EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) Steve Ralston and Josh Keller
scored late goals to give the Tampa Bay Mutiny a 3-1 victory over
the New York-New Jersey MetroStars on Saturday.
| |
MetroStars forward Alex Comas, left, takes a shot past the Mutiny's Steve Ralston in the first half. |
The Mutiny (2-1), who played with a man advantage for the final
61 minutes, tied it in the 74th minute on Ralston's goal and won it
four minutes later on Keller's goal.
Carlos Valderrama set up the tying goal with a crossing pass from
the left side of the box. Mamadou Diallo headed Valderrama's cross
to the right side, where Ralston blasted the ball between
goalkeeper Tim Howard and the near post.
Keller's scored on a close-shot shot after passes by John
Maessner and Diallo.
Diallo received a red card in the 89th minute for punching
MetroStars defender Steve Jolley. But the home team was unable to
capitalize and Tampa got an insurance goal from Ali Curtis in the
90th minute.
The MetroStars (1-1-1) dominated the first half, outshooting the
Mutiny 13-7. But it still took New York-New Jersey more than 37
minutes to score the first goal.
Alex Comas, who had six first-half shots, got it when he worked
a give-and-go with Tab Ramos. Ramos' return pass put Comas through,
and he simply overpowered goalkeeper Scott Garlick with his
close-range shot. It was the first goal of the season for Comas and
the first assist for Ramos.
The MetroStars received a setback midway through the first half
when midfielder Pedro Alvarez was given his second yellow card and
was ejected from the match for a tackle on Valderama in the 29th
minute.