Match report: The New York Cosmos fell 2-0 to the Richmond Kickers on Wednesday night at City Stadium. The Cosmos controlled much of the possession throughout the match, finishing with 56.6 percent possession, but Richmond proved clinical in front of goal. The hosts opened the scoring in the 33rd minute when Darwin Espinal found the back of the net to give Richmond a 1-0 advantage. New York continued to push forward before halftime, creating attacking opportunities and looking to break through, but entered the break trailing by one goal.
Richmond extended its lead in the 53rd minute as Espinal scored his second goal of the match. The Cosmos responded by introducing William Noecker, Davide Galazzini, Justin Milovanov, Nick Zielonka, and Davide Materazzi over the course of the second half in an effort to change the momentum. New York continued to dictate possession and created chances late, finishing with four shots on target and matching Richmond with four corner kicks. Despite controlling the ball for long stretches and out-possessing the Kickers, the Cosmos were unable to find a breakthrough as Richmond secured the 2-0 victory.
MATCH DETAILS
RICHMOND KICKERS 2-0 NEW YORK COSMOS
RICHMOND KICKERS (4-4-2): Fillion; Harold, Vinberg, Layton, Anderson; Espinal, Barnathan, O’Malley, Bolduc; Vasquez, Kirkland.
Subs: Freeman, Pannholzer, Johnson, Amer, Sasankhah, Aldana Gallegos, Howell, Sneddon. Coach: Darren Sawatzky.
NEW YORK COSMOS (4-2-3-1): Stephani; Morabito, Holt, Chavez, Chilaka; Mendonca, Ramos; Ljucovic; Bohui, Spengler; Guenzatti.
Subs: Garcia, Noecker, Puentes, Milovanov, Materazzi, Zielonka, Galazzini. Coach: Davide Corti.
Goals: 33′ Espinal (RICH), 53′ Espinal (RICH).
Bookings: 12′ O’Malley (RICH), 45′ Spengler (C), 57′ Bohui (C), 70′ Galazzini (C), 78′ Sasankhah (RICH).
Match Stats:
- Possession: Cosmos 56.6% – Richmond 43.4%
- Shots: Cosmos 9 – Richmond 15
- Shots on Target: Cosmos 4 – Richmond 5
- Corners: Cosmos 4 – Richmond 4
- Saves: Cosmos 3 – Richmond 4
- Fouls: Cosmos 10 – Richmond 13
- Yellow Cards: Cosmos 3 – Richmond 2
