Four second-half goals (three by substitutes) highlighted a match featuring the return of Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman and midfielder Sasha Victorine to the town in which they started their professional careers and the return of goal-scorer Yura Movsisyan to the area in which he attended high school and college. Kansas City moved to 3-2-3 on the road this season and continued a high-scoring road pace. The Wizards now average 2.13 goals per game away from Arrowhead this season.
Kansas City and Los Angeles seemed content to feel each other out in an opening half that saw no scoring and no cards. Los Angeles generated more of the chances early and played very organized defensively to minimize the scoring chances generated by an ever-potent Kansas City attack.
The Galaxy created a chance in the 7th minute when midfielder Landon Donovan played in a low cross for Honduran international forward Carlos Pavon who was fouled 22 yards from goal. Pavon stood over the ball, apparently to ready to lay it off for former Wizards star Chris Klein. Pavon struck the ball with his right foot with no approach, however, just high of goalkeeper Kevin Hartman's net.
In the 9th minute, Klein began a chance just missed by the Galaxy. He played a ball up the right flank into space for Donovan. Donovan carried the ball up the line before lofting in a right-footed cross to the back post for midfielder Kyle Martino. Martino redirected the ball on the first touch just wide of the near post.
Kansas City's first quality scoring opportunity came in the 12th minute when Argentinean playmaker Carlos Marinelli stood over a free kick 30 yards from goal on the right wing. Marinelli swung in a left-footed cross between the Galaxy backline and goalkeeper Joe Cannon intended for Wizards captain Jimmy Conrad. Pavon, back from his striker position for the restart, dove to head the ball clear before Conrad, just off the plane from Venezuela and United States National Team duty, could get a touch to the ball.
Martino took his turn as playmaker for the Galaxy in the 15th minute, making a nifty move around a defender in the left corner before firing a left-footed cross in Pavon's direction. Pavon dove to head the ball on a line a foot wide of the near post.
Former Galaxy goalkeeper Hartman made his presence known in a big way in the 24th minute as he stopped the only shot on goal of the first half. Newly acquired midfielder Kelly Gray collected a loose ball in midfield and carried it more than 30 yards before lining up a low, right-footed shot from near the top of the penalty area. Gray's shot had the right amount of pace and was knuckling as it approached the goal, but Hartman sprawled to his right to parry the ball clear and deny the opportunity.
In the 35th minute, Marinelli took the initiative, dancing around a pair of Galaxy defenders before lining up a shot from 35 yards out. The left-footed effort came off his boot incorrectly, however, and sailed wide left of Cannon's goal.
Both teams made occasional forays into the attacking third of the field for the remainder of the half, but the final pass never connected and the game was 0-0 at halftime.
As much as the first half was a defensive affair, the second half was an equally offensive period.
Kansas City opened the scoring just two minutes into the second half with a goal from substitute forward Yura Movsisyan, who was making his homecoming. Forward Ryan Pore one-touched the ball square for right back Jack Jewsbury who lofted a ball over the top to Movsisyan at the back post past right back Klein. The 19-year-old from Pasedena High School and Pasedena City College chested the ball down neatly and cut to his right, firing a right-footed shot from inside the penalty area past Cannon at the near post.
The Wizards took a 2-0 lead just four minutes later through a great hustle play from wide midfielder Davy Arnaud. Marinelli played a cross through the area toward the back post that Los Angeles left back Ante Jazic attempted to head back to Cannon under Arnaud's pressure. The pass back proved difficult for Cannon to handle and Arnaud flicked the loose ball up to himself and headed it into the open net for his third goal of the season.
Los Angeles contributed a strong attack of their own just two minutes later as the game picked up the pace dramatically from the opening 45 minutes. Donovan made a run at pace down the right flank and crossed a ball along the ground backward diagonally toward the penalty spot. Pavon came racing in and fired on the first touch but Conrad dove and blocked the ball wide, preventing the shot from challenging Hartman.
Galaxy manager Frank Yallop inserted ever-dangerous veteran Cobi Jones in the 55th minute and saw his substitution pay dividends over the remaining 35 minutes.
In the 61st minute, Jones found his first goal off a loose ball in the penalty area. Donovan again served as playmaker, slotting Pavon through into space on the left side of the Kansas City penalty area. Pavon's left-footed shot from 16 yards out beat Hartman but found the right post, deflecting into the middle of the penalty area where Jones cleaned up the loose ball by placing it just inside the left post with a one-time, right-footed effort.
Kansas City forward Ryan Pore nearly added a crucial insurance goal in the 70th minute after a well-taken Carlos Marinelli corner kick. Conrad headed Marinelli's back-post ball high in the air toward the top of the penalty area. Pore took the chance on the first touch, blasting a left-footed volley low to Cannon's right. The LA 'keeper showed his quality, reacting quickly to parry the ball wide and deny the well-struck shot.
Five minutes later, Jones added his second to knot the match after a perfectly played ball from Donovan. As he did much of the night, Donovan worked up the right side, allowing his teammates to make their runs into the box. Donovan picked out his man and sent a low, right-footed cross in for a streaking Jones who buried it inside the near post to tie the game 2-2 and record his first multi-goal game since August of 2002. It was the fourth goal of Jones' final MLS season.
Just one minute later, Los Angeles nearly took the lead after a sliding clearance by goalkeeper Hartman. Jones made a run up the middle and worked toward the 18-yard area before Hartman slid in to deflect the ball clear at the top of the arc. Substitute forward Gavin Glinton recovered the loose ball and chipped on one touch toward the open net, but his effort went just wide of the right post and the game remained tied 2-2.
Marinelli proved dangerous once more in the 79th minute, collecting a well-weighted wide ball from Victorine and firing on net. Cannon was equal to the task and covered the ball with little difficulty.
Jones nearly capped a memorable performance in the 83rd minute in grand style. His long run through the midfield was rewarded with a quick touch into the heart of the Kansas City penalty area. Jones held off a defender and redirected the ball toward the back post, but his hat trick bid sailed just wide.
The match played out at a high pace with both teams pushing forward looking for a game-winner. Kansas City gained a corner kick in second-half stoppage time but a shot by substitute midfielder Kurt Morsink went wide of goal without troubling Cannon just before the final whistle.
Kansas City next plays Saturday, July 14 against Real Salt Lake at 7 p.m. CT at Arrowhead Stadium in a game broadcast on Metro Sports. The Wizards finished a three-game in six-day stretch Saturday with a 0-1-2 record. Kansas City tied Toronto FC 1-1 Sunday at home and lost 1-0 to D.C. United Wednesday at home before earning the 2-2 draw away to the Galaxy Saturday. International superstar David Beckham is set to arrive in Los Angeles next week. An introductory press conference is scheduled for 11 p.m. ET Friday, July 13.
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Notables:
• Following the match, Kansas City sits 6-5-4 (22 pts.) and tied with Columbus for third place in the competitive Eastern Conference. New York, who trails Kansas City and Columbus by just one point, plays Sunday.
• The Wizards are now 15-19-7 all-time against the Galaxy in the regular season, including a 4-12-5 record in Los Angeles.
• The Wizards are now 3-2-3 on the road this season with 17 goals scored in the 8 matches.
• Kansas City leads MLS in road goals scored (17) and goals per game on the road this season (2.13).
• Kansas City is now 2-2-1 when the game is tied at half and 4-0-2 when scoring the first goal.
• Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad played for the first time since joining the United States National Team for the Copa America Competition. Conrad missed the previous two games in which the Wizards were 0-1-1. Conrad barely made it to the game after taking a flight directly to Los Angeles from Venezuela.
• With 90 minutes played, Conrad passed former Wizards midfielder Diego Gutierrez on the squad's all-time minutes played list. Conrad has now played 9,825 minutes for Kansas City.
• Galaxy forward Carlos Pavon, a 33-year-old Honduran International, made his first start with the club Saturday. Pavon played as a substitute in LA's 2-0 win over Chicago at midweek.
• Former Wizards midfielder Chris Klein played in his third match for Los Angeles. The Galaxy acquired Klein from Real Salt Lake two weeks ago for midfielder Nathan Sturgis and forward Robbie Findley. Klein played right back for Los Angeles Saturday.
• Yura Movsisyan scored his fourth goal of the season just two minutes after entering at halftime.
• All four of Movsisyan's career goals have come this season and been after entering as a substitute.
• Movsisyan has four of the five Wizards goals scored by substitutes in 2007.
• Kansas City now leads MLS in goals scored by one. The Wizards have scored 26 goals on the year. New England, who had been tied with the Wizards on 24 total goals, scored one Saturday. New York, who was also tied on 24 goals, plays Sunday.
• The Wizards now have 25 assists, good for a first-place tie with New York.
