RECAP | Cosmos 1, Strikers 0

With World Cup winner and club owner Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima in attendance, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers opened their 2015 NASL Spirng Season with a tough 1-0 loss to longtime rival New York Cosmos at Lockhart Stadium.

In front of a Strikers record crowd of 11,691 fans, the hosts couldn’t take advantage of several goalscoring opportunities. The previous highest –attended match at Lockhart also was against the Cosmos on September 21, 2013, when 7,653 spectators were in the stadium.

“We felt bad about letting all the people down,” Strikers coach Marcelo Neveleff said. “We hope the get them out to our next game against Jacksonville.”

While Fort Lauderdale held the edge of play in the first half, the Cosmos picked up the tempo after the halftime break.

Cosmos midfielder Leo Fernandes scored the only goal of the match in the 58th minute from a corner kick by former Strikers midfielder Walter Restrepo.

The Strikers came closest to tying the game in the 75th minute when Léo Moura’s free kick struck the side netting.

Earlier in the second half Frankie Sanfilippo had a header that was stopped by Jimmy Maurer in the 66th minute, and substitute James Marcelin tried his luck with a powerful shot from distance that was blocked en route.

Moura also nearly hit the target in the 56th minute, but his effort was cleared just off the line by a Cosmos defender.

Despite the scoreline, an attack-minded Fort Lauderdale team outshot New York 14 to 8 and doubled up 6 to 3 on the shots on goal category. Stefano Pinho, Moura, and Victor ‘PC’ Giro came close to scoring for the Strikers in the first half, all forcing Maurer to make good saves for the Cosmos. Maurer impressed, making five saves on the night.

Restrepo had New York’s best scoring chance in the first half one minute into added time when his shot from 8 yards was blocked by David Meves, with Mads Stokkelin heading a rebound into the far post.

The Strikers remain winless (0-1-5) against the Cosmos since the New York side rejoined the NASL in 2013. The Cosmos are the only NASL team the Strikers have faced and not yet defeated.

The Strikers next match will be on Saturday, April 11, when they host the Jacksonville Armada FC at Lockhart Stadium at 7:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN3. The Cosmos will be on the road for the second straight week when they visit Michael A. Carroll Stadium to play Indy Eleven, which will also air on ESPN3 at 7:30 p.m. ET.