Bledi Bardic scored for the second time in a row. (Courtesy photo of Kosmos)
WARWICK, NY – Despite a one-goal deficit and despite a player’s final 33 minutes, the Cosmos found a way to meet these Friday night challenges.
They scored three unanswered goals to book their first National Independent Soccer Association campaign win, a 3-1 triumph over New Amsterdam FC at the Hudson Sports Complex.
The Cosmos were forced to downplay a man after center-back Emmanuele Sembroni was red carded for kicking Daniel Vicente in the back of the head while his opponent was on the field in the 57th minute. Vicente was forced out of the game.
New York (1-0-1, 4 points) took first place in the Eastern Division with Michigan Stars FC (1-0-1, 4), hosts Detroit City FC on Saturday night.
Matt Lewis and Bledi Bardic scored on either side of halftime, and Aly Hassan added an insurance goal. Midfielder Ansi Agolli posted the first and last goals.
The Cosmos, who drew 1-1 in their first three games of the year by giving up late equalizing goals (two in the NISA Independent Cup and one in the season opener), got into trouble early on.
After the dominance, New York conceded the first goal. Center-back Lewis fouled Michael Bello in the penalty area and New Amsterdam FC (0-1-0, 0) received a penalty. Vicente shot a ball into the top right corner that goalkeeper Jesse Corke couldn’t stop in the 15th minute.
It was the first time that the cosmos ran after this year.
Lewis atoned for the foul in the 45th minute to make it 1-1.
After a foul by New Amsterdam FC, Agolli started the sequence with a free kick on the left, about 40 meters away. He passed the ball to Darwin Espinal towards the corner and the striker sent a return to Agolli. The former Albanian national team captain floated in a perfect cross which an unmarked Lewis pulled past goalkeeper Aldo Munoz from seven meters to score his first goal of the season.
Only 77 seconds after the start of the second half, the Cosmos took over the leadership of a turnover. Shavon John-Brown ran into the area and shoved a pass to Bardic on his left, who shot an attempt from above into the area. New Amsterdam owner Laurence Girard, who replaced Munoz at halftime, got a hand on the shot. However, the ball jumped into the net once and created a 2-1 advantage. Bardic scored in both Cosmos games.
Hassan, a second-half sub that missed last week’s season opener because of his father’s funeral, put the finishing touches on the 88th-minute win. Another substitute, Sal Barone, sent Agolli a through ball on the left. With Girard out of the net, Agolli Hassan, who scored an empty goal from 12 meters, fed his first of the campaign.
The cosmos, which had numerous possibilities, had a frustrating first half. Munoz, a 17-year-old goalkeeper who will be senior at Bergen Tech, made life difficult for Cosmos with five saves in the first half.
Munoz was great and played Agolli in the 17th minute, John-Brown in the 27th minute from 12 meters and Agolli again in the 33rd minute from the right side.
After Munoz was out of the net in the seventh minute, New Amsterdam center-back Michael Nastu headed Pedro Galvao’s shot out of the way.
The Cosmos returns against Detroit City FC on Saturday August 29th at 7pm at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, NY. It will be a closed match, but fans can watch the action on MyCujoo.TV.
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