Metro has no problems with Toronto, 2:0
September 14, 2013
We moan about Metro's ineptitude throughout the years, but to be fair, it can't match Toronto's. Seven years the Canadians have been in the league, seven years they missed the playoffs. A revolving door of players and coaches, a terrible franchise with no decent building blocks... See, it could be worse, Metro fans.
And tonight, Toronto showed up at Red Bull Arena and promptly crapped its pants. Despite some early jitters from Metro, the Canadians could not create anything offensively, and the hosts ran off easy 2:0 winners behind goals by Titi Henry and Fabian Espindola. The win is Metro's third straight, as the club inched closer to the impending playoffs.
Lloyd Sam's injury meant that Mike Petke had to shake up the midfield, and he did so by inserting... Michael Bustamante, giving the rookie his first league start. The youngster was very tentative early on, losing possession on numerous occasions, which led to Toronto dominating the first 20 minutes of the game. Well, dominating is a strong word, for all their chances died as soon as they got near the Metro box. That team is truly, truly inept.
As the game continued, Metro started to gain more and more of possession, and broke through in the 32nd minute. Bustamante realized that passing the ball forward is an option, and found Dax McCarty in the box. The Marty McFly lookalike centered it across the goalmouth, where it was easily tapped in by Henry.
The second goal was scored in the 80th minute, literally seconds after Espindola entered the match. Henry sent a free kick into the box, and it eventually ended up with Espindola at the right endline. The Argentine headed the ball, and it somehow floated under the crossbar from what looked to be an impossible angle. Whether he meant it or not, it was truly an amazing touch.
Prior to the second goal, the game was marred by a stoppage when Jonathan Osorio kicked the ball at the head of Kosuke Kimura. Somehow, the Toronto thug went unpunished, but hopefully he will hear from the MLS Disciplinary Committee soon. Not that it will matter for his team one way or another...
See, as we said above, it could be worse. Let's just hope that for THIS club, it keeps getting better!
Lineup: Robles, Carney, Olave, Holgersson, Kimura, McCarty, Steele, Bustamante, Alexander, Wright-Phillips, Henry. Subs: Espindola, Luyindula.
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