Metro sleeps through first half, still destroys DC, 4:1
May 28, 2022
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Luquinhas 2
Morgan
Alfaro(OG)
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Kamara
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The monkey finally is off Metro's back, but for a while, it sure was clinging on for dear life. After a despicable first half, Metro woke up after the break, tearing into DC, 4:1. Luquinhas score twice, including a marvelous strike, with Lewis Morgan adding a glorious tally of his own.
Despite for the third time in seven days, Gerhard Struber barely rotated... and it supposedly showed. The first half was a complete borefest. DC's entire strategy was to foul Metro in midfield, and it absolutely worked. And since the Scum rarely attempted anything offensive on their own, teams entered the break scoreless after a dreadful, uneventful affair.
And then, something changed. Struber realized that he didn't need five defenders against such a flaccid DC team, and put on Omir Fernandez for Aaron Long. After DC actually had some decent offensive forays early into the half, the game broke open in the 54th minute. John Tolkin stole the ball in midfield, took it to the box, and played a give-and-go with Fernandez. Tolkin's next pass was deflected to an unmarked Morgan, who shot was headed off the line by a defender. Frankie Amaya got on the ball and sent a shot through the box that Bill Hamid parried, only for the ball to drop to the penalty spot, where Luquinhas hit into the net.
Four minutes later, Cristian Casseres sent a long ball into the box that was headed back by a DC defender to the edge of the penalty area. There, an onrushing Luquinhas somehow dove, taking it out from mid-air, and sent a one-time rocket into the opposite top corner. It was an amazing goal as you've seen in a long time...
Until five minutes later, when the Scum tried to clear a corner kick, only for it to sail straight at Morgan. The Scotsman, standing outside the box, took it out of the air and blasted a shot across his body past the helpless Hamid.
It was smooth sailing from there. The Scum did get on the board in the 87th after substitute Jason Pendant fell down. It was their only shot on goal of the game. Just before injury time, Metro restored the three-goal cushion. Caden Clark sent a wonderful long ball that Tom Barlow ran onto and took into the penalty area. His shot went off the post, bounced out, off a reeling DC defender, and back into the net. Alas, it was not credited to the "Big, Strong, Fast" striker, but as an own goal.
Truly, this was a remarkable second half, especially considering how tepid it all started. Now, if Metro could only play like this for the entire 90 minutes...
Lineup: Coronel, Tolkin, Long, Nealis, Edwards, Nealis, Amaya, Casseres, Morgan, Luquinhas, Klimala. Subs: Fernandez, Clark, Yearwood, Pendant, Barlow.
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