2:2 New York DC United Manoel Harper Stroud Santos 06.29.24 · League

Metro was down a goal early, but all was not lost. An early red card to a DC player meant Metro would have man advantage for at least 70 minutes. Surely, the tables can be turned?

It wasn't a full turn at the end, as Metro had to come back twice to scrape out a 2:2 draw. The decision to sell Frankie Amaya with no replacement on the roster proved costly immediately.

Of course, having Daniel Edelman miss the game with yellow card accumulation didn't help either, as Sandro Schwarz was forced to start Ronald Donkor and Wiki Carmona in defensive midfield. DC took advantage immediately, slicing through the once-vaunted Metro midfield and converting (Who else! Jared Stroud!) in the sixth minute.

A second yellow to Cristian Dajome in the 20th gave Metro a bolt. It took them just four minutes to a earn a penalty kick that Elias Manoel converted to tie the game. Alas, deep into first half injury time, Donkor fouled just outside the box, and the Scum curved a free kick over the wall and past Ryan Meara. It will be the last time DC would threaten for the entire game.

A visible upset Schwarz raved on the sidelines, as Metro could do little to break through DC's defense, even with Lewis Morgan coming in at the break. A quarter hour after the break, Schwarz saw enough, making a triple sub by removing his two starting forward and Donkor. Dylan Nealis stepped into defensive midfield, Kyle Duncan took over on the right... and the game changed.

Suddenly, Metro had someone who could direct the play, and somehow who could threaten on the flank. No, it wasn't perfect, but it paid off in the 77th minute. Cameron Harper got the ball at the center of the field, swung it to Duncan on the right, then immediately received it back and pierced the net from the center of the box.

And that was it. Metro tried their best the rest of the way, but the only open floodgates were in the sky, not on the field. At the end, a disappointing tie that somehow could have been much worse...

You're signing a quality defensive midfielder, right, Red Bull?

Lineup: Meara, Tolkin, Nealis, Eile, Nealis, Donkor, Carmona, Harper, Gjengaar, Manoel, Vanzeir. Subs: Morgan, Duncan, Hall, Burke, Forsberg.