Houston turns into the field of horrors
July 5, 2007
We've seen it all before. A hot start to the season, and all the hope... only to come crashing down in the summer, and limp through to the season's final whistle. No, this season is not over yet, and who knows, maybe this year's edition has something in it to overturn 11 years of horror, but it certainly didn't look that way tonight, as Metro got clobbered in Houston 4:0.
Metro reverted to a 4-4-2, as Clint Mathis sat and John Wolyniec started up front. The other change saw Dane Richards come to the bench for the first time all year, as Markus Schopp got his first start at his preferred position of right wing. And one can count on one hand the number of touches the Austrian got in the game, as his useless lanky body got mercifully subbed out in the second half.
But before the second there was obviously the first, when Houston scored two goals off set pieces in a four-minute span. In the 28th minute, a needless foul by Kevin Goldthwaite resulted in a free kick, and Joseph Ngwenya's header bounced off the ground and over the late-reacting Ronald Waterreus. Then, off a Dynamo corner, the post saved the initial shot, but Metro failed to clear the rebound, and Brian Ching made them pay by doubling the lead.
It was much of the same in the second, and five minutes into the period, Ngwenya beat Waterreus to the short side off a corner. And nine minutes from time, a bending shot from Stuart Holden from outside the box found the opposite inside of the net. And oh, it could have been worse. On this pathetic night, a four-goal margin did not describe the ineptitude of (dare we say it again) these Red Donkeys.
Because on the other end, they were once again impotent. After having just one shot on goal the previous week, they managed to top themselves, getting none.
Crap. And it all started so well.
Lineup: Waterreus, Goldthwaite, Mendes, Parke, Freeman, Stammler, Reyna, van den Bergh, Schopp, Wolyniec, Angel. Subs: Ubiparipovic, Mathis, Quaranta.
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