Marvelous Metro burns down Chicago, 4:0
October 25, 2017
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Wright-Phillips
Kljestan
Royer
Veron
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Before we get ahead of ourselves, a reminder: this was the play-in game, opening round, whatever you want to call it. By winning tonight, Metro sits in exactly the same position they were in for however many consecutive years: staring at a home-and-home in the quarterfinals. Now that we got that out of the way...
That was absolutely fantastic. Metro went to Chicago and beat down the Fire, scoring early and scoring often, winning 4:0. It was as complete a performance as we ever saw them play. And to do it on the road in the playoffs? To call it unexpected would be an understatement.
It all started just seven minutes into the game. Damien Perrinelle(!) played a fantastic looping ball into the box, where Bradley Wright-Phillips split two defenders. The Fire's awful keeper Matt Lampson came out, but failed to play the ball, and BWP tapped it in for the easiest of finishes. It was the 99th in all competitions for #99.
Four minutes later, Tyler Adams got free on the right wing, and sent a perfect low cross that Sacha Kljestan got on the end of. (If he didn't, Daniel Royer was trailing right behind.) By scoring, Kljestan became the fourth player in team history (Adolfo Valencia, John Wolyniec, BWP) to score at least one goal in league, playoff, Open Cup, and international competition.
Down 2:0 so early, the Fire didn't know what hit them, but the Metro defense kept them at bay. Luis Robles did well to keep a corner out of the net early in the second half, an then Chicago decided to throw caution into the wind, bringing in two attackers in the 70th. Immediately, Metro used the free space, with Royer laying it off to Sean Davis in the box. Davis sent it back to the Austrian, who pirouetted and scored past the hopeless Lampson.
In the 87th, Kljestan sent a beautiful ball over the head of pudgy Bastian Schweinsteiger. It set up a Gonzalo Veron chip in the 87th to make it 4:0, as Metro ran off ecstatic winners. Now, a tougher challenge awaits, a home-and-home with the juggernaut that is Toronto... We said we have been in the same position before, right?
Lineup: Robles, Perrinelle, Long, Murillo, Lawrence, Adams, Martins, Davis, Kljestan, Royer, Wright-Phillips. Subs: Veron, Muyl, Lade.
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