4:5 New York Chicago Cahill Wright-Phillips 3 Shipp 3 Amarikwa Nyarko 05.10.14 · League

Every few years, we get one of these wild games, where anything and everything happens. Goalies on both sides pick the balls out of the net, crazy shots go in, and the team who wins is the one who didn't make the last mistake. This game happened tonight, and, unfortunately, Metro was on the losing end. A horrific collapse saw them give up four goals early in the second half, and a furious comeback attempt fell short, as they lost to Chicago, 5:4.

The scoring was opened just four minutes in, with blind referee Kevin Stott gifting one to Chicago. Harry Shipp took the shot from outside the box, and Mike Magee (still, always whining) was caught in a clearly offside position in front of Luis Robles. The ball went in; it should have not counted because Magee interfered with the play. In fact, the assistant referee raised the flag. Nonetheless, Stott signaled a goal. The lead didn't last long, as Metro tied it just after two minutes. An Eric Alexander cross found the head of Tim Cahill, who slammed home his first of the year.

The 39th minute saw some Titi Henry magic that we've come to expect. Taking the ball at midfield, the French ubermensch blew by the stumped Jhon Hurtado, and passed it off to Bradley Wright-Phillips. The Englishman nailed another one in, and Metro went into halftime with a 2:1 lead.

That lead quickly evaporated. First, Kosuke Kimura was beaten on a header by Quincy Amarikwa, and Robles ventured too far out of the net to make a save. Then, Armando thought he was fouled, and decided to stay on the ground as Shipp sent one through Jamison Olave's legs and into the far corner. Then, an idiotic giveaway from Kimura let Shipp walk in on goal and record a hat-trick. Then (yes, another then!) a miss-hit cross from Patrick Nyarko miraculously found its way into the top corner of the net. All that in a span of 15 minutes. That was pretty terrible.

Now with nothing to lose, Metro threw everything the other way. Kimura was taken off, as the team went with three defenders, with Olave masquerading as an attacking right back. It paid off almost immediately. In the 67th, sub Jonny Steele sent a cross into the box that bounced off Lloyd Sam and fell to Wright-Phillips, who sent a rocket that made it 5:3. Then, in the 78th, Henry was brought down in the box by the horrid Hurtado. Wright-Phillips completed his hat-trick from the spot to get Metro within one.

Alas, that was all she wrote. Soon after the penalty, Wright-Phillips set up Henry, but the usually terrible Sean Johnson finally made a save. Metro had a number of corner kicks the rest of the way, but failed to put one on target. Five minutes into injury time, Wright-Phillips sent an acrobatic shot on net, but it was swarmed by Johnson.

Well, it was one of those games... Let's hope the next time that happens, we're on the winning side.

Lineup: Robles, Miller, Olave, Armando, Kimura, McCarty, Alexander, Cahill, Sam, Wright-Phillips, Henry. Subs: Steele, Luyindula.