KANSAS CITY - The Columbus Crew nearly held out for the entire 90 minutes, but suffered their first loss of the 2007 season when defender Jose Burciaga Jr. skipped through the defense and fired home a shot from outside the penalty area in the 90th minute to give the Kansas City Wizards a 1-0 victory on Saturday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium.
The victory was the fourth in five games for the Wizards, while the Crew lost for the first time in five games this season.
Over the opening 45 minutes, there was certainly an edge to the match as it seemed to have an extra bit of intensity. Crew midfielder Ricardo Virtuoso was involved in a forceful collision with Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad after just eight minutes. The collision earned Virtuoso a yellow card, the first of four in the half. Conrad stayed in the game after treatment on the field.
Just minutes earlier Virtuoso had sent a hovering cross in the third minute, but Wizards defender Jack Jewsbury cleared the pass, which had appeared to be a solid scoring chance.
Minutes later, Wizards forward Eddie Johnson tumbled over the shoulder of Crew defender Ezra Hendrickson. No foul was called on the play, but it certainly was indicative of the aggressive nature of the match.
Another yellow card was shown in the 27th minute, when Columbus defender Frankie Hejduk committed a reckless foul, and three minutes later the Crew added a third booking, when Danny O'Rourke picked up a card for pushing and holding.
Midfielder Kerry Zavagnin picked up the Wizards' first yellow for a reckless foul in the center circle. The card was shown in the 35th minute.
The Crew weren't credited with a single shot on goal in the first half, but their defending was solid: the Wizards made crisp, accurate passes but the Crew back four was there to deflect and clear the ball away. Corner kicks were covered well and headed away.
The first half saw 16 fouls in total, 11 by Columbus. There were only two shots on goal, both by the Wizards.
Crew midfielder Eddie Gaven made a 30-yard rush at the net to open the second half. A breakdown in the Wizards defense allowed Gaven to sprint along the touchline before unloading a shot that Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman stopped in the 46th minute.
As the half progressed, both teams seemed willing to grind it out. Both were playing stout defense and seemingly waiting for an opportunity to strike. The pace of the game slowed as both teams were deliberate tactically.
Gaven made yet another break to the goal in the 71st minute, once again trying a shot from the left flank as he raced past his defender. But the shot was off the mark, harmlessly striking the outside of the net.
And once again, the Crew defense rose to the occasion. After Conrad joined the attack and set up Eddie Johnson for a shot that was deflected for a corner, the Kansas City center back stayed forward. He got on the end of the ensuing corner and beat Crew 'keeper Andy Gruenebaum with a header, but Ned Grabavoy was there to clear it off the goal line in the 75th minute.
The Crew had shut out opponents in three of five matches this season and nearly got the goal they needed. It was nearly a bit of a gift: as Hartman tried to clear the ball upfield, it struck Crew forward Jason Garey and bounded toward the goal. But Wizards defender Jack Jewsbury backtracked quickly and cleared it about three feet from the goal.
Guillermo Barros Schelotto made his MLS debut, coming onto the field in the 64th minute. He provided a boost to the Columbus attack and put two shots on goal himself, both saved by Hartman.
But just before the regulation 90 minutes came to a close, Burciaga took the ball on the right, slipped through a couple of tackles and hit a bouncing left-footed shot from just outside the penalty area that eluded Gruenebaum for the game-winner.
Thomas Foote is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
