1:1 New York Philadelphia Klimala Santos 07.08.21 · League

Is there sportsmanship in sports? There wasn't one tonight, as Philly played on with John Tolkin lying injured on the ground, scoring a late goal to tie Metro 1:1. Hey, it's within the rules, so let's not make a big deal out of it?

Gerhard Struber only made one change, as a training injury to Sean Nealis meant that he was out of the lineup for the first time all year. Amro Tarek started instead.

The teams exchanged chances early. First, Carlos Coronel came off the line to stop Philly. Then, Patryk Klimala had it saved after being set up by Fabio. Late in the first half, off a Worm corner kick, Sean Davis cleared the ball off the line, and the match remained scoreless.

The game changed in the 57th minute, when Wiki Carmona jumped on a bad Philly backpass. Goalkeeper Matt Freese, beaten, wrapped Carmona in a hug, and was shown an obvious red. Klimala easily converted Metro's first penalty kick of the season.

Up a man, Metro looked to have a way with the Worms, but could never generate that final shot. Then, the defensive injury crisis continued to rear its ugly head. First, it was Tarek who had to be taken off, giving Mandela Egbo his 2001 first team-debut and leaving Metro with exactly zero healthy central defenders. Then, in the 85th, it was Tolkin, visibly hurt.

But Tolkin got hurt on the sideline, no foul was called, Philly took a throw-in, and Sergio Santos out-jumped two defenders to hit one off the post and past Coronel. And that was that.

The result is more important than sportsmanship, of course.

Lineup: Coronel, Tolkin, Tarek, Edwards, Duncan, Davis, Yearwood, Casseres, Carmona, Klimala, Fabio. Subs: Amaya, Egbo, Pendant, Barlow.