Open Cup win, Barlow assist open Lesesne era
May 9, 2023
What will we remember from Troy Lesesne's first game in charge? Will it be Metro's dominance over a secondary DC side? A head-scratching one-center-back formation used for a part of the second half? Amos Shapiro-Thompson becoming the longest last name in team history? Metro actually scoring a goal and earning a shutout?
No, no, no, no, and no. Tom Barlow got an assist.
Yes, Tom Barlow! The man who has somehow not tallied an assist in 108 games in all competitions prior to tonight. He got an assist... and what an assist! Apparently, Lesesne had him play much wider than we are accustomed to, and he actually delivered a couple of solid crosses. One of them was met by Omir Fernandez in the 28th minute for the only goal of the game.
DC, using mostly backups, could really not produce much offensively, despite Metro's makeshift defense. Sean Nealis was suspended due to LAST YEAR'S yellow card accumulation. Then, Andres Reyes and Cameron Harper were taken off at halftime, which, for a while, left the defense with John Tolkin on the left, Hassan Ndam in the middle, and Daniel Edelman at right back(!). The feeble Scum couldn't even penetrate that.
Metro could have scored more, which has obviously been the story all year, but tonight, they didn't need to. Draft pick Shapiro-Thompson, called up from reserves today, made his debut late in the match and helped Metro see the game through to move into the Round of 16. No, it wasn't earth-shattering, but it was a goal... and a win.
And a Barlow assist!!!
Lineup: Meara, Tolkin, Ndam, Reyes, Harper, Edelman, Yearwood, Stroud, Casseres, Fernandez, Barlow. Subs: Carmona, Burke, Nealis, Shapiro-Thompson, Manoel.
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