Mediocre Metro still better than San Jose
April 27, 2008
One thought that he witnessed a miracle at Giants Stadium today, when in the 38th minute, Claudio Reyna took a shot in the box that seemed destined for the San Jose net. One was wrong; the shot was cleared off the line at the last moment, and the real miracle happened late in the match, as six-foot-six Jon Conway used every inch of his gigantic arm to reach into the upper corner of the net and rescue three points for Metro. Mike Magee scored his first league goal in almost two years, and Jozy Altidore added one in second half stoppage time for the 2:0 final score.
Metro stayed in a 3-5-2, with Chris Leitch moving back to right back, Carlos Mendes sitting, and Luke Sassano starting in right midfield. Juan Pablo Angel had to sit out, with John Wolyniec starting instead.
Other than the Reyna moment, the first half was so uninteresting that we will move straight to the second. And even then, there is not much to discuss. The road team was sitting back, hoping for a 0:0 result. The home team was doing better, with halftime sub Magee in attacking mid, and Square Peg Reyna now behind him, but was still missing that final pass.
That is, until the 79th minute, when Altidore was sent through by Wolyniec, and then taken down just inside the box by Ryan Cochrane. With usual penalty taker Angel out, Magee stepped up to the spot and easily converted to Joe Cannon's left.
A minute later, Metro fell asleep, and Conway's amazing save -- the second and last he would make the entire game -- preserved the lead.
Wolyniec had one cleared off the line in the 90th minute, but just as injury time was winding down, made up for it, turning around in the box and founding Altidore. Jozy's shot banked off the post, and went in set the final margin.
Lineup: Conway, Goldthwaite, Parke, Leitch, Stammler, Ubiparipovic, van den Bergh, Sassano, Reyna, Wolyniec, Altidore. Subs: Magee, Borman, Mendes.
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