(NASL 2015 Fall) Caolina Railhawks 1v3 New York Cosmos

Saturday 23rd August 2015
WakeMed Soccer Park, North Carolina   Attendance -  5,129

Cosmos finally registered a victory on the road as they ended their run of poor results at Wakemed thanks to a 3 goal blitz in the space of 11mins at the start of the 2nd half.

The game took a predictable pattern early on with Cosmos looking to retain the ball and Carolina countering with the dangermen of Shipalane and Novo.

Shipalane had been a constant thorn in the side of New York, and he had an early chance to score after being left unmarked, but his shot went straight at Maurer. There was a flurry of chances at both ends, De Luz should have put Carolina ahead, but was denied by Maurer and at the other end  Raul was denied by a good stop from Fitzgerald. Seconds later an audacious chipped effort by Freeman went narrowly off target.

There were plenty of chances being created in open play, but the breakthrough came from a set piece. Scott lost his marker Mendes from a corner and headed past a helpless Maurer to put Carolina ahead.

Cosmos tried to respond straight away with a long range effort from Flores and then an effort by Raul, but Fitzgerald was proving difficult to beat.

But it took just 30 seconds of the 2nd half for New York to put themselves on level terms. Freeman's dangerous low cross was not cleared and Fernandes was on hand to poke the ball past Fitzgerald, for his 9th goal of the season.

The goal changed the whole dynamic of the game and seemed to deflate the home side. Carolina were also hampered by the loss of Shipalane to injury, reducing their effectiveness on the counter attack.

But Nacho Novo was still a threat for the Railhawks, and he had a chance to restore the lead straight away against an unusually porous Cosmos defence, but he blazed an opportunity well off target.

But soon after the Cosmos took the lead, and again it came via a cross from a full back. This time it came from the other wing as Lucky met Ayoze's wonderful cross to put New York ahead.

Again, Carolina had a chance for an immediate response. De Luz had a clear chance, but Freeman flung himself in front of the effort to stop a potential equaliser.

But at the other end Cosmos sensed blood and went further ahead, just 3 minutes after taking the lead

Cosmos were going through at will and Restrepo's cut back forced Fitzgerald into a save from Fernandes. The keeper stopped Flores from converting the rebound, but Flores managed to lay the ball off for Moffat, who drilled the ball into the net.

Carolina were in danger of collapsing and Lucky should have made it 4v1, but Fitzgerald produced another stop to deny the striker. Moffat threatened another as he produced a well struck long range drive, but to the home sides relief it went narrowly wide.

Novo almost reduced the arrears late on, but he could only hit the inside of the post with his effort and the danger was cleared, as Cosmos ended their Wakemed jinx.