Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
By RODNEY PAGE
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 17, 2000
TAMPA -- Mamadou Diallo proved Wednesday night he can beat you and he can beat you up.
Diallo scored three goals for the first time in his Major League Soccer career and took out goalkeeper Mike Ammann in a first-half collision as the Mutiny overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat New York/New Jersey 4-3 in the second overtime period in front of 5,133 at Raymond James Stadium.
Diallo, who had the winner, has 22 goals, tops in MLS, and he is the fifth MLS player to crack 20 goals. Steve Ralston also scored in the second half, a goal that briefly gave Tampa Bay a one-goal lead.
The Mutiny (15-10-2) is six points ahead of second-place Chicago in the Central Division with five games remaining and has the most wins in MLS.
The Mutiny won for the first time after trailing 2-0.
Though Diallo should have been celebrating, he spent most of his time worried about Ammann.
In the 29th minute, with New York/New Jersey up 1-0, Diallo sprinted for a loose ball in the 18-yard box. Ammann dove for the ball feet first 10 yards from goal and had his head up. Diallo inadvertently hit him in the face with his cleats and banged against his ribs with his left shin.
Ammann was carted off the field and taken to St. Joseph's Hospital. He had three broken ribs, a bruised jaw, and air and blood in his abdomen. He was kept overnight for observation.
"I am so, so sorry about that," Diallo said. "I think the referee had something to do with that because the first goal was offsides. All of the players were very mad. At the time, I was ready to kick the ball when he came in. I want to talk to Mike and tell him how bad I feel. I can't really feel good about the goals because of what happened."
The MetroStars' first goal came in the 21st minute, but forward Alex Comas appeared to be offside.
New York/New Jersey's Ramiro Corrales sent a pass 35 yards from the goal to Comas. Comas looked to be offside, and the Mutiny defense, including goalkeeper Scott Garlick, slowed anticipating the linesman's flag. There was no flag, and Comas' shot from 15 yards ticked off Garlick's hand and trickled into the goal.
Play was halted for eight minutes after the Ammann-Diallo collision. Ammann was replaced by Tim Howard, and minutes later the MetroStars extended their lead to 2-0. In the 43rd minute, Adolfo Valencia scored from five yards after a deft pass by Comas split two defenders.
But a minute later, Diallo scored. Ralston launched a corner kick from the left side to Steve Trittschuh, who headed the ball to the right side of the goal. Diallo was unmarked from three yards and headed the ball into the net.
"We talked at halftime about gaining control," Mutiny coach Tim Hankinson said. "We had to gain control of our emotions and of the game. We could either lose control or go out and take control, which is what we did."
Diallo tied the score in the 61st minute on a pass from Eric Quill. In the 69th minute, defender Thomas Dooley tripped over the ball and lost control in the MetroStars half. Josh Keller swooped in and fed Ralston, and Ralston scored from 10 yards to make it 3-2.
New York/New Jersey tied it in the 85th minute, which set up Diallo's overtime heroics.
Ralston passed to Manny Lagos, who passed the ball back just outside the 18-yard box. Ralston found Diallo unmarked in front of the net, and Diallo knocked it in from two yards. It was the Mutiny's first overtime win in three tries.
"When you're up 2-0, it's the worst lead to have," Mutiny midfielder Ritchie Kotschau said. "All we could do was push up. Before you know it, we're up 3-2. It's a great win for us."