Tricky Metro still can't get past Chicago, 3:2
August 26, 2015
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Igboananike 2
Nyarko
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Kljestan
Zubar
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Years pass, players change, stadiums get built, teams get bought and re-branded, despised opponents get hired as coaches... One thing stays constant: Metro can't win in Chicago. No matter how good New York is playing, no matter how bad Chicago seems to be, the streak goes on. It's been more than ten years, seeking that elusive win. Tonight, it was same old, same old, as Metro lost to the Fire 3:2. The lone highlight of the night was a trick play goal that got Metro even early in the second half.
Jesse Marsch, who returned to his old stomping grounds made one change, starting the resurrected Ronald Zubar for Karl Ouimette. (Did you know that he and Chris Armas played for the Fire the last time Metro won in Chicago? Moving on.)
Ten minutes in, Metro got on the board. Jeff Larentowicz wrapped up Matt Miazga on a corner kick, and a penalty was called. Sacha Kljestan coolly converted to his right.
From that point on, Chicago took over. In the 22nd minute, a bad turnover by Mike Grella at midfield led a rush the other way, with Kennedy Igboananike converting. In the 41st, a chest pass found a completely unmarked Patrick Nyarko at the penalty spot, and he put one past the dumbfounded Metro defense. (Did you know that Nyarko, Fire's longest-serving player, was drafted with a pick Metro gave up for Juan Carlos Osorio? Moving on...)
Four minutes into the second half, we saw Metro trickery. Lloyd Sam barely touched the ball on a corner kick, making it live. The Fire players seemed to be completely unaware of the fact, as Kljestan dribbled it close and centered to Zubar, whose shot found the back of the net.
The tie lasted all the way up to the 73rd minute, when another Chicago rush saw the Metro defense caught upfield. What looked to be a harmless shot by Igboananike caught the usually steady Luis Robles flat-footed, and trickled into the bottom left corner.
Well, Metro will still have a chance to win in Chicago, in the last game of the regular season. Will that match have meaning outside of streak-busting? The next two months will tell that tale...
Lineup: Robles, Wallace, Zubar, Miazga, Lade, McCarty, Martins, Kljestan, Grella, Sam, Wright-Phillips. Subs: Veron, Wright-Phillips, Zizzo.
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