Cosmos Close Out Preseason With Draw Against Bermuda National Team

Photo credit: Bernews

The New York Cosmos and the Bermuda national team battled to a 1-1 draw at the Bermuda National Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon in New York’s final preseason match ahead of the start of the 2017 NASL season.

“Today’s match was a good test for us,” Cosmos coach Giovanni Savarese said. “We are happy because the team responded well. We will now redirect our attention to our game against Puerto Rico FC next Saturday.”

New York started the match enjoying possession and applying high pressure to the home team. Andrés Flores, along with recent signee Eugene Starikov and Salvadoran international Irvin Herrera, generated multiple attacks that Bermudan goalkeeper Stefan Dill repelled efficiently. The intense winds made it difficult for the Cosmos to maintain possession, but the team continued to attack throughout the scoreless first half.

Bermuda broke the scoreless deadlock in the 58th minute through midfielder Tre Ming. In what seemed to be an attempt to pass the ball to one of Bermuda’s strikers, the 22-year-old scored from 30 yards out to beat goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer after the wind changed the ball’s direction, finding the back of the net.

The Cosmos continued their offensive efforts and fought for an equalizer.They continued to test Dill’s skills through long and short-distance shots from Herrera and Starikov, missing two of them by mere inches.

In the dying minutes of the match, Starikov picked up a deflected ball from a shot by Herrera on the right-hand side of the box. He then crossed it to the center of the box so Flores could volley the ball to the back of the net, equalizing the match in dramatic fashion. Main referee, The match ended right after Flores’ goal, earning the Cosmos an unbeaten run during the 2017 preseason.