2:2 W Connection New York Fana Hector Oebster Joseph(OG) 07.30.09 · CONCACAF

Ah, here we go. CONCACAF Champions League. The long-awaited international tournament that had us salivating the entire offseason. And now, the tournament that supposedly will decide the future of Metro players and staff. Can you feel the excitement?

Juan Carlos Osorio sure did, marching out a 4-5-1: Danny Cepero in goal; Alfredo Pacheco, Kevin Goldthwaite, Mike Petke, and Jeremy Hall on defense; Seth Stammler, Albert Celades, and Jorge Rojas in midfield, Ernst Oebster (making his Metro debut) and Dane Richards on the wings, and Juan Pablo Angel in attack. 4-5-1, baby! You've served us oh so well so many times before.

Sadly, the excitement died soon after the opening whistle. A drab first half in front of a crowd that numbered in three digits (at best) saw an absence of chances, until...

Until the last five minutes of the half, of course, when Angel tried to clear a corner kick, hit it off the cross bar, and the ball landed at the feet of Jonathan Fana, who opened the scoring with the simplest of goals.

But this is the Champions League, and boy did the Western Conference champions show up in the second half! Well, with the help of W Connection they sure did. Three minutes after the break, Richards found Oebster in the box, and the Austrian hit the ball off the leg of a Connection defender to tie the match. Then, in the 60th, Pacheco's miss-hit shot connected off two Connection players, and ended into the net, ruled an own goal to Elijah Joseph.

But oh, it was not to be. In the 72nd minute, Pacheco's miserable lunge at the edge of the New York penalty area in an attempt to win a header saw the El Salvadoran hit nothing but air, and Hughton Hector made Metro pay with a precise shot into the upper corner.

Metro now heads into next week's home leg tied on aggregate, but with two road goals on the scoreboard... Meaning a 0:0 tie will get them through to the group stage. You hear that, Osorio?

Of course, he does.

Lineup: Cepero, Pacheco, Goldthwaite, Petke, Hall, Stammler, Celades, Rojas, Oebster, Richards, Angel. Subs: Borman, Ubiparipovic.