0:0 New York Nashville 03.04.23 · League

Stop of if you heard this one. Metro does not allow a single shot on goal from the run of play, but fails to score, dropping points in a game where they were clearly the better team. Oh, right. That was last week. Well, it happened again, this time in the home opener, this time against Nashville. At least, this time it wasn't a loss, as Metro got their first points of a season in a 0:0 draw.

Gerhard Struber elected to go with the same lineup as the opener, which once again proved to work... defensively, but not offensively. An early review on a supposed foul in the box by old pal Dax McCarty did not result in a call. Dax created havoc on the other side as well, barely missing the net off a corner kick. Metro's best chance of the half came when a Lewis Morgan cross into the box was cleared after Tom Barlow crashed into goalkeeper Joe Willis. The ball fell to an unmarked John Tolkin, with what looked to be a wide open net... only for him to hit it at the goalkeeper.

Morgan, carrying a knock from the opener, was replaced at the half, with Kyle Duncan getting his first minutes of the season. The insertion of Cory Burke for Barlow brought some spark, but not much cohesion. Elias Manoel got past his defender with a nice touch, only to hit the ball straight at Willis from an acute angle. He was replaced by Dante Vanzeir, but the Belgian (oh, we're putting so much hope on the Belgian!) was clearly not match fit. He did win a free kick close to the Nashville box, but, just like all of Metro's other set pieces, that one was easily cleared.

So, after two games, Metro has still not allowed a shot on goal from the run of play. Terrific! But, after two games, they are sitting on one point with a big bagel in the goals scored column. How long will it take Vanzeir to round into form?

Lineup: Coronel, Tolkin, Nealis, Reyes, Harper, Amaya, Casseres, Morgan, Luquinhas, Barlow, Manoel. Subs: Duncan, Burke, Vanzeir, Fernandez.