Williams' Metro wins again, 1:0 over Crew
August 30, 2009
Hmmm. Well, that's nice. After sixteen in a row without a win, Metro has now won two straight. This time, a 1:0 win over Columbus, who hadn't lost in league play in two months. The lone goal of the match came on a brilliant 60-yard-run and finish by Dane Richards... the same Dane Richards underperformed so much under Juan Carlos Osorio that he was so close to taking the title of the worst player on the worst team in league history. But not anymore.
Williams kept the same 4-4-2 as last week, but made the following changes: Bounda Coundoul replaced Danny Cepero in goal, Mike Petke and Carlos Johnson -- Kevin Goldthwaite and Jeremy Hall on defense, and Jorge Rojas -- Albert Celades in midfield. Yet, unlike the idiotic tinkering of his predecessor, Richie's lineup still employed the same tactics as the week before. He might never be called a tactical genius, but at least he realizes that you don't have to adjust your team to the opponent's style of play. Or that if a formation works, you stick with it. But anyway...
The game was devoid of many chances. The Crew had one in the first half that Danleigh Borman cleared off the line, and Andrew Boyens cleared the ball out of traffic with a diving header late in the second. Metro had a solid sequence off a turnover in the first half, but Andy Gruenebaum came out to make a save on Juan Pablo Angel's shot.
In the 59th minute, Macoumba Kandji went on for Jorge Rojas and immediately created a chance for John Wolyniec, but the Staten Island Ronaldo hit the goalpost with a blistering shot. Then, three minutes later, the entire Columbus lineup was caught upfield for a corner kick. Seth Stammler caused a turnover in the Metro side of the field, Richards got the ball, and raced up the left side. The Jamaican then outsmarted Brian Carroll and slit it past Gruenebaum for what proved to be the only goal of the game.
So this makes it two in a row. Yes, it's too little too late to salvage this terrible season, but at least it shows that the same Metro players that seemed to give under Osorio actually have some pride left.
And, seriously... why couldn't Red Bull just fire Osorio when it became obvious that he has doomed this season?
Lineup: Coundoul, Borman, Petke, Boyens, Johnson, Stammler, Ubiparipovic, Rojas, Richards, Wolyniec, Angel. Subs: Kandji, Sassano.
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