NYCFC head coach Nick Cushing isn’t shy about his support for beleaguered striker Mounsef Bakrar. The Algerian striker has made 10 starts for the club this year and yet to find himself on the scoresheet. He has had chances and has shown his outward frustration with a lack of conversion. Still, Cushing believes in what they are building with him and knows that more will come.
“Mounsef is working hard,” said Cushing after the team’s loss to Colorado on Sunday. “Mounsef is giving the team the parts of his game and our game that is helping us win football games. We can’t hide the fact that he’s not scoring goals.”
The consternation is doubled by the fact that the team has found success with Alonso Martinez who Cushing has stated was converted to a striker. This season Martinez has mostly featured as a substitute but has two goals in six appearances. While his role as a super-sub has given City an element of surprise late in games, it is that consistency that could be more dynamic as a starter that appears to be missing from the number 9 position.
Martinez isn’t the only option that sits on the bench. Talles Magno, who made the bench for the first time in 2024 after recovering from a knee injury, is also waiting for an opportunity. Magno hasn’t been a major contributor of goals for the club with his most successful campaign coming in 2022 when he scored seven times and notched 10 assists. His contributions on the ball are something that the team still needs if they hope to unleash the best out of Santiago Rodriguez and the rest of the offense.
“He will score goals,” said Cushing on Bakrar’s issues. “At the moment, if the team doesn’t score goals we lose the opportunity to win. It’s about hard work and not just one individual. Our team strength is how much of a team we are and how we work collectively.”
The loss the Colorado leaves NYCFC in seventh place. A missed opportunity to go as high as fourth, above rivals New York Red Bulls. Next up will be a difficult stretch for City as they travel to Toronto and Philadelphia before hosting the Red Bulls, all in the next week. Cushing knows that it is a pivotal stretch and one that the team will need to gather points in order to remain in the hunt for playoff contention.
“The reality is you have to continue to work. There’s going to be ups and downs in a season. This team is on a journey and it’s making progress. As I said three or four weeks ago, progress is disheartening, progress is disappointing but tonight is a part of it. You have to take the punches and go back to figure out how you can continue to progress and improve.”
photo by Jordan Banks