Metro dominates DC in a snowy, scoreless draw
March 16, 2013
If one looks at the league standings after today's game, one might think that the future looks bleak. After all, Metro is sitting on only two points from their three games. But if one looks at the team's performance today, the future might look just a bit rosier. Oh, sure, Metro couldn't eek out a win, playing the Scum to a scoreless draw in snowy Red Bull Arena. But they turned in a dominating performance in every part of the field... they just couldn't finish.
Roy Miller, fresh off admitting one of the most stupefying moves in team history, was sent off to Costa Rica early on a sojourn. Hopefully, it will extend past his national team duties. Heath Pearce shifted to take Miller's spot, and deposed vice captain S. Markus Holgersson made his first appeance of the year, in his usual center of defense.
Metro's two best chances both came from Fabian Espindola. In the first half, his header rung off the top side of the crossbar. In the second, he did well for himself to create space in the penalty area, and shot a ball into the upper left corner... again, the woodwork bailed out DC.
But it went beyond Espindola. Tim Cahill, who can't do anything to buy a goal, had a couple of terrific opportunities, including one from close range that was saved by the Scum's Bill Hamid. The field was titled DC's way all day, as terrific play by Dax McCarty in the middle rendered the man he was traded for, Dwayne De Rosario, pathetically useless. The rare chances the Scum got were thwarted by the amazingly-improved Metro defense (gee, we wonder what changed from last week), specifically by the central pair of Jamison Olave and Holgersson.
In injury time, after corner kick, it looked that the ball crossed the goalline before being parried by Hamid. Sadly, this time, ref Mark Geiger decided to keep his whistle silent.
So, an encouraging performance regardless the result... Yet we can't disregard the result, for after three games, Metro is sitting on only two points.
Lineup: Robles, Pearce, Holgersson, Olave, Barklage, McCarty, Cahill, Steele, Alexander, Espindola, Henry. Subs: Juninho, Lade, Moreno.
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