Metro thwarted by Kansas City, 1:0
April 17, 2013
Fifteen years ago today, a young rookie by the name of Mike Petke made his Metro debut. Everything has changed since then; Petke, his formerly dyed head now sporting shades of gray, is the head coach, trying to right the ship that was wronged by his predecessors. Tonight, it was not to be, and visiting Kansas City put on a defensive clinic, topping Metro 1:0.
Petke made minor changes from the team that easily took down DC, as Tim Cahill went from forward to left midfield, pushing Jonny Steele to the bench. Fabian Espindola made his return to the starting lineup.
The ex-Wiz struck in the 13th minute, as a corner kick was swung in the box. Jamison Olave looked to have Aurelien Collin under control. Somehow, the Kansas City defender somehow muscled past the gargantuan Olave and somehow got his head on the ball. Luis Robles got his hand on the shot, but not enough to keep it from the back of the net. Minutes later, Olave had to leave the game after injuring his knee.
All of Metro's chances of the first half came off Juninho set pieces. The best chance saw Jimmy Nielsen punch out a free kick, only to land at the feet of Titi Henry. Alas, the Frenchman's follow-up shot went straight into Nielsen.
The second half saw Robles come up huge, as he ventured out of the net to thwart a two-on-one breakaway that resulted from a Metro giveaway. That kept the margin at one, fooling Metro that the game was in reach. It wasn't; the few chances they got were shanked. The best came off the foot of Henry, from just outside the box, skidding just past the right post.
The Kansas City defense did the rest. The ex-Wiz locked a chastity belt in front of the penalty area, and fouled every time Metro looked to restart the flow. In injury time, Juninho tried to hurry up Nielsen's restart, kicking the ball at the KC goalkeeper. The ball accidentally hit Nielsen in the face, and earning the Brazilian his walking papers.
The Metro player making his debut tonight was one Marius Obekop, an unheralded rookie from Cameroon, whose decisions around the net could be written off due to his age. They can't all be Petke...
Petke the player. Petke the coach has a long, tough road ahead of him.
Lineup: Robles, Miller, Olave, Holgersson, Barklage, McCarty, Cahill, Alexander, Juninho, Espindola, Henry. Subs: Pearce, Bover, Obekop.
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