Petke Plays Hero in Home Opener
80th Minute Goal Gives Metro 1-0 Victory over Columbus in home opener at Giants Stadium

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ (Sunday, March 28, 1999) – The MetroStars of Major League Soccer opened the home portion of the 1999 MLS season with a victory over the Columbus Crew, 1-0, before 20,307 fans on a windy day at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday. With the victory the MetroStars (2-0, 4 points) move into sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time in team history.
Defender Mike Petke scored the only goal of the game on a header in the 80th minute. After Columbus midfielder Jason Farrell fouled Petke outside the penalty area, Metro midfielder Miles Joseph took the free kick and delivered a curving pass diagonally across the penalty area to the far post, where Petke leapt and headed it into the goal.
“Miles played a perfect ball,” Petke said in describing his first MLS goal of the year. “It was the most perfect ball I’ve ever seen, and I got behind (Columbus defender Thomas) Dooley and headed it down.”
Mike Ammann, the goalkeeper acquired from Kansas City in the trade that dealt Tony Meola to the Wizards, earned his first shutout as a MetroStar, and the 11th of his MLS career.
The MetroStars controlled the run of play in the first half and outshot the Crew, 14-5. Coach Bora Milutinovic’s squad varied the points of attack, and worked the ball through the middle and from the flanks with equal success.
Petke nearly put the MetroStars on the board in the 24th minute when he controlled a lob pass at the top of the 18-yard box and fired a hard shot wide of the goalpost.
Columbus turned on the pressure after the halftime interval, and outshot the MetroStars, 11-6, in the second half. Brian McBride, who led Columbus with 5 shots, took his team’s final four shots, but failed to put any on goal after the 44th minute.
The MetroStars were without the services of midfielder Tab Ramos, who missed the game with soreness in his right leg. Ramos, who assisted on both goals last week against Miami, was injured in the first half of that game by a hard tackle from Henry Gutierrez.
“I am very sorry we had to play without Ramos,” Milutinovic said about his missing captain. “But for him it was very dangerous to play today. We hope Tab will be back with us next week.”