From the first whistle you knew this was the real New York Derby. For the first time ever the East River Derby , which alludes to where both clubs are located New York City Football Club , who call Yankee Stadium in the Bronx home. The Cosmos call Hempstead , New York home . The Cosmos played a New York Derby last year against the Redbulls and defeated them 3-0.
This year in the Open Cup , the Cosmos faced NYCFC at home in front of a sold out crowd of 11446. The atmosphere was great both clubs supporters , the Five points ( New York Cosmos Supporters) were brining the noise and trying to be the 12th man. The Third Rail NYCFC supporter group travelled in big numbers over 1,000 supporters travelled to Hofstra to take in the East River Derby. Both groups of supporters tried to be later than the other throughout the whole match.
On the pitch the excitement never stopped . In the 24′ Kwadwo Poku is in front of the Cosmos net and is getting ready to take the shot , when Jimmy Maurer Cosmos goalkeeper comes out of the net to try and stop it. It wasn’t a great chance for the Cosmos defense and goalkeeper , NYCFC is up 1-0 off Poku’s goal. The half ends 1-0 , with NYCFC up.
In the 57′ Poku scores another goal , which looked like an offside call , but the flag stayed down. In the 63′ Leo Fernandes comes on for Sebastian Guenzatti . Leo is a very dynamic player on the left wing. When Leo came on he put the boys in green on the board with a goal 2-1. In the 90′ Lucky scores the equalizing goal . The five points erupt and are the latest they have been the whole night. When Lucky scored the equalizing goal every emotion went through your body leading up to that goal . It was one of the best parts of the match. The match ends 2-2 and they go into extra time which are two , fifteen half’s . There are chances from both sides during extra time but they couldn’t score a winning goal . After both periods of extra time were completed , they went to PK’s to see who will have bragging rights in the city that never sleeps.
Penalty’s began , players from both teams step up and convert most of the penalties. The key moment came when Leo Fernandes stepped up to take it and missed and the ball went over the cross bar. After the match Leo said that” I owe Jimmy Maurer a big dinner”. Even though Leo missed the penalty Jimmy Maurer stepped up and made some big saves , and Hunter Gorskie put away the winning goal to defeat NYCFC. Hunter’s celebration was great , he was touching the badge .
Even though NYCFC lost they took the match seriously and played their hardest. Throughout the MLS campaign so far they have been struggling . They took the matchup seriously and that was the main thing. NYCFC had to balance their squad because their in the middle of their season. The Cosmos currently have some time off because the spring season is over and the fall season doesn’t start to July 5th.
The Fifth Round Draw of the Lamar Hunt U.S Open Cup was held this past Thursday at the U.S Soccer House in Chicago . The Cosmos have to face the Redbulls in a rematch from last years derby match. This year the match will be held at Redbull Arena.
Listen to the First Team Podcast , a New York Cosmos centric show , they review the East River Derby and much more . https://audioboom.com/boos/3298247-new-york-is-green
