Nashville 0-2 El Paso
April 27, 1997 — Ezell Park (Nashville, Tenn.)
Scoring Summary
EP — Omar Dolombo (38′)
EP — Ricci Greenwood (43′)
Metros: One goal in mind
(Nashville Tennessean, 04.28.97)
By Harold Huggins
The offense is still in hibernation for the Nashville Metros.
The Metros lost a 2-0 A-League decision yesterday to visiting El Paso, and even though they still have a 2-1 record, concerns are growing about the lack of goals.
Through three games, the Metros have still not scored in regulation, although shootout goals gave them 1-0 wins in their first two.
Captain Luis Berbari just missed a shot that trickled barely wide just three minutes into the game, then he was robbed early in the second half by goalie El Paso goalkeeper Fred Estrada, who racked up a shutout.
“That’s just part of soccer,” said Berbari, shaking his head. “Bad luck is a part of this sport, and we didn’t have much today. Our defense has been tremendous so far, but we’re having a hard time scoring goals. Maybe we’ve got the bad breaks out of the way.”
Metros goalie Randy Dedini, who came up with numerous outstanding saves, just as he did the first two games, was disappointed with his team’s first-half performance.
“Some of our guys did not come out prepared either physically or mentally,” he said. “Just because we played Friday, it’s no excuse for us not to be ready. We did pick it up a little in the second half. This is a slap in the face for us, and hopefully will wake us up.”
The second half proved too late after the Pats built a 2-0 halftime lead. Omar Dolombo socred with seven minutes left in the first half. After a free kick, El Paso’s Ricci Greenwood broke free from the pack, beat a defender and nudged in a goal with 1:40.
“We just gave it away, we gave them the two goals,” Metros coach Greg Petersen said. “We had too many people standing around; we’ll just have to learn from it. We have some striker and forwards due on the way, which should help us.”
Added Berbari: “I’m sure some may disagree, but maybe it was good we lost this game. Maybe it takes a game like this to shake us up and find out what we need to do.”
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