Crew shows Metro who's class of the East, 3:1
May 20, 2010
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Tchani
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Gaven
Iro
Renteria
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Well, the season has turned in a hurry. Just two and a half weeks ago, Metro was sitting at a 5-1 record. Now, after three consecutive losses, that seems like a distant memory. And the way the losses are coming, with inept offensive performances and defensive breakdowns, one can only sigh.
Today, Metro was beaten by one if its former heroes, Eddie Gaven. Idiotically given away to Columbus by the Lalas-Johnston regime four years ago, Gaven scored the first with a blistering header and assisted on the second as the Crew beat Metro 3:1. Sigh.
Injuries forced "Clever" Hans Backe's hand with lineup selection. Joel Lindpere's injury put Roy Miller in central midfield. Seth Stammler also moved to the middle, with Jeremy Hall starting on the left. Chris Albright made his first MLS start at right back, with Sinisa Ubiparipovic at right midfield, pushing Dane Richards to forward in place of injured Salou Ibrahim.
Metro had the run of play of the first half hour, but all that possession got them was six wasted corner kicks. Then, in the 35th minute, Gaven left his man behind, got his head on the ball, and slammed it into the net. Immediately, Ubiparipovic almost tied it after a run up the right side, but his shot hit the left post. Then, just four minutes after the first goal, it was another unmarked header in the box, this time by gargantuan Andy Iro off a corner kick, that gave the Crew a two-goal lead.
The woodwork reared its ugly head again in the second half. First, Richards stripped Iro of the ball and made a run for the net, only to be denied by the post. Then, an Angel free kick from just outside the box didn't dip fast enough, hitting the crossbar. More waste followed, including Miller falling asleep after receiving the ball in the box with nothing but net in front, and sub Tony Tchani sending a harmless floater straight at the keeper off a corner kick.
Tchani did break through in the 82nd minute, when fellow sub Carlos Mendes floated the ball into the box. Will Hesmer came out and Tchani rose, heading the ball over the Crew keeper into the net. It was his first goal as a professional. Any momentum was short-lived, as a minute later, the ball fell between Metro central defenders Tim Ream and Mike Petke. No one got it, and the Crew's Emilio Renteria scored on an easy breakaway.
Sigh.
Lineup: Coundoul, Borman, Ream, Petke, Albright, Hall, Stammler, Miller, Ubiparipovic, Richards, Angel. Subs: Tchani, Wolyniec, Mendes.
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