Metro escapes Cincy trash heap with a 1:0 win
October 2, 2021
As bad as Metro has been this year, it can't match the wretchedness of Cincinnati. The third-year team just fired another coach and is on its way to its third consecutive year of propping up the rest of the MLS table. Teams have been able to score on them at will, and their offense is as inept as a eunuch in a whorehouse. So, to give us an illusion of a playoff push, this should have been an easy one, right?
It was not. Despite complete domination for the entire first half and most of the second, Metro barely squeaked out 1:0 winners over the worst team in the league. Hey, it beats the scoreless dreckfest that these two teams gave us earlier this year, we give you that.
It was all Metro from the opening kickoff, but, once again, that final shot was just not there. The best chance of the first half saw a wide open Patryk Klimala overthink his shot, only to have it saved.
Gerhard Struber made three changes at the break, inserting John Tolkin, Caden Clark, and Daniel Royer for Tom Edwards, Wiki Carmona, and Frankie Amaya. The latter actually started for the first time in ages. (Perhaps Struber thought that the once-phenom could show something against his former team? He didn't.)
The one former Cincinnati player who changed the game was Andrew Gutman. In the 73rd, a perfect diagonal through ball from Cristian Casseres found the bald defender, who calmly took it into the box and beat the keeper at the far post. This was all Metro needed, because, once again, Cincinnati is hot garbage.
But that hot garbage could have gotten the result if not for the play of Sean Davis. The Metro captain, playing in his 200th game, was magnificent tonight, sniffing out everything that was sent his way. He even provided the best defensive play of the game on the one rare occasion Cincinnati got into the box.
So, with a five-game unbeaten run, do we believe yet? Not exactly. But at least we're not as bad as Cincinnati...
Lineup: Coronel, Gutman, Nealis, Reyes, Edwards, Davis, Casseres, Amaya, Carmona, Fernandez, Klimala. Subs: Royer, Clark, Tolkin, Yearwood, Barlow.
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