The New York Cosmos rallied from a three-goal deficit Saturday night at Lockhart Stadium to tie the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 3-3.
Second-half substitute Sebastian Guenzatti scored the dramatic equalizer in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.
“We have a very special group, unbelievable individuals and they all work for each other,” said Head Coach Giovanni Savarese. “Unfortunately in the first half we put ourselves in a very difficult situation, but once again the team showed character in able to get back in the game. We always look for the three points, but today being able to tie was important for us.”
Fort Lauderdale (1-4-2) scored twice from the penalty spot as Gabriel (23’) and Walter Ramirez (48’) struck in each half. On Ramirez’s second goal, the Strikers had a 3-0 lead in the 59th minute and appeared to be on their way to a first-ever win over the Cosmos in the modern era.
But when midfielder Leo Fernandes latched onto a Hunter Freeman cross and snuck a downward header inside the post in the 62nd minute, the Cosmos (2-3-1) had new life.
“Even though it was 3-0 we knew we still had a chance and when 3-1 came, we knew we had it,” Guenzatti said. “We knew we could tie it and even win it at the end.”
Four minutes later, Adam Moffat, who came on as part of a double substitution in the 50th minute, won a 50-50 challenge in midfield and unleashed a blast from 26 yards past the outstretched arms of Fort Lauderdale goalkeeper Josh Ford to pull the Cosmos within a goal.
Two of Savarese’s three second-half substitutions found the back of the net.
“I thought the guys did well who came in,” Savarese said. “They are the ones who made the difference. Once they came in we were able to find more solutions, pressure higher, we got some life back. It was very important for us.”
Guenzatti provided the equalizer when he tapped in from eight yards out after Freeman played a Moffat cross back in front of the net.
“When Moffat switched it, Freeman stopped it, picked up his head and he saw me,” Guenzatti said. “When I received the ball I knew there was nobody behind me. I just turned and blasted it far post.”
Savarese watched the final few minutes from the stands after being sent off for arguing the amount of stoppage time was added. As a result he didn’t get a great view of what appeared to be a Fernandes winner at the death. It was a goal called back for offside.
“When I crossed it, all I saw was Leo’s head and it went in,” Guenzatti said. “Hopefully we’ll see a replay and see if it was offside or not, but the game is over and there’s nothing we can do now. We’re happy with the point because we were down 3-0 and that’s a big comeback in the second half.”
The Cosmos come out of a difficult stretch of three games in seven days with seven points.
Next up they host the San Antonio Scorpions on Saturday Aug. 15 at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.
“Maybe we are a little too tough on ourselves,” Savarese said. “I think today we could have come out of this game with three points, but after playing three games back to back, it’s not a bad thing to have won two and tied one.”
