Metro closes out RFK with win over Scum, 2:1
October 22, 2017
There are important regular season finales: playoff clinchers, Supporters Shield wins, even games that determine playoff seeding. This was not one of them. Jesse Marsch chose to field a second choice lineup with a shortened bench (Sacha Kljestan and Bradley Wright-Phillips didn't dress, and Felipe didn't play!). The game ended 2:1, but that was irrelevant.
What was relevant was the results in the other matches that determined Metro's first round opponent. Atlanta - Toronto and Columbus - Hartford both ended 2:2, so even with Chicago losing 2:0 to Houston, the Fire stayed in the third slot, meaning Metro will face old pal Dax McCarty in the winner-take all playoff opener.
As for the game, DC took a lead with a late first-half goal, with Metro tying the match in the 68th minute. It came from two give-and-goes between Michael Murillo and Muhamed Keita, with the Ghanaian back-heeling and the Panamanian finishing with a pretty short chip. DC went down to ten with a straight red to Luciano Acosta two minutes later. In the 75th, Gonzalo Veron finished from close range off a pass from Alex Muyl. Soon after, Veron missed a penalty kick, but, like the rest of this game, that proved irrelevant.
Bring on Chicago!
Lineup: Robles, Lawrence, Escobar, Murillo, Zizzo, Muyl, Bezecourt, Duka, Etienne, Keita, Veron. Subs: Lade, Adams, Davis.
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