Bledi Bardic, New York Cosmos Ready To Go In Playoffs
Bardic has unfinished business after suffering an injury last postseason
Published Jul 10, 2019
Bledi Bardic remembers the pain, physically and emotionally.
He pulled a hamstring muscle in the New York Cosmos' first playoff game last year, which forced the striker to miss the rest of the postseason. Without the prolific striker in the lineup, the Cosmos eventually were eliminated during their quest for the National Premier Soccer League title in the quarterfinals.
"Last year was great season," said Bardic, who tallied a team-best 12 goals in 11 games. "Unfortunately, I had an injury, which is normal for every soccer player. But for me the injury came at a bad time. Definitely it was tough for me not to be able to play but just watch my teammates."
This year he plans to make up for his lost time when the Cosmos host the rival Brooklyn Italians in the North Atlantic Conference final at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, N.Y. on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
"Health-wise, I feel good thank God," he said. "I didn’t have any problems this season."
Bardic led the Cosmos with 10 league goals and two in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
They have some unfinished business in the playoffs, and Bardic likes the Cosmos' chances. They finished the regular season with a near-perfect 13-0-1 mark
"I’m looking forward to playoffs now after having a near-perfect regular season," he said. "Hopefully we can win the whole thing that’s our goal, but we have to take it game by game.
"Obviously I want to win badly and I’m pretty sure everyone in this team feels the same way, no doubt about that."
The Cosmos expect a difficult match from the Italians. They went 1-0-1 against Brooklyn, winning 4-1 at the Met Oval on June 8 before playing to a scoreless draw at home on July 3.
"They are a very good team, organized and physical," he said. "They have some good players. It’s a good challenge for us but we as a team are ready and excited about this match."
In that 4-1 result, Bardic put on a one-man scoring show with a first-half hat-trick.
"We definitely played a great game and we finished our chances," he said. "That was key and hopefully we finish our chances on Wednesday as well."