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Cosmos fall to last-place Edmonton, 7-game unbeaten streak snapped

June 8, 2017 By Scott Enman Brooklyn Daily Eagle
The Cosmos lost 4-2 to Edmonton FC on Wednesday night at MCU Park. With the defeat, the team’s seven-game NASL unbeaten streak came to an end. Photos courtesy of the New York Cosmos
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The New York Cosmos kicked off a three-game homestand on Wednesday night looking to secure a vital three points in their quest for first place, but they fell to an FC Edmonton side that entered the match in last place.

With the loss, the Cosmos’ seven-game North American Soccer League (NASL) unbeaten streak was snapped, and the Eddies secured their first away win of the season. 

“We had two goals scored against us and two red cards that proved difficult to recover from,” said Cosmos had coach Giovanni Savarese. “We dominated the game up until the 65th minute, but couldn’t close the game the way we wanted.”

It was a game of two halves for the Cosmos, who led 1-0 up until the 69th minute thanks to a goal from Irvin Herrera in first half stoppage time.  

Following a series of bizarre events, however, New York found itself on the back end of a 4-2 score line that forced them to leave MCU Park with nothing to show for their efforts.

The Cosmos controlled the entire first half, dictating the pace of the match as they out-possessed the Eddies 71 to 29 percent and out-shot them 4-0.

Their hard work paid off in the 46th minute as Ryan Richter assisted on Herrera’s first goal of the year. 

Positioned on the right side of the field, Richter curled a ball into the box, where an unmarked Herrera rose up and placed a well-timed header into the far post.

Herrera missed a header earlier in the game, but he made sure to take advantage of this one. As he ran to the corner to celebrate his goal with a front flip, green smoke cascaded down from the stands.  

At the break, FC Edmonton had not scored in their last four halves of play.

The Eddies finally broke through in the 69th minute against the run of play as Sainey Nyassi scored on a diving header to level the score.

Several Cosmos defenders appealed to the assistant referee for an offside call, but replays showed that Nyassi had timed his run well.  

It was the first goal allowed this season for back-up goalkeeper Brian Holt, who was in for the injured Jimmy Maurer.

Just three minutes later, FC Edmonton striker Tomi Ameobi gave Edmonton the lead when he tucked open a wide-open shot in front of goal. 

In the 74th minute, Darrius Barnes — in for Dejan Jakovic, who was away on international duty with Canada — was shown a straight red card for an incident off the ball.

In the 79th minute, things got worse for the Cosmos as Juan Guerra was sent to the locker room early after he lost his composure and head-butted Edmonton midfielder Mauro Eustaquio.

The two red cards brought the Cosmos’ discipline record up to 20 yellow cards and three red cards this season, the most in NASL.

A pair of late goals by Jake Keegan and Ameobi in the 85th and 89th minutes respectively secured the win for the Eddies.

Ayoze was able to convert on a penalty in stoppage time for the Cosmos, but the outcome had already been determined. 

With the loss, the Cosmos remained in second place, five points behind Miami FC. New York and Miami will square off on June 24 in a match that could determine this year’s Spring Champion.

Edmonton, the lowest-scoring team in NASL, would have been content escaping with a point, but they will be ecstatic with an unexpected three.

Prior to Wednesday’s match, the Eddies had only scored five goals in nine matches.

It was the first win on the road for the Eddies all season, and it was the Cosmos’ first loss this season after scoring first.

Herrera, who earned Man of the Match honors for his goal, spoke about what went wrong in the match. 

“We slowed it down in the second half,” he said. “The tempo of the game in the first half was pretty good. We made some mistakes in the second half that cost us some of the goals. The red cards obviously really brought us down.

“They took advantage of the spaces and the mistakes that we made and they put away their chances that they created.”

The Cosmos, who are already missing several key players due to injury and international duty, will now also be without Barnes and Guerra for their next game due to suspension.  

Defender David Ochieng will also not be available for Savarese as he was called up for Kenya ahead of his country’s upcoming match in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Injuries to Emmanuel Ledesma and goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer will have to be monitored closely. 

Wednesday’s match could be a season-defining game as the Eddies moved out of last place with the win, and the Cosmos missed out on an opportunity to come within two points of first-place Miami. 

“When we got the second red card, going down two men is always hard, especially when you’re down a goal,” said Herrera. “I wouldn’t say the referee made some bad calls, but he could have done a better job. 

“We just have to get this game out of our heads, move on to the next one … We just got to turn the page and get ready for the next one.”

The Cosmos will look to rebound against a pesky North Carolina FC team that they narrowly defeated 1-0 last Saturday thanks to a goal from Guerra.  That game is slated for 4 p.m. on Saturday at MCU Park.

 

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