Angel and defense put out the Fire, 1:0
September 1, 2007
On the day Clint Mathis was honored for his record-breaking 45th goal, it was the Metro defense that stole the show, completely shutting down Chicago. And when Juan Pablo Angel scored to get within 30 of Mathis, it was the only goal Metro needed in a 1:0 victory.
Jon Conway, benched after his gaffe last week, sat in favor of Ronald Waterreus. Dave van den Bergh came in at right back as Kevin Goldthwaite was benched. The only other change in the lineup was the insertion of John Wolyniec for Jozy Altidore, who was held out due to injury.
Metro controlled play and attacked from the opening whistle. Mathis' unlucky miss on a one-time volley was the best chance of the half for either team. Other than that, the game was devoid of serious chances on either end, as both defenses did a good job to keep the attackers at bay.
Until the 75th minute, that is, when a turnover led to Dave Richards spurring Angel on the left side, and the Cherubic Assassin hit a bouncer that skipped past Matt Pickens and into the net. Chicago piled on the pressure after that, but the Metro backline held strong, grabbing the vital three points.
With his 14th league goal, Juan Pablo Angel is now just two behind Adolfo Valencia for the all-time single season record. The Walrus was stellar in the nets, making up for his poor performances the last two times out.
Lineup: Waterreus, van den Bergh, Parke, Stammler, Leitch, Vide, Reyna, Mathis, Richards, Wolyniec, Angel. Subs: Doe, Magee, Mendes.
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