BC Pangie

The MetroBulls took on the lowly Columbus Crew at the Meadowlands. New York opened the scoring early on through John Wolyniec who was able to beat Andy Gruenebaum rather easily. The first half some the MetroBulls with some good possession and good movement both on and off the ball. Juan Pablo Angel, formerly of Aston Villa, was playing only his second game with the MetroBulls but it was evident he was commanding the pitch.

The first half saw a Columbus team that cared. They continued pushing forward and attempted to create chances. Alejandro Moreno looked to have the best chance, however the other Columbus forward made an awful run that dragged an extra defender closer to Moreno, rather than further away. To top it off, his own teammate took the ball off of Moreno’s feet and proceeded to - it looked - trip over the ball.

Despite being down one nil at half, it looked like Columbus was still in this match. Little did anyone know how wrong that thought would be. Only six minutes into the second half and Columbus doubled their lead through a close range Clint Mathis goal. Much like their first goal, it was Juan Pablo Angel in the background setting up the goal. Angel continued to have a commanding game and got a goal of his own ten minutes later. Angel was continually pressuring the Columbus defense when they were in possession and his heckling paid off as he snaked a sloppy pass and put away his first MLS goal of his career. The MetroBulls continued to pressure and look suprisingly good, and they would score again in the final seconds of stoppage time through rookie Sal Caccavale.

The Columbus Crew didn’t look like they came to play in the second half. They were slow to move off the ball, and their offense was disorganized. New York deserved to win this match, and after watching it is truly no wonder they are sharing a position atop the league.

This game wasn’t a joy to watch. Far from it. This is not because of the lack of quality of football - I shall not comment on that - but because it was a MetroBull home game; it was played at the Meadowlands. For those of you that don’t know, the Meadowlands is the home stadium of the American football team, New York Giants. The real football match is played with both football lines and American football lines on the pitch, and it makes for an incredibly chaotic viewing. It’s amazing the players have any idea where touch is. Thankfully, this use of American football stadiums is coming to a close as more and more “soccer specific” stadiums are being built.

Attendance: 10,321