The Cosmos could have clinched last night without ever taking the field. Atlanta did their part by getting thrashed by the Strikers 6-2. Unfortunately the Rowdies had different plans and beat San Antonio 1-0 by getting a late penalty kick. So, the ‘Mos will have to do their part in beating FC Edmonton at home today. The two sides tied 1-1 against the Eddies in Clarke Stadium back on September 1st. Here are some thoughts ahead of today’s possible clincher:
- The Cosmos should win today, Edmonton is in 7th with 11 points and will be playing at a real NASL fortress, Shuart Stadium. This has clincher written all over it.
- Some may say this is a “trap” game since the Eddies have a very tough defense and we struggled to tie them early last month. However, the Cosmos also have one of the best defenses and now they have a very formidable offense, something they didn’t possess early in the fall season. Not to mention Clarke Stadium’s pitch was equivalent to playing on a bouncy castle which I think made it very tough for the Cosmos to play on.
- Who is the striker today? Does Gio go with his usual pick of Stefan Dimitrov or does he decide a now healthy Alessandro Noselli is ready to start after scoring a goal last week as a sub? I think it’s finally time to start Noselli again.
- I have a feeling the attendance for the last home game at Hofstra will either be excellent or very bad. I expect the 5 Points to be the best it’s been, but general attendance could suffer since it’s an NFL Sunday and the Jets play at home against the Patriots. I’m also very disappointed that the Cosmos and Hofstra haven’t been able to get students to come to the matches, that should be a built in fanbase.
- A Soccerbowl clinch at home would be amazing. Not only for the fans, but I think for the players as well. It shows that they appreciate the home crowd’s support and I’m sure they want to win today very badly.
- Overall, all the Cosmos just need to handle their business at home against a weaker side. A win punches their ticket to Atlanta and then they don’t need to worry about clinching on the road. FC Edmonton will no doubt want to play spoiler to the mighty Cosmos, but that shouldn’t be enough to deter the boys in green from dominating today’s match.
- Most importantly, today is about 10-year old Zachary Bernstein. The defender has signed a 1-day contract for the Cosmos and will be the honorary captain. Let’s make today a special day for him. Please consider making a donation to his charity, Friends of Zachary. Zachary has a rare inoperable brain tumor and all proceeds go toward getting him the best treatment possible. We are all Zachary’s army today.
Let’s Go!
The Cosmonaut Chronicle 
Antonio! Read your post in Monday morning quarter back mode! Trap game it was huh? I thought to myself too that they did tie with Edmonton the first time around and Edmonton plays a stingy defense as well.
Noselli is a tough call. I like the fact that he is a quality fresh pair of legs off the benc in the 2nd half but you wonder if he would be better giving the Cosmos a goal in the first half since mentally it puts more pressure on the opposition? That’s two games in a row now that he comes in and scores a goal!
Maybe its better to just keep playing “must win” games as long as possible – it keeps the team more focused that way in my opinion.
Five Points was great yesterday! Keep up the good posts dude!
Haha Monday Morning Quarterback indeed! We’ll just have to have an awesome viewing party this weekend.