Metro survives 10-man Dallas, 1:0
May 4, 2014
Oh, penalty gods! Why have you forsaken us! Ten games this year, and six penalty kicks allowed already. Oh, penalty gods, who have we enraged up there? What can we do to make it better?
Today, the penalty gods struck once again, but this time, Luis Robles came up huge, stopping Blas Perez's shot and leading Metro to a 1:0 win over ten-man Dallas. The home team played with ten men for most of the game after Je-Vaughn Watson was ejected in the 10th minute. The Dallas midfielder got a justified red card for attempting to ruin Tim Cahill's manhood with his studs.
Cahill was the only change from last week's lineup, stepping in for Peguy Luyindula. The Australian had an uncharacteristically rough game, and not just because of his brush with Vaughn. He was also at fault for the penalty kick in the 59th minute.
With Kosuke Kimura possibly fouled in midfield, Dallas went the other way along the empty right side. Cahill's attempt to track back resulted in him taking down Danny Garcia in a penalty area. Of all the bad calls we got this year, this was not one of them. Thankfully, Robles broke his dry streak (how often has he guessed right only to miss the ball by inches!) by parrying Perez's kick over the bar. The Metro goalkeeper was terrific once again, earning his second shutout of the season with confidence and poise that now seems expected.
The lone goal came in the 71st. Dax McCarty sent a terrific through ball from Metro's side of the field that ended up with Thierry Henry. The French ubermensch took it on the bounce into the penalty area. There, he had a chance to shoot, but instead chose to pass it off to the trailing Bradley Wright-Phillips. The Englishman did not disappoint, scoring his fifth goal in three games.
And that was all Metro needed. In all honesty, things could have been a little easier, considering they were up a man for a good 80 minutes. That being said, a a win and a win, even if Metro can't do anything to please the penalty gods.
At least the red card gods were on our side today...
Lineup: Robles, Miller, Olave, Armando, Kimura, McCarty, Alexander, Cahill, Sam, Wright-Phillips, Henry. Subs: Luyindula, Steele, Sekagya.
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