Mo's Red army battles Bob's Goats to a scoreless tie
April 30, 2006
In a game filled with enough subtexts to warrant an article on their own, Metro tied Chivas USA 0:0 in what was perhaps their best effort of the year (which, of course, is not saying much). Tony Meola was a rock in goal, getting his second shutout of the season, and Mo Johnston got a draw against former mentor Bob Bradley in their first regular season match-up.
With Jeff Parke back from injury and Jean-Philippe Peguero missing the match to be at a wedding, New York reverted to the 4-4-2 lineup that started the season's first two matches; Mike Magee was the other change from last week, replaced by Seth Stammler on the right side of the midfield. However, Magee would make an appearance before the end of the first half, coming in for the injured Edson Buddle. Before that, Buddle had Metro's best two chances, but both went right at Goats' keeper Brad Guzan.
On the other end, Chivas had three clear chances to score, but Francisco Mendoza shot high at an open net, Ante Razov's close-range chance was met by a reflex save from Meola, and a ball lying in the goalie box for a few seconds was thankfully cleared out by the Red defense.
The second half saw a number of chances on both ends; the best Red moments coming from Magee in a sequence that saw him hit the crossbar, then the rebound saved by Guzan. The Goats had a number of almost-breakaways on the other end, but Meola and the central defense of Parke and the improving Taylor Graham held the fort. Chivas also had their share of set plays, but their overpriced Mexican Juan Pablo Garcia botched most of them. The other overpriced Mexican, Francisco Palencia, was not much better, and former Metro killer -- and Metro -- Razov had his share of misses and offside calls.
So now Metro heads into a bye week, and we will have to wait to see what will emerge out of that. At least three other Eastern teams are also not turning heads so far...
Lineup: Meola, Mendes, Graham, Parke, Wynne, O'Rourke, Henderson, Stammler, Guevara, Djorkaeff, Buddle. Subs: Magee.
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