If you didn't notice anything different about NYCFC during Sunday's 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids, that's just the way Nick Cushing wanted it.
Cushing, the assistant coach who was thrusted into the interim head coaching position this week after Ronny Deila departed for Standard Liege, is in no mood to tinker with a club that's the defending MLS Cup champion while also currently sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings.
"We are mid-season and we don't have a lot of time to start implementing new ways of playing and new ideas," the 37-year-old explained in his post-match comments from Yankee Stadium.
"What we have done has worked for us, we have a methodology in our group and we have worked towards that the last 18 months and it has helped us win MLS Cup and it has helped us with the league position that we have got."
That said, anybody expecting Cushing to be a Deila clone could be in for some disappointment.
"I think I just have to be myself. I didn’t try to be Ronny and I also didn’t try to change the way the team plays," City's interim boss said. "I was just myself in the way that I talk to players, see the game, and how I felt the game would go. So, I think that's the key. Just be yourself."
While the initial focus was understandably on Cushing, by the time referee Marcos de Oliveira blew the final whistle all eyes were on Talles Magno. The 19-year-old Brazilian wonder kid added another highlight-reel golazo to his resume with an acrobatic finish in the 72nd-minute that cancelled out Michael Barrios' opener just four minutes before. The goal would ultimately salvage a home draw for NYC, extending the club's unbeaten run to nine games.
"My opportunity came and Maxi \[Moralez\] gave me a beautiful assist. Thanks to God, I was able to score it," Magno said. "This isn’t the result that we wanted, but I’m happy and pleased with the effort and hard work the team put in, not only today, but throughout the week."
The Vasco da Gama product also echoed Cushing's feelings about leaving well enough alone within a squad that knows exactly what it's doing.
“There hasn’t been that many changes throughout the week. We have a very similar style of play that we played under Ronny," he said. "It’s the same style of play. It’s the same way we defend, it’s the same way we attack. There hasn’t been too drastic of a change between the coaches."
