go on for New York City, but now there's at least a winning result to point to against one of those Top 3 teams they won't be able to catch with just two games left to play.
Either Cincinnati or Columbus will end up in the East's Third Place spot, and while NYCFC currently sits in Fifth Place, a Sixth Place finish and match-up with the Third Place team in a best-of-three series isn't out of the question.
While NYCFC had undeniably gone toe-to-toe with all of Miami, Columbus, and Cincinnati, playing teams "close" might provide some internal confidence, but it doesn't put wins on the board, especially at playoff time.
Seeing out a win from this back-and-forth, five-goal thriller with FC Cincinnati is exactly what this young, still-untested New York City side needed, and could be the latest piece of compelling evidence that NYCFC is peaking at the exact right time.
