Metro falls asleep in a 1:0 loss to Montreal
June 3, 2017
All it took was one moment. One lapse, concentration lost, bang, bang, goal, 1:0 Montreal. Game over. But it goes a tad beyond that...
The moment came in the 67th minute. A Metro foul in their half of the field led to a quick restart. Metro did not expect it; it looked like the entire defense nodded off. Montreal quickly moved the ball upfield, and Blerim Dzemaili slotted it in. It was the only goal of the game.
That's where the problem lies: it was the only goal of the game. Metro hasn't scored on the road in over two months; it's their sixth straight loss away from Red Bull Arena. And while they started lively, with Bradley Wright-Phillips' one timer off a Michael Murillo cross being saved five minutes into the match, they ended with just three shots on goal for the game. Same old, same old.
It could have been worse; Montreal had a first-half goal called back when three players were caught passively offside in front of Luis Robles. The Metro goalkeeper himself made two huge saves, including one on a long-range shot by former teammate Ambroise Oyongo.
A few weeks ago, Jesse Marsch made a point that this team could sacrifice regular season games in order to succeed in the playoffs. Well, Jesse, making the playoffs is not a given. If a team can't get points on the road, it won't make the playoffs. If the team can't create shots on goals, it won't make the playoffs. If the team still can't figure out how to break down a counter-attacking team... well, we've been through that before.
That's the problem, we've been through that before. So was it one lapse this week or multiple lapses in previous ones, this is not a team that looks that it can compete for the MLS title.
Game over?
Lineup: Robles, Lawrence, Long, Perrinelle, Murillo, Martins, Davis, Kljestan, Grella, Royer, Wright-Phillips. Subs: Muyl, Gulbrandsen, Veron.
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