Veteran fullback Chris Albright, who is recovering from knee surgery, played the opening 45 minutes against Rutgers

Metro beat college side Rutgers 5-0 in a scrimmage today, playing a team made up predominantly of reserves.  Rookies Irving Garcia and Conor Chinn both scored braces, and right back Chris Albright made his return from a long-term injury.

Since MLS scrapped the reserve league a couple years ago, chances for backup players have largely been limited to US Open Cup appearances and spot substitutions off the bench.  In an effort to aid the development of it's younger players, as well as maintain fitness amongst the squad, Red Bull has arranged multiple friendlies throughout the season to act as reserve games.  This is an excellent idea, as scrimmages of these sort prove highly useful for the continued development of rookie and younger players, as well as an opportunity for players returning from injury to return to fitness and work off rust.  These games should also prove useful when New York begins playing Open Cup games, which usually feature a number of reserve players.  Hopefully the team keeps it up throughout the season.

New York lined up with what was clearly a second eleven, starting Greg Sutton in goal and fielding a back line of Chris Albright, Andrew Boyens, Carlos Mendes, and Danleigh Borman.  The midfield was comprised of Juan Agudelo, Tony Tchani, Luke Sassano, and Irving Garcia.  John Wolyniec and rookie Conor Chinn started up top.  Everyone involved played for 90 minutes except for Albright, who was replaced by Hall at half time.  Albright is recovering from injury and this has been his first appearance for New York.

Metro deposed Rutgers with ease, winning 5-0.  Chinn and Garcia both scored two goals, and Danleigh Borman tallied on a free kick.  Borman was the man of the match, covering serious ground and picking up a nice goal.  Chinn continues to do well in friendly games, and looks to have passed John Wolyniec on the forward depth chart.  Tony Tchani and Juan Agudelo both showed promise but appear to be raw, longer term projects.  The back line was rarely tested.

This was New York's second reserve game of the year, after having beaten Army 3-1 in West Point last week.  There is another friendly arranged for next week against St. Johns.

Health of Hans
In other news, coach Hans Backe had his gallbladder removed on Monday night after being diagnosed with cholecystitis.  The surgery was successful and Backe is making his recovery, although he probably won't be with the team for a couple weeks.  In the meantime, assistant coaches Richie Williams and Goran Aral will run the team, with help from general manager Erik Soler and goalkeeping coach Des McAleenan.  If the game against Seattle was any indication, Richie Williams will likely be heading up the coaching staff and making decisions during games in Backe's absence.

Dave Braneck is a blogger and an all around soccer fan who represents North Jersey to the fullest and contributes to Dailyharrison.com

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