By DAN KARELL
While there’s no denying that the New York Cosmos are having a great season by any team’s standards, Sunday’s performance against the Tampa Bay Rowdies was a breakout performance in terms of attacking potential.
Four different players scored for the Cosmos in their thrilling 4-3 victory at James Shuart Stadium, with the final goal coming from the talented and clinical right foot of Marcos Senna. The four goals represented the most goals the Cosmos had scored in one game all season.
In the 82nd minute, just two minutes after Diomar Diaz skinned his defender and scored on a breakaway to tie the match, Senna and Ayoze stood over a free kick to the right of goal outside the box. According to Senna, he told Ayoze that he had a good feeling that he could score, and so Senna did, guiding the ball over the wall and inside the near post to set off wild celebrations on the field and in the stands.
“Sometimes when you believe 100 percent that you’re going to be able to score, when you have that in your eyes, when (Senna) went to get the ball all the way from the other side and put it right there, his eyes already (knew),” said Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese following the match. “You can tell that a player with the quality of Marcos Senna was ready to be able to put that goal (away) that was going to be the winner.”
Though he’s more of a holding midfielder, known for breaking up opposition play moving forward, Senna holds a strong reputation for being a terrific free kick taker, and he proved it earlier in the season when he scored one in Edmonton to save the Cosmos a point. For his teammate Peri Marosevic, the timing of the goal made it all the more special and important for the home side.
“The timing of it was perfect,” said Marosevic. “(Senna) knew exactly what the goalkeeper was doing, he thought the goalkeeper was cheating (from his spot) and he saw it from the beginning.
“Marcos being the player that he is, being able to put it in at that crucial time shows how clutch he is and how important he is for this team.”