Metro drops below the line as streaks end in DC, 1:0
October 27, 2021
All good things come to an end. Eight games without a loss? Gone. Four straight road wins? Gone. Eleven straight years in the playoffs? We'll see?
The narrative coming into DC was simple: if Metro was to beat the Scum and then Montreal later this week, the playoffs would be clinched regardless what happens in the last two games. So the incentive was clearly there, but the competence wasn't. Instead, we saw a disjointed, feeble effort, and an inept performance reminiscent of dreadful midsummer days. The 1:0 loss dropped Metro below the playoff line.
The lone goal came in the ninth minute. After Fabio flubbed a numerical advantage, the Scum went the other way, with a through ball getting behind the Metro defense. There was potential offside on the play that VAR decided to ignore, as the ball was crossed from the right side to the penalty area, eventually ending up in the Metro net.
But that was only the ninth minute, and Metro, despite living off it's goal-a-game quota, hasn't been shutout in ages! Well, that was another streak that was about to be snapped, as the supposed partnership of Fabio and Patryk Klimala continued to prove to be subpar. For instance, midway through the first half, the Brazilian got a clear look at a wide-open header, only to be pushed off the ball by a much shorter defender.
As bad as Fabio and Klimala were, the ineptitude worsened when they were taken off. Now, getting the ball into the box became an impossibility. Youba Diarra, inserted for Dru Yearwood in a misguided attempt to change up the midfield, failed miserably, telegraphing every forward pass. And Tom Barlow... well, let's not talk about Tom Barlow, but raise the question of how deep in the hole has Caden Clark fallen if he can't even get minutes when the team is desperate for a goal?
So, about that playoff streak... it will obviously no longer be that simple, as a victory against Montreal becomes imperative. Which Metro team will show up? We'll see...
Lineup: Coronel, Gutman, Nealis, Reyes, Edwards, Duncan, Davis, Yearwood, Casseres, Fabio, Klimala. Subs: Carmona, Monzon, Royer, Diarra, Barlow.
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