Soccer News: Forward Lucky Mkosana Scores Twice In 4-1 Victory of Historic Match
In a spectacle that was always going to be so much more than a soccer match, the North American Soccer League‘s New York Cosmos defeated the Cuban National Team, 4-1, on a historic night at Estadio Pedro Marrero in Havana, Cuba.
On a rainy evening in Havana, the Cosmos walked out of the tunnel alongside the Cuban National Team, taking the field to play in a much-anticipated affair that both sides hope will be the beginning of a special relationship moving forward. As the Star Spangled Banner played inside the stadium, the significance of the match became something very real. The feeling of goodwill between the two countries was palpable as players shook hands prior to the opening whistle.
The Cosmos, who sit in first place in the NASL Spring Season Standings, are in the midst of an off week, which allowed head coach Giovanni Savarese to tweak his lineup on Tuesday night. Hunter Freeman, Sebastian Guenzatti, and Hagop Chirishian, who have all seen limited minutes in 2015, were given places in the starting lineup, while the likes of Marcos Senna, Adam Moffat, and Andres Flores observed from the sidelines.
Once the whistle blew, it was just another match. After all, the Cubans are just days away from a pair of upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Curacao, while the Cosmos are on the brink of clinching the NASL Spring Season Championship.
In a match that aired live on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and ONE World Sports, the NASL side got off to the brighter start, and their pressure out of the gate didn’t take long to pay off. Speedy forward Lucky Mkosana found the net from just outside the penalty area in the 9th minute to put the Cosmos ahead early.
Spanish legend Raúl, who had Cuban fans cheering his name throughout the match, got involved in the 33rd minute, heading the ball across goal for Uruguayan midfielder Sebastian Guenzatti to finish off for a 2-0 lead. The Cosmos assembled a similar attack just three minutes later, but this time it was substitute midfielder David Diosa heading the ball across the goal mouth for teammate Hagop Chirishian to tap in.
With a 3-0 lead just before halftime, New York wasn’t finished. In the 42nd minute, Guenzatti turned provider, crossing the ball for Mkosana, who volleyed a shot home from just outside the six-yard box for his second of the match.
Despite the 4-0 halftime deficit, the Cubans continued to press for a goal, and in the 51st minute, their hard work would pay dividends. Following some good work in the corner, the ball found its way to Andy Vaquero, who fired a shot past a diving Jimmy Maurer to put the “Leones del Caribe” on the scoresheet.
Promising American prospect Haji Wright, who has started to earn a few minutes for the NASL side lately, came into the match in the 65th minute, replacing a very productive Mkosana.
The 4-1 score would eventually hold up, but in the end, that wasn’t what mattered. The Cosmos became the first U.S. professional soccer team to play in Cuba since the NASL’s Chicago Sting did it in 1978 and the first U.S. professional sports team to play in Cuba since the Baltimore Orioldes in 1999.
As the U.S. and Cuba continue their process of normalizing relations, Tuesday’s match was an exciting step that used the world’s game as a medium to bring the two countries together.
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