Metro recovers to tie Columbus, 1:1
June 9, 2018
At the half, the score was 1:0, but it looked hopeless. Metro was absolutely atrocious; a one-goal deficit was about as good as they could have hoped. And yet, the team came firing after the break, and got the equalizer to share the points with Columbus. It definitely could have been worse...
Luis Robles finally returned in goal, and Hassan Ndam made his first league start at the expense of Aurelien Collin. Daniel Royer stepped back into the lineup for Derrick Etienne, and Alex Muyl got a rare start, as newly-minted Paraguayan Alejandro Romero Gamarra was off with his national team. Early in the game, Vincent Bezecourt pulled up injured, and was replaced by Marc Rzatkowski.
The Crew's goal came in the 26th minute. Metro's central pairing of Ndam and Aaron Long were caught ball-watching, and Gyasi Zardes easily headed the cross into the net. Columbus had numerous chances to score, hitting the woodwork twice, and having their way with the Metro midfield that was missing Romero Gamarra and Tyler Adams.
Whatever Jesse Marsch said at the half, definitely worked, as Metro came out a different team. The high press, non-existent for the first stanza, was back in force, but it was a set piece that leveled the game. In the 57th, a Rzatkowski free kick found the head of the much-maligned Muyl, and the game was level.
Dark clouds hung over the stadium for most of the second half, turning a sweltering day into a threat of a thunderstorm. The deluge never came, not from the sky, and not from the teams on the field, as Metro defended well to rescue a road point that looked lost after such a horrible first half.
Lineup: Robles, Lawrence, Long, Ndam, Lade, Davis, Bezecourt, Valot, Muyl, Royer, Wright-Phillips. Subs: Rzatkowski, Etienne, Kutler.
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