Kevin Hartman believes in the soccer credo of looking for three points at home and one point on the road, and with a bit of simple math, he put a positive spin on the Kansas City Wizards' seemingly never-ending road stretch.
"If we [had] a win today or in the next game we play on the road, then we'd have [more] points than we have road games," Hartman said. "We'll be in pretty decent shape if we get a win pretty soon. That's a good way to look at that, but we have to make CommunityAmerica Ballpark similar to what TFC has here."
Saturday's 0-0 draw at BMO Field in Toronto improves Kansas City's record to 1-3-3 in seven road games this season, good for a respectable six points away from home. All seven of those road games have come over K.C.'s last eight matches, however, and the trip to Toronto didn't bode well. Toronto FC was unbeaten in seven games at their home stadium this season, but the Wizards played a tight defensive game and ended up securing a much-needed point.
K.C. coach Curt Onalfo was proud of his team's performance, which was a far cry from their last outing, a 3-0 loss at home at Columbus.
"We were disappointed at the result last week in every aspect," Onalfo said. "We were totally outplayed by Columbus in every part of the game. The most disappointing part of that game was that we didn't win any individual battles, and I thought today we did. I thought we played well, dictated the pace of the game.
"In a very difficult place to play, on a tough surface against a very good team in front of the best fans in MLS, [we were] the better team."
The draw extends the Wizards' winless streak to seven games (0-4-3), a streak that began in another game in Toronto on April 26. K.C. lost that game 2-0 thanks to a brace from Amado Guevara, but the Honduran midfielder didn't enter Saturday's contest until the 57th minute. The insertion of Guevara, defender Jim Brennan and midfielder Maurice Edu sparked the Toronto attack, but the Wizards held steady and ended up actually creating some offensive chances of their own late in the game.
K.C. outshot Toronto 11-7 overall, with a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal. It was a positive attacking performance for a team with just 10 goals scored this season, the second-lowest total in the league.
"You know it's difficult to always pinpoint exactly why you're not scoring, but like I said today we created enough quality chances," said midfielder Kerry Zavagnin. "These weren't half-chances that we were hoping would go in. These were ones that once we get one or two hopefully they're going to keep falling for us and we're going to start getting three points instead of one."
Several of K.C.'s chances came on the counter attack, as the back line was able to halt Toronto's break and quickly get the ball upfield to forwards Claudio Lopez and Scott Sealy. Onalfo was happy that his side was able to add some attacking effort to their usual solid defensive effort.
"What I was extremely pleased with was the blue collar, roll-up-your-sleeves and fight mentality that our guys employed the whole game, and on top of that we played some pretty good soccer and created some chances," Onalfo said.
"For whatever reason we had gotten away from [consistent attacking], so we talk a lot about how we want to have an aggressive approach and try to be dangerous and I think for good portions of the game we were. But we still weren't able to put on in the back of the net, so we have to keep plugging away and make sure we get better."
The yo-yo that is the Kansas City schedule continues over the next two months. After starting with four home games and then playing six in a row on the road, the Wizards' next 12 games alternate between home and away. The Columbus and Toronto matches were the first two of these 12 quick turnarounds, but it will be a long while before the Wizards can get a chance to build momentum at home.
It's a tough challenge for a team currently in the Eastern Conference basement, but the performance against TFC is a sign that Kansas City might be ready to raise their quality of play, no matter where the game is held.
"I thought the guys put in a really great effort today," Hartman said. "I think we were very embarrassed about the effort we put in last week, so to come into Toronto, a very difficult place to play and to get a point out of here is from a lot of perspectives a very good sign."
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
