Chivas slam Metro into the ground, 3:0
September 9, 2007
Metro might have not deserved the final scoreline, but they didn't deserve any points either. Two goals by Maykel Galindo, the second after a dubious non-call on a clear foul, paced Chivas USA to a 3:0 win over the up-and-down Metro squad.
Dane Richards' yellow card suspension saw Dave van den Bergh switch back to the left side of the still-lopsided midfield. Kevin Goldthwaite got a start at left back.
The lopsidedness came because Metro did not start with a true right midfielder; Claudio Reyna was supposed to cover that flank, and failed miserably early on. The second Chivas attack down that wing ended with the ball in the box, a pass in front of the goal to Sacha Kljestan, and with Goldthwaite diving in and missing, Kljestan sent an easy pass to to Galindo, who cherry-picked from what seemed like inches. And just four minutes into the match, Metro was down.
They played better the rest of the half, and Joe Vide's coverage for Reyna on the right side helped a bit. Metro's two best chances came on Juan Pablo Angel free kicks, but the first was saved by Brad Guzan, and the second sailed just high. Late in the half, Clint Mathis was forced out due to injury, and was replaced by Mike Magee.
Francis Doe's insertion for Goldthwaite at halftime energized the team, as Doe created a number of chances with Guzan parrying a John Wolyniec shot off a Doe pass in the opening minute. Sadly, the finishing touch wasn't there tonight, and in the 58th minute, on a counterattack, Galindo pushed Seth Stammler into the ground with an outstretched arm. Somehow, the foul wasn't called, and the Cuban was off to the races, beating Waterreus to extend the lead. In the 70th minute, Jeff Parke, who had a terrific game up to that point, needlessly pushed a Goat in the box, and Ante Razov calmly converted the penalty kick.
Perhaps the brightest spot to the match was the second-half entry of Dema Kovalenko. With a face mask protecting his broken nose, his presence was the one welcome sight on this night.
Lineup: Waterreus, Goldthwaite, Parke, Stammler, Leitch, Vide, Reyna, van den Bergh, Mathis, Wolyniec, Angel. Subs: Magee, Doe, Kovalenko.
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