The New England Revolution missed a succession of chances to put the game away and were punished for their profligacy as the Kansas City Wizards came back to claim a 1-1 draw on Saturday evening at Gillette Stadium.
Clint Dempsey put the Revs ahead in the first half, but after good chances were squandered by Andy Dorman, Jay Heaps and Khano Smith, Scott Sealy capitalized on a moment of confusion in the home defense to secure a point for the Wizards and boost their playoff hopes.
A slow start to the game was marked by each team seeking to gain a physical advantage. In the third minute, Revs captain Joe Franchino was booked for a high arm on Davy Arnaud. Not to be outdone, Wizards' skipper Nick Garcia also saw Michael Kennedy's yellow card nine minutes later after he hauled back Dempsey.
New England had gone close in the 12th minute through Dorman, who got his feet caught up at the vital moment with only Bo Oshoniyi to beat.
The Revolution then took the lead in the 17th when Dempsey started and finished a move that also involved Steve Ralston and Andy Dorman. The Texan picked out Ralston on the wing and the veteran's teasing cross was flicked towards goal by Dorman.
Oshoniyi, who looked unsighted, could only parry the effort straight back out and Dempsey took advantage, rising above the high feet of Jose Burciaga Jr. to head in off the underside of the crossbar for his seventh goal of the season. The ball crossed the line before popping out of the goal, but there was no doubt that it had crossed.
One minute later, a fine last-ditch block from Shavar Thomas was all that prevented the Revs doubling their lead. Though he was nominally positioned as Twellman's partner at forward, Dempsey had license to roam and used that freedom to good effect when he found Ralston cutting inside Burciaga. The subsequent cross picked out Dorman, whose goalbound effort was blocked by the sliding Thomas.
The Revolution went close again eight minutes before the break when Jeff Larentowicz hit a shot from 25 yards that went inches over Oshoniyi's bar.
Meanwhile, the Wizards had little to offer in their own offensive end in the opening half, as the home backline, with Avery John in particular, looked sharp in its handling of Josh Wolff and Sealy.
However, the calm in the Revs defense was to be rudely interrupted 13 minutes into the second half. Four minutes after he had blazed over from three yards from a Dorman corner that was deflected to him in front of goal, Heaps failed to push out following Ryan Raybould's left-wing cross. That allowed the onside Sealy to cut inside John onto Sasha Victorine's header and take a touch before firing past Matt Reis for his eighth goal of the season.
The leveler spurred Kansas City on and the caution of the visitors over the opening half was forgotten as the Wizards went in search of the lead.
The previously quiet Davy Arnaud was thwarted by a fine covering challenge in the 68th minute by Michael Parkhurst, following a scything run from midway inside the Revs' half that took him past three defenders. Seconds later, Reis flapped at a corner and was relieved the see the off-balance Wolff hook over from six yards.
The Revs attempted to wrestle back control through the introduction of Smith and Jose Cancela from the bench and the move did reinvigorate a home attack that had fallen silent. Smith's was the more telling contribution, as the Bermuda international's direct style saw him cause problems to the Kansas City defense. Indeed, it was from one such burst that New England should have regained the lead.
Following a long clearance from the Revolution back, Smith managed to touch the ball beyond Thomas to break through on Oshoniyi's goal. However, despite Twellman being unmarked at the far post, the Bermudan opted to shoot and fired across goal and wide.
The Revs ended the game again on the attack, but with the clearance of their fifth corner of the evening came the final whistle, meaning they will have to wait a little longer to secure a playoff spot, while in combination with New York's loss in D.C., the Wizards now have a two-point cushion for the fourth and final spot in the East.
Andrew Hush is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
