Metro hopes fall short once again
October 29, 2006
It's sad. It's sad that even when Metro goes out and fights and plays a terrific match, they once again come out at the wrong end. The match scoreboard, an understatement on how well Metro played tonight, showed 1:1, but the more important aggregate scoreboard showed 2:1, so for the eleventh straight year, there will be no MLS Cup at the end of Metro's rainbow. Josmer Altidore briefly gave the team hope with a blistering header, but a Christian Gomez goal four minutes from time ended this tumultuous season just like the ten previous ones: in disappointment.
Bruce Arena made only one change from last week's lineup, as a Youri Djorkaeff injury forced John Wolyniec back into the starting lineup. The players might have been the same, but the team was not anything like last week's sorry side; they had most of the ball, kept pressuring DC's overwhelmed defense, and launched attack after attack. Unfortunately, the chance they had went for naught, as Wolyniec misfired twice, Markus Schopp's header from close range was denied, and a number of set pieces were cleared out of harm's way. Schopp picked up an injury late in the period and was forced to come off for Chris Henderson.
The second half started with much of the same, and midway through the stanza Altidore hit the woodwork with a reach-around shot. Then, in the 70th, the youngster was fouled at the right edge of the box by the pathetically overrated Facundo Erpen. Amado Guevara placed the free kick perfectly, as Altidore beat Erpen and slammed the header inside the unprotected far post.
And for a moment, Metro had life. For fourteen minutes actually, as they continued to press and press. But... we are Metro fans. No matter how much hope we attempt to have, we know how this is going to end. So when DC earned a corner kick off perhaps their only chance of the half and the ball went through the Metro penalty area and landed at Gomez' feet, and then past Conway and into the net, it was all but expected.
So good-bye Youri Djorkaeff. Good-bye Tony Meola? Good-bye Edson Buddle? Good-bye Chris Henderson? Good-bye Amado Guevara?
Good-bye another Metro season.
One final thing: is there anyone in their right mind who would, at this point, take the whiny little bitch Freddy Adu over Altidore? We didn't think so.
Lineup: Conway, Dunivant, Mendes, Parke, Wynne, Stammler, Kovalenko, Schopp, Guevara, Wolyniec, Altidore. Subs: Henderson, Magee, Graham.
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