Dallas burns lethargic Metros, 2:0
June 5, 2004
Coming into this game, most would have penciled a win... and would have been grossly mistaken. The MetroStars sleepwalked through the entire 90 minutes, losing at home to Dallas, 2:0. Edward Johnson and Tony Nhleko scored second-half goals for the Burn.
Bob Bradley made one change from last week's lineup, starting Ricardo Clark at right back for the first time in a game that meant something. And Clark did not disappoint, playing a solid game at the position that he is rumored to be looked at by national coach Bruce Arena.
For the second straight week, the teams played a first half that lacked many scoring chances, but pace started to pick up in the second... for the Burn. And in the 51st minute, Ronnie O'Brien took the ball down the right side and passed it to Johnson, who had no problems opening the scoring.
The Metros only real chance of the game came when Dallas keeper Scott Garlick challenged John Wolyniec outside the box. The Metro forward ended up with the ball, an empty net, and a bad angle, hitting the ball directly into a Dallas defender. And that was all the Metros could muster, if you don't count a Chris Leitch shot that just went wide.
On the other end, it could have been much worse. In one sequence, three rapid shots saw a terrific save by Jonny Walker, an Eddie Pope saving off the line and finally a Jeff Parke clearing out of danger. In another, Walker stopped a breakaway by Nhleko after a rare mistake by Parke with a couple of minutes left in the game. A couple of minutes later, Walker wasn't as lucky, as Nhleko's second breakaway made it 2:0.
With as much as seven players missing for the next two games, the Metros could find themselves in a hole... Unless some new blood can bring back the team we saw earlier this season.
Lineup: Walker, Leitch, Pope, Parke, Clark, Lisi, Gaven, Vaca, Guevara, Galvan Rey, Wolyniec. Subs: Taylor, Magee.
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