Foxboro ghosts not yet vanquished in a 1:1 tie
June 18, 2008
It was ever so close to being a win. A hurting Metro team coming to play the first-place Revolution, in Foxboro, where they haven't won in six years, and yet they had the lead late. Sadly, they had to settle for a tie, as a Rev goal canceled out a Seth Stammler striker and evened the match. The draw was Metro's first point in New England since May of 2004, a span of eight matches.
With this match sandwiched between weekend games, Osorio made drastic changes to the lineup. On defense, Chris Leitch was benched, Jeff Parke was rested, Kevin Goldthwaite was moved to the middle, Dave van den Bergh pushed back to left back, and Hunter Freeman started at right. Dane Richards was pushed from midfield to forward, partnering Oscar Echeverry. Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Mike Magee, and Carlos Mendes were new starters in midfield, with Stammler the lone holdover.
Minutes into the match, it looked like Ubiparipovic scored his first Metro goal, but was correctly called offside. After weathering a Rev storm early, Metro took control about twenty minutes in. It paid off in the 37th minute, as a perfect van den Bergh cross was met by an onrushing unmarked Stammler, who slammed his first league goal in over two years past Matt Reis. Late in the first half, a scintillating run by Richards up the right flank was wasted when Echeverry missed a wide open net wide left.
The physical second half started with a huge save by Conway, as the central defense pairing of Goldthwaite and Boyens leaked and let Adam Cristman sneak through. Metro had their share of chances on the other end, most coming off set pieces, but were unable to break through. Then, in the 79th minute, Goldthwaite missed a header in the box, Kheli Dube got the ball, and passed it off to Steve Ralston, who was left unmarked by the horrible Boyens. Just like that, the game was tied. Late in regulation, Conway made a spectacular close-range save to preserve the draw.
Chris Megaloudis made his debut early in the second half, coming on for the Richards, who took a knock. The Puerto Rican international barely touched the ball during his time in the game. Conway got an assist on the New York goal, breaking a tie with Tim Howard for most assists by a Metro goalkeeper with his third.
Lineup: Conway, van den Bergh, Goldthwaite, Boyens, Freeman, Mendes, Stammler, Ubiparipovic, Magee, Richards, Echeverry. Subs: Megaloudis, Wolyniec, Sassano.
|
