San Francisco’s loss to the defending champion New York Cosmos wasn’t the biggest surprise of the game.
Just before kickoff Deltas starting goalkeeper Romuald Peiser got down on one knee and proposed to girlfriend Taylor Lincoln in the center of the field at Kezar Stadium. The couple met when Peiser played in Ottawa for the former NASL team. Lincoln accepted the proposal to cheers from the 3,302 fans at Kezar Stadium.
The previously unbeaten Deltas were unable to provide the encore as the defending NASL champion Cosmos eeked out a 1-0 win.
After an uneventful first forty-five minutes, the Deltas pressed the Cosmos from the halftime whistle. But despite having several chances, New York found the back of the net on a counterattack against the run of play in the 69th minute. Cosmos midfielder Emmanuel Ledesma sprung free on the left side and lofted a ball over keeper Romuald Peiser that struck the far post.
“The only difference was a moment of quality. He had a moment of magic. It was a great finish,” said SF Deltas head coach Marc Dos Santos.
The Deltas came close to equalizing in the 92nd minute when a ball was sent into the box. Pablo Diego’s attempt on goal trickled wide.
With the loss, the Deltas fell from second to fifth place in the NASL standings.
“In the second half, I thought we were the better team. But unfortunately, this game wasn’t for us,” added Dos Santos. “We have to learn how to lose. We have to keep our head up and go from there.”
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Match: SF Deltas vs. NY Cosmos
Date: April 29, 2017
Competition: NASL Week 5
Venue: Kezar Stadium in Golden Gate Park; San Francisco, Calif.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. PT
Attendance: 3.302
Weather: Sunny 68F
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
SFD 0 0 0
NYC 0 1 1
Lineups:
SFD: 1- Romuald Peiser; 20-Karl Ouimette; 3-Nana Attakora ; 35-Reiner Ferreira; 5-Kenny Teijsse; 30-Michael Stephens (17- Devon Sandoval – 71’); 10-Kyle Bekker; 8-Cristian Portilla; 25-Danny Cruz (2- Bryan Burke – 80’) ; 9-Tommy Heinemann; 11-Pablo Dyego; Subs not used: 4- Tyler Gibson, 6- Patrick Hopkins, 12- Steward Ceus, 23- Greg Jordan, 27- Andrew Lubahn
Head coach: Marc Dos Santos
NYC: 1- Jimmy Maurer; 2- Ryan Richter; 25- Darrius Barnes; 5- Dejan Jakovic; 28- Jimmy Mulligan; 18- Emmanuel Ledesma (19- Irvin Herrera – 78’); 11- Andres Flores; 6- Javi Marquez; 16- Juan Guerra; 14- Danny Szetela; 20- Walter Restrepo (22- Kalif Alhassan – 90+3’); Subs not used: 3- David Ochieng, 23- Richard Menjivar, 24- Brian Holt, 26- Eric Calvillo, 29- Alexis Velela
Head coach: Giovanni Savarese
Stats Summary: SFD / NYC
Shots: 12 / 14
Shots on Goal: 5 / 4
Saves: 2 / 2
Corner Kicks: 3 / 6
Fouls: 5 / 14
Offside: 0 / 3
Misconduct Summary:
SFD – 18’ Portilla (caution); 58’ Teijsse (caution); 85’ Bekker (caution);
NYC – 25’ Ledesma (caution); 59’ Mulligan (caution); 77’ Szetela (caution);
Officials
Referee: Timothy Ford
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Mariscal
Assistant Referee 2: Deleana Quan
4th Official: Alex N Del Angel, Jr.
