MetroStars @ Columbus - postgame [R]

So lucky to get out of town with a point.

My vote for man of the match was the referee, whoever he was. Gave us so many calls after that penalty.

 

i agree 100% there, the ref was there; however, i feel tht he was balancedly (is that even a word) unfair to both teams cuz there were som that i shouted at my TV of how he can call one metro foul after letting a previous one go... anyways my man of the match goes to Guevara and honorable mention without a doubt goes to Mike Magee cause he never played a better match as far as his dribbling game is concerned...... i never pulled my hair out after he missed that shot in the 87th min

 

I was following the match report on MLSnet and it seemed like the Metro had the most chances in the last 60 and Columbus seems more lucky to have survived with a point. But I didn't SEE the match so...

 

Lucky to get a point.

Play got better as the game went on. However that's probably just because the Crew lost some energy.

Digi got incredibly outplayed. Martino made him his b*tch, good move by Col. to put him out on the wing. Digi looked out of place, confused, and like a chicken with his head cut off.

Howard. 2 breakaway saves, and another huge one on Cunningham. Cunningham could have had 4 goals.

Got a tie, even though we played like garbage. Good luck. Things are gonna get tougher without timmy pope + mathis. It'll be interesting to see what happens, and also interesting to see what happens when everyone gets back(can they start playing well together quickly)

 

Arena: Did just about everything he was supposed to do. I didn't think he had it in him.

 

you have a point... ill take my comment back and give man of the match honors to Howard; but honorable mention still goes to Magee i dont think any1 can deny that he never had such a good dribbing game

 

Kenny Arena!!?? Tough time to have to take the field. We're lucky it was not a blow out. Another vote for Timmy.

 

Agree on your first statement, but disagree on your second statement. Tim Howard is the reason of the draw, not the ref. Keep in mind the ref didn't call that blatant handball either, which would have given us the win.

 

You know what? Howard does so great for us game after game I forgot he was there at the end. Or perhaps our field players just plain sucked tonight it drowned out his performance.

 

Mr. Marrufo? Worst performance of a ref I've seen in MLS so far this year. Missed 2 clear PK calls (to be fair, one for each team), and let play get way too physical without booking anyone early. Also, didn't card McCarty for his strangling of Tim howard, and carded McBride for a foul that was way less severe than some that weren't even called as fouls, much less yellows.

Cunningham was MOTM, he had us beat all night, Jolley in particular. He seemed to be able to get behind the defense at will, even when he had possession of the ball. The defense was suffering even with Pope, but suffered more without him. If not for three great saves by Howard coming off his line, it would have been a blowout.

As for the Metros, here are my impressions:

Howard - 7 - couldn't do a thing about the goal, made many great saves
DiGiamarino - 3 - horrible ball distribution and stupid fouls: seems to be becoming a trend.
Pope - 5.5 - rock solid again until the injury
Arena (45) - 4.5 - one atrocious mistake that should have been a Columbus goal, otherwise decent for a guy that couldn't have expected to play this much
Jolley - 4 - too often got outrun or was out of position
Ziadie - 5 - should push forward more
Williams - 5 - didn't seem to team up as well with Clark as he has been doing recently
Clark - 5.5 - continues to impress, but relies on his footwork too much and needs to work on his passing
Guevara - 7.5 - great set piece, draws a PK, and some inspired passing once again: he'll have to carry the team through the next 2 months. MOTM for Metro.
Lisi - 5.5 - needs to get wide more, or drop back and let Ziadie move forward in the attack
Galvan (58) - 5 - seems very professional, needs more time to get in the mix.
Mathis - 7 - 5 goals in 5 games, can't argue. deserved to take the PK after working to set up the chance.
Magee - 4 - really needs to start finishing chances. was invisible the entire first half.
Wolyniec (90) - 4.5 - invisible in extra time

 

Horribly officiated match. Wouldn’t be qualified to ref an Under 8 match. Don't remember seeing him before.

It was admirable that the Metros didn’t go into a defensive shell after tying the game. Most teams will play for the tie on the road, but it was great to see them pushing up for a potential game-winner.

Here’s my summary:

Tim Howard (9)- Made all the big saves. Got clotheslined in OT and not even a card issued.

Amado Guevara (7.5)- His play drew the penalty kick. Almost scored on the swerving free-kick. A true field general.

Jose Galvan (7)- The complexion of the game changed when he came in. Much quicker to get rid of the ball than in his first match.

John Wolyniec (6.5)- Did well in the short time he was in there. Showed how to get revenge without the ref seeing it. The McCarthy trip was a definite red card. Most players let their tempers get the best of them…..John used his brain (or perhaps his elbow).

Clint Mathis (6.5)- More involved in the 2nd half. His chip pass to Guevara created the penalty.

Eddie Pope (6.5)- Had trouble with Cunningham and McBride even before his injury.

Mike Magee (6)- Disappeared for large portions of the match, but came alive in the 2nd half. Got Faria-itis on the ball he chested down which he shanked.

Ricardo Clark (6)- Seems like he lost his dribble more in this game than ever before.

Kenny Arena (6)- How bad is Juan Forschetti if Kenny is ahead of him on the substitute list?

Joey DiGiamarino (5.5)- Settled down in the 2nd half after a shaky 1st half.

Mark Lisi (5.5)- Seems like he shriveled like a prune after receiving the yellow card.

Steve Jolley (4)- Lucky the ref didn’t call a penalty kick on the Cunningham trip and when he grabbed his shirt in the first half. Usually does well against speedy players but not tonight.

Craig Ziadie (4)- Clearly his worst match of the season. He got turned around on Cunningam’s goal.

By the way, was this the first time Johnnie Walker has sponsored a MetroStar match? Seemed like JP mentioned them every 5 minutes. Perhaps a hint of our keeper replacement?

 

It's funny, I didn't know what rating to give him, I hardly noticed him at all tonight.

 

I have two things that i want to say, and i do not mean to change the subject:

a. I swear Shep Messing is turning into y Keough; Shep was terrible!!! was he even watching the same game as we were??? one thing that pissed me off about him is when mcbride got the yellow for clipping galvan i think it was and Messing said "o mcbride barely touched him and doesnt deserve the yellow" when the replay was just as brutal as the real fould that got him the card.

b. I take my hat off to Preki who scored 2 goals to help KC tie down 0-2 in the first half against NE; NE was held off the full 3 pts when the metros got only one

 

Metros were lucky to get a point. In my opinion, Jolley should've been sent off for tucking Cunningham's jersey (last man), and Magee's jersey was also pulled, and that deserved a call. When Lisi got a yellow, a Columbus player deserved one as well (I think it was Hejduk). The referee was not upto par at all, if you guys take all those incidents into account. Sry Lol
Clark was awful for a good portion of the match.
Overall the Metros were sloppy. I mean they didn't get much offense going anyways, but at least they could've tried to be solid defensively. A quick and skilled player like Cunningham shouldn't be given as much room as he had on his goal. The best way to mark a player like that, is give yourself a couple of steps back, since he's got quick feet--if he notices you stutter-steppin', you're done. Happened to Jolley a couple of times.

 

That ref must have come right from the WWE.

He gives McBride a yellow for a tap on Gavan
Misses a blatant shirt tug in the box
Doesn't call the clothesline on Howard
Doesn't call the PK for Jolleys take down on Cunningham
Too many others to list...

 

The first half was dreadful. The second half was a little better. I would like to see Wolnyacacacac in a little earlier to force a reaction by the opposing team (not a big fan of his, but he gets it done). I thought Digi was horrible. Clark is great, but needs to drop off the ball earlier. It was great when Guevera was subbed in at half time (;-)).

Columbus is a great squad with amazing depth up front. Too bad they can't beat us.

McCarthy is a thug. I am never happy to see an injury, but couldn't help smiling when he came up bloody.

 

Could you imagine if that imbecile McCarty would have seriously injured Howard?

"Hey Chad you got a check for $3 million you can send to Uncle Phil?"

Also, I'm sure Tim would have been pleased to be denied a chance to play for ManU for a million plus a year, due to the antics of Captain Hacktastic.

What kind of blind bastard keeps his cards in his pockets there? That one was all red.

 

Mike McGee is gonna be a force in couple years.

 

the referee was definetly not at his best tonight. THat guy who practically choked tim howard late into the game should have bin slapped and sent off.

Mcgee should have scored but he was good too. Late to recover and a few missed chances but i'am satisfied with the result.

 

Chad McCartey

He was the same guy who Wolyniec clocked with an elbow-- after W was himself clattered with a really nasty and possibly ejection-worthy foul.

 

That was a surprise he did pretty well. His passing wasn't bad either.

 

McCarty should punished, in part because of what he did to Howard, and in part because the league needs to prevent players (ahem, Wolnyiec) from thinking that they need to enforce the rules. Elbows can cause serious damage, and should not be thrown, as Tab Ramos can attest.

As for the game, the Metros looked lost offensively for most of it. The amazing thing about Mathis is that even when the team plays like crap, he can still earn points.