Lucky Metros escape Crew with 1:1 tie
August 29, 2004
A bad Metro second half that featured a number of close misses by Columbus saw the Metro and Crew end the game tied at ones. John Wolyniec scored the lone Metro goal, and a last-second red card to Amado Guevara might hurt more than the result of this game.
With Mike Magee and Eddie Pope back from injuries, they regained their starting spots at the expense of Ricardo Clark and Kenny Arena. The rest of the team stayed the same, but Joselito Vaca left the game with an injury in the 20th minute, replaced by the returning Olympian, Pablo Brenes.
A minute after that, the Cornell Glen won a free kick just outside the box, which Guevara sent right on target. Crew goalie Jon "Shave Your" Busch touched the ball, and it bounced off the cross bar and down to the onrushing unbalanced Wolyniec, who hit it -- the ball hit Busch -- and Wolyniec hit it again and into the net.
Columbus hit the post for the first time in the 32nd minute, and evened the score three minutes later. Jeff Parke was judged to bring down Kyle Martino in the box and ex-Metro Ross Paule converted the penalty kick. A few minutes before that, a foul in the box on Glen by Busch was not called.
The Crew hit another post in the second half, and missed a number of other easy opportunities where a goal looked certain. For their part, the Metros did not do better. In the 90th minute, Guevara sprung second-half sub Fabian Taylor with a perfect pass, but the Jamaican whiffed. In the last minute of stoppage time, an incredible sequence happened off a corner kick; first, Brenes blocked a ball off the line, and then Duncan Oughton somehow missed from two yards with the whole empty net in front of him.
Guevara's red came in first minute of stoppage time. Danny Szetela came after him with a horrible tackle and only earned a yellow; Guevara, already carrying a card, exploded at the referee, who immediately sent Amado off. The Metros lead over the Crew stays at two points, with two more games between each other left.
Lineup: Walker, Leitch, Pope, Parke, Bonseu, Magee, Gaven, Vaca, Guevara, Glen, Wolyniec. Subs: Brenes, Taylor, Galvan Rey.
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