Red Bulls defeat Cosmos in U.S. Open Cup

The Cosmos returned to New Jersey Wednesday night, looking to continue their success against local rivals in the U.S. Open Cup.

For the second straight year their Open Cup run ended in the round of 16 as they fell to the host Red Bulls, 4-1, in front of 11,442 fans at Red Bull Arena.

Zizzo opened the scoring for the Red Bulls, and after Lucky Mkosana equalized, Anatole Abang, Sacha Kljestan and Mike Grella scored three consecutive goals for the Red Bulls.

"We had moments of better play," Cosmos coach Giovanni Savarese said, but added his team gave its opponents key opportunities and "they penalized us."

The Cosmos, who played their home matches at Giants Stadium from 1977 to 1984, defeated the Red Bulls in last year's round of 32, winning 3-0 at Hofstra. On June 17 of this year, the Cosmos beat New York City FC on penalty kicks to advance to the round of 16.

The Red Bulls started strong and were on top after Zizzo was unmarked in the box and headed past Cosmos goalie Jimmy Maurer in the sixth minute.

The Cosmos, the last non-MLS side left in the competition, answered against the run of play 11 minutes later. A deflected ball found Leonardo Fernandes, who fed Mkosana in the box. Mkosana fired past Luis Robles to tie the match.

The Red Bulls were able to get back in control, creating the majority of the chances in the first half and going back ahead when Abang headed in Sacha Kljestan's corner kick three minutes from halftime.

Kljestan converted from the penalty spot in the 54th minute to give the hosts a two-goal lead after Chris Duvall was fouled in the penalty area.

The visitors had a chance to get back in the match, but Raul's 63rd minute header hit the crossbar and rebounded to Mkosona, whose resulting shot banged off the post.

"Those are the moments you think this is the kind of night that's not going to go our way," Savarese said. "But nevertheless the guys kept fighting and kept on going at it, and the guys created more chances."