Metro lucky to tie bad Colorado team, 1:1
April 29, 2015
Well, Metro are still undefeated, but allow us to not jump head over heals. Tonight, New York played a rather awful Colorado team, and was lucky to earn a 1:1 tie. What makes the situation even worse is that this was a rescheduled game, crammed into midweek to create space for summer friendlies. What should have been three points turned into a pedestrian, sub-par tie.
Jesse Marsch made two changes from last game, played just three days ago. Roy Miller reclaimed his usual slot, making Kemar Lawrence into his understudy. The usual switcheroo at left wing saw Mike Grella start, and Sal Zizzo go to the bench.
After some early patented high-pressure soccer, it was Colorado who got on the board. 25 minutes in, a free kick was swung into the penalty area, and Gabriel Torres got his head on it, tucking the ball into the corner of the net.
Five minutes later, Metro answered. Sacha Kljestan was dragged down in the box, and Bradley Wright-Phillips easily converted the penalty to his left.
That was all the scoring in the game, but not for the lack of chances. In the second half, Kljestan teed up a bending shot from the edge of the box that kissed off the woodwork. Minutes later, Felipe found himself all alone in front of the net, took his time to shoot, and fired wide.
On the other end, the Rapids often exposed Metro's high pressure, with Luis Robles coming up with a huge save to stop an early breakaway. Colorado hit woodwork as well, and were on the wrong side of a referee's decision late in the game. Damien Perrinelle clearly brought down a Colorado forward in the box, but, luckily for Metro, the referee signaled to play on.
Play on they did, and when Wright-Phillips' open header missed wide deep into injury time, a point was awarded. Whatever happened to up-tempo, winning soccer?
Lineup: Robles, Miller, Perrinelle, Miazga, Duvall, McCarty, Martins, Kljestan, Grella, Sam, Wright-Phillips. Subs: Zizzo, Richards, Abang.
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