Senegalese center back scores game-winning goal against New York Cosmos

Defender Papé Diakité turned in yet another impressive performance for FC Edmonton, scoring the winner in his club’s 2-1 win over the New York Cosmos on Sunday. The Senegalese center back’s contributions – defensively and in the attack – have earned him North American Soccer League (NASL) Player of the Week honors.

Diakité was instrumental in holding the visiting Cosmos, who boast a prolific attacking arsenal, to just one goal in Sunday’s clash at Clarke Field. He then chipped in with the all-important goal in the 74th minute, rising high to head home a cross from teammate Adam Eckersley.

“I’m happy to be named Player of the Week,” Diakité said. “It’s encouraging for me, and it’s something that is going to push me to get better. I’m happy because it was a good day overall and I was able to score the winning goal for the team.”

The 23-year-old defender, who joined the Eddies from Belgian side Royal Antwerp prior to the start of the 2016 season, has proved to be an incredible find by head coach Colin Miller. He has scored game-winning goals in two of the last three league games, and currently leads the NASL in clearances, blocks, and interceptions.

“I think first of all, Papé and Albert [Watson] have such an influence on the group that the performance as a whole from Wednesday up until Sunday’s match against an excellent New York Cosmos team speaks volumes about how both of them are playing,” Miller said. “I want defenders that can defend, and big Papé and the entire back four took a lot of pride in their defending against New York.”

Diakité, who stands tall at 6-foot-4, began his career at Senegalese club ASC HLM before moving to Slovak Super Liga side TrenÄín in 2011. Two years later, he made the jump to the Belgian ranks, where he would play for Royal Antwerp and KFC Oosterzonen until 2015.

The victory over the Cosmos vaulted FC Edmonton into fourth place in the NASL Spring Season Standings, just two points back from league-leading Minnesota United. The Eddies have a busy week ahead, traveling to Canada’s capital city on Wednesday to take on Ottawa Fury FC in the Amway Canadian Championship before returning home to welcome the second-place Carolina RailHawks to Clarke Field on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. ET and the game can be seen live on ESPN3 (U.S.) and NASL.com (Canada).