Guts, Take Two

Merci, Youri. (AP)
Originally uploaded by mr fish.

Even if they miss the 2005 postseason, the MetroStars have shown more guts over the last two matches than they’ve shown in the previous twenty. Last week, the team held off KC on the road while playing a man down for the final 35 minutes. On Saturday, the team took three vital points in a thrilling 5-4 win against Supporter’s Shield contender New England. The stars of the Metro played huge, like French World Cup hero Youri Djorkaeff who all but willed the team to victory with two goals and an assist, including the game winning blast in the 86th minute against a poorly-positioned Matt Reis. Mike Magee played his best game of the year, scoring two goals, none bigger than the 76th minute-strike that evened the match at four. Magee took a picture-perfect pass from Michael Bradley & put one past Reis just two minutes after Taylor Twellman had put the Revs ahead. Twellman's goal had seemingly shifted all the momentum to New England. Amado Guevara had a goal and an assist, and Ante Razov added three assists in a night that made one proud to be a Metro fan and an MLS fan. If you haven’t seen the highlights, you owe it to yourself to check them out. The best part… the two teams go at it again this Saturday at the Big Razor. The night would have been perfect for the Metro if Columbus could have held Chicago to a draw, and LA could have defeated KC, but the fantastic win vs. New England will be enough for one week. Saturday’s match will surely go down as one of the best in Metro history. It’s no consolation that the Metro sits in 6th place in an MLS single table, and that the team would sit in 2nd place in the Western Conference, but c’est la vie.

The current Eastern Conference picture:
Team, Pts, GD, Matches remaining (H/A), Most Possible Points
1. New England 51, +18, (3/2), 66
2. DC United 47, +17, (2/2), 59
3. Chicago 45, +2 (2/3), 60
4. Kansas City 43, +10, (2/2), 55
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MetroStars 40, +5, (1/4), 55
Columbus 30, -11 (2/4) 48

Matches this week:
Wed 9/21: NE vs. CMB, SJ vs. CHI
Thu 9/22: U. Catolica vs. DCU in the Copa Sudamericana
Sat 9/24: NE vs. MET, LA vs. KC, CMB @ RSL