Spengler’s 95th-Minute Penalty Lifts Cosmos Over Kickers 3-2
September 27, 2026 Hinchliffe Stadium, Paterson, NJ
The New York Cosmos secured a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Richmond Kickers on Sunday afternoon, September 27, 2026, at a rainy Hinchliffe Stadium.
Cosmos came into the match looking to distance themselves from the last-place Kickers and move up the standings. They employed a regular lineup with only two changes as Nestor Cabrera returned to the lineup in place of Stalyn Acosta, and Christian Koffi entered in place of Shamit Shome, who is on international duty. The Cosmos started the match employing a high press from the get-go. The home side's aggressive strategy paid off early. Ajmeer Spengler broke the deadlock in the 15th minute, coming from behind a Richmond defender to intercept a pass at the top of the box and sliding home his first goal of the afternoon. Just six minutes later, Lamin Jawneh doubled the lead in the 21st minute. After nice combination play in the midfield, Koffi slotted a nice ball into the box, and Jawneh did well to slot it past Yann Fillion. After the goal, Cosmos seemed to settle back and started to display sloppy play. Many unforced turnovers in the middle of the field started to stifle their attack. The Kickers also refused to go down quietly. Zahir Vazquez pulled one back in the 32nd minute. Vazquez latched onto a long ball from the goalkeeper Fillion and slotted the ball past an oncoming Javier Garcia. Despite maintaining a good share of the ball, Cosmos could not generate much after that, and the clubs went into halftime with Cosmos up 2-1.
The second half started with Cosmos having a clear chance on goal, as Koffi found himself in front of Fillion but was unable to convert. New York would continue to control possession, but Richmond would create a lot of danger on counter-attacks. In the 66th minute, Sean Vinberg struck the equalizer to level the match at 2-2, capping off a resilient comeback for the traveling side. The sequence started on a corner kick which found the head of a poorly marked Richmond player who headed the ball into the path of Vinberg to level the score. As the match progressed, it seemed as if Richmond was closer to the next goal of the match as the midfield turnovers in dangerous positions on the field continued to plague Cosmos. In the 75th minute, Cosmos made their first substitution of the match as Nick Mendonca came into the match in place of Ozzie Ramos, who was on a yellow. Soon after, Stalyn Acosta replaced Nestor Cabrera in the 80th minute. The match soon after started to get a little chippy as both sides seemed to understand the importance of the match. In the 85th minute, Garcia came up big for Cosmos with a diving save on a free kick struck by Austin Amer. When it looked like both sides would settle for a draw, the match would take a turn deep in stoppage time. In the 95th minute, Christian Koffi drew a crucial foul inside the box. Ajmeer Spengler stepped up and converted the penalty, sending his left-footed shot into the bottom left corner as Richmond keeper Yann Fillion went the other way. With the goal, Spengler completed his brace and secured the 3-2 win.
Even though the Cosmos didn't play one of their best games, they succeeded in widening the gap between themselves and Richmond to avoid ending up in last place. The team also climbed to 15th in the standings, overtaking Greenville Triumph. With a challenging 5-match run to conclude the season, it will be interesting to see if the Cosmos can secure more positive outcomes and finish the season on a high note.
New York Cosmos 1 - 1 Richmond Kickers
Scoring:
New York Cosmos:
Ajmeer Spengler (15', 90+5' pen)
Lamin Jawneh (21')
Richmond Kickers:
Zahir Vazquez (32')
Sean Vinberg (66')
New York Cosmos (4-2-3-1): Javier Garcia; Néstor Cabrera (80' Acosta), Anderson Holt, Michael Chilaka, Justin Milovanov; Frankie Ljucovic, Ozzie Ramos (75' Mendonca); Christian Koffi, Ajmeer Spengler, Lamin Jawneh; Sebastián Guenzatti
Subs: Morabito, Puentes, Galazzini, Chan, Chavez, Zielonka
Richmond Kickers (5-4-1): Yann-Alexandre Fillion; Harold Hanson, Sean Vinberg, Sam Layton, Dakota Barnathan, Matt Bolduc (82' Anderson); Zahir Vazquez (66' Pereira), Nils Seufert (83' Amer), Ali Sasankhah, Owen O'Malley (27' O'Malley); Tarik Pannholzer (82' Johnson)
Subs: Anderson, Dourado, Amer, Freeman, Johnson, Sneddon
Bookings:
Richmond Kickers (3)
🟨 18' Owen O'Malley
🟨 41' Sam Layton
🟨 62' Sean Vinberg
🟨 89' Harold Hanson
New York Cosmos (2)
🟨 60' Lamin Jawneh
🟨 62' Michael Chilaka
Match Statistics:
Possession: (NYC) 62% (RK) 38%
Total Passes: (NYC) 505 (RK) 294
Total Shots: (NYC) 12 (RK) 13
Shots on Goal: (NYC) 5 (RK) 5
Saves: (NYC) 2 (RK) 2
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