Metro castrates Scum, wins series
November 8, 2015
Let's be honest: we all wanted to play DC. As the season was winding down, they looked like a wounded, toothless animal. But it was much more than that: DC, Scum, the arch-nemesis that thwarted Metro for close to two decades. Last year's playoff triumph was beyond special. Beating them for the second straight season would be ever so sweet.
We got what we wanted, and so sweet at was. Heading into the home leg with a slim one-goal advantage, Metro played an almost flawless defensive game. A late winner from Bradley Wright-Phillips made the series academic: 1:0 today, 2:0 on aggregate. Those two goals? They match DC's total shots on goal through these two games.
So, no, tonight was far from perfect. Metro was sloppy offensively, but the defense stepped it up a notch. Yes, this includes Ronald Zubar, whose first touch seems to be weighed down with lead. Metro gave DC attackers nothing, as the central midfield tandem of Dax McCarty and Felipe Martins controlled the entire match.
On the offensive end, Metro's best two chances came from set pieces. Mike Grella hit the woodwork early off a clever corner kick. In the second half, Zubar's feet failed him, as the wide-open Frenchman skied a Sacha Kljestan free kick high into the Harrison sky. The goal didn't come until two minutes into injury time. Gonzalo Veron fooled the defender on the right wing, and centered it into the box. There, BWP rounded Bill Hamid and slotted into the open net.
So now, for just the fourth time in club history, the semifinals await. It doesn't matter what we want in this one; all it matters is that it ends as sweet...
Lineup: Robles, Lawrence, Zubar, Miazga, Zizzo, McCarty, Martins, Kljestan, Grella, Sam, Wright-Phillips. Subs: Wright-Phillips, Veron.
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