They struggled to get an edge, but couldn’t.
The Cosmos fought hard in a back-and-forth match against FC Edmonton at Clarke Stadium on Aug. 11, but came away with a frustrating 1–1 draw. The New Yorkers would have relished an outright victory, but the one point they got was enough to give the squad confidence as it looks to climb in the standings during the Fall season.
“We had more mobility. We controlled the ball,” said Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese. “At the end, [we got] a great goal by [Emmanuel] Ledesma. I thought it was fantastic. Then [there was] a questionable call that maybe could have went our way.”
The Cosmos looked strong from the opening whistle, but FC Edmonton got the first few good looks at net, including an eighth-minute shot that tested New York goalkeeper Jimmy Mauer.
The Cosmos turned the momentum quickly, taking advantage of a 14th-minute giveaway by Abdoulaye Diakité. The loose ball was pushed forward by Pablo Vranjicán who dished off to Javi Márquez and drew a Cosmos corner.
The squad couldn’t convert, however, and the home team continued to pressure Mauer and the Cosmos’s back line throughout the first half. FC Edmonton finally broke the tie just moments before the break as Daryl Fordyce connected on a Ben Fisk cross, heading in the shot from the edge of the six-yard box in the 45th minute.
New York refused to back down in the second half, however, and grabbed a big-time opportunity in the 56th minute. Ledesma drew a free kick after being taken down by Allan Zebi, but his shot was caught by a diving Tyson Farago in the Edmonton net.
The Cosmos produced the equalizer in the 66th minute as Ledesma — who had been dominant throughout the match — connected on a rocket of a shot from the top of the box inside the near post. It was his sixth goal of the season, and prolonged the Cosmos’s goal-scoring streak.
“We moved the ball a lot faster, we found spaces, countered quicker and that’s why we were able to find the equalizer a lot easier,” Savarese said of his team’s mindset in the second half.
New York had hoped for one final chance at a victory, after subbed-in Kobi Moyal went down in the box, but referee Alain Ruch didn’t blow his whistle, and the squads finished knotted at one.
The Cosmos return home to MCU Park on Aug. 19, to square off against Indy Eleven at 7:30 p.m.
