Indy Eleven 1 - New York Cosmos 1: Initial reaction and community rating form

The New York Cosmos were hoping to take six point from their opening two-match road trip, but were forced to settle for a draw Saturday evening in Indianapolis. Still, it was a very encouraging display for the boys in green, despite the dropped points.

Indy got out to an early lead courtesy of an error by Jimmy Maurer, but absolutely dominated the game after going behind. The eleven will feel very fortunate to have taken a point on Saturday, limiting the boys in green to a single goal, courtesy of Raul Gonzalez.

Up next for the Cosmos are the Tampa Bay Rowdies in New York's home opener, a game that could easily see the club move atop the NASL spring table. A win and  draw on the road to start the season might not be perfect, but it's hard to complain about.

Thoughts:

• The Eleven do a fantastic job with production, probably second only to the job done by ONE World Sports. Fantastic work, Indy.
• What on Earth was Jimmy Maurer doing on Indy's opening goal? Someone has been watching a bit too much of Manuel Neuer in action.
• For the second week in a row, Walter Restrepo was absolutely fantastic. Raul was the big name addition this winter, but after two matches, Restrepo looks like the signing of the season.
• Speaking of Raul, Gio Savarese seems to be using the former Real Madrid man as more of a creator than a target through two matches. If that's the plan, the club still desperately needs an upgrade upfront.
• Refereeing in the United States is absolutely awful. It's amazing watching a poorly referee'd games in Europe, and realizing that those matches would be considered fantastic displays by PRO. There's no bias, there's just an infuriating lack of quality.
• The Eleven got some fantastic work from goalkeeper Kristian Nicht this evening. He made several big, big saves that kept Indy in this match on Saturday.
• Even at 38 years old, Marcos Senna is still astonishingly good at kicking a soccer ball.