Wobbly regular season ends feebly in Montreal, 3:0
October 6, 2019
There wasn't much meaning in the regular season finale in Montreal. A playoff berth already clinched, all that was at stake was playoff seeding. Metro needed a win and a DC loss or tie to get the 4th seed and the opening round home field advantage that came with it. Instead, Metro got whacked in Montreal, 3:0, and dropped to the 6th seed after Toronto's victory. They will travel to Philadelphia for the first-ever playoff matchup between the two neighbors.
Brian White finally made his return to the starting lineup at the expense of Tom Barlow. Sean Davis returned as Marc Rzatkowski was held out with an undisclosed injury.
Montreal opened the scoring in the 23rd, off a throw in... deep in their own end. Tim Parker lost the ball at midfield, and the Impact was off to the races, Bojan Krkic converting a goalmouth cross. Kyle Duncan pulled up lame on the play, and was replaced by Michael Murillo. And Murillo reverted to his bad self in the 37th, after first he pushed down a Montreal attacker in the box. No penalty was called, but Murillo failed to clear the ball, as it was stolen by Max Urruti and slotted into the net. The third goal came in the 62nd, but, by then, it was all but trivial. No, there was not much at stake, but the effort from Metro was incredibly subpar. To call the offense lifeless would be an understatement. It was utterly, pathetically flaccid.
If you want to look at the bright side of things, the last time Metro lost its regular season finale, all the way back in 2008, they actually made MLS Cup. As unlikely as it seems now, it seemed even more unlikely then...
Oh, who are we kidding. Get ready for obvious playoff misery.
Lineup: Robles, Lawrence, Long, Parker, Duncan, Davis, Casseres, Sims, Romero Gamarra, Royer, White. Subs: Murillo, Wright-Phillips, Fernandez.
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