Ten man Cosmos manage to fight for a draw against Minnesota United

Just minutes into Saturday night's contest against Minnesota United, it looked as if the New York Cosmos were in for a very long evening. Just six minutes into the tie, goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer was sent off after tackling United midfielder Danny Mendes inside the 18-yard box, and the visitors were awarded a penalty for the rash decision by the keeper. Christian Ramirez stepped up and converted from the spot, and down a man with over 80 minutes left to play, things looked bleak for the Cosmos.

While United looked to press their advantage early on, the Cosmos seemed to get the footing again as the first half wore on. By the midway point of the first stanza, the Cosmos looked the better side. By halftime, they looked a bit unlucky to still be behind.

While most likely assumed United would regroup during the break, and put the game to bed while up a man, the second half was all Cosmos right from kickoff. Ten minutes in, Hagop Chirishian was denied by a fantastic save that would have leveled the game. Next up was Stefan Dimitrov forcing another incredible stop. The breakthrough finally came with about 15 minutes to go, as Mads Stokkelien found the back of the net as the shorthanded Cosmos salvaged a point.

In the end, it was a fantastic performance from a team that hasn't produced many of them of late. The Cosmos were very unlucky not to come away with maximum points despite the numerical disadvantage, and finally looked like the team that dismantled the New York Red Bulls. Hopefully this is the start of a run of good form.