On a night in which the Kansas City Wizards had set the stage, they failed to follow the script.
An Arrowhead Stadium record crowd for an MLS game of 32,867 and a national television audience watched the Wizards dominate much of the first half against the Los Angeles Galaxy, with 15-goal scorer Eddie Johnson a constant threat with three shots and nearly forcing two own goals by L.A. defender Troy Roberts. Two chances had even found woodwork.
"We were going after them," said Johnson.
Looking back, the two post-ringers were harbingers of what was to come.
"We created an enormous amount of chances. The first half, especially the first 20 minutes, was excellent," said Kansas City head coach Curt Onalfo.
Ten minutes into the second half, the Wizards were on the brink of breaking through, only to see the mounting frustration increase as forward Eloy Colombano rounded Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon. But the Argentinean, in his first MLS start, missed the empty net, putting his shot into the outside netting.
From there, the Kansas City's troubles tripled, beginning with a 57th-minute red card to captain and center back Jimmy Conrad. With his studs up, Conrad's late tackle sent L.A. midfielder Peter Vagenas flying to the turf holding his right knee.
"We're down a player, and I still think we're going to win the game," Onalfo said. "Then you get the second red card, and you just want to pull your hair out."
Before Davy Arnaud's 82nd-minute ejection, also for a late tackle on Vagenas, the straw that eventually broke the Wizards' backs had come on the Galaxy's first shot on goal of the game.
After entering the match in the 71st minute for Cobi Jones, forward Gavin Glinton got inside Wizards left back Michael Harrington and headed home a Mike Randolph cross into the right corner to give the Galaxy the lead.
"We were very, very good defensively, and we possessed the ball during stretches of the game very, very well," Onalfo said. "Through that possession and playing early balls forward in transition, we're very dangerous throughout the game. It's just frustrating. We missed some very easy chances. Unfortunately, in this game, when you miss chances in this game, it often comes back to bite you."
The second red card put the Wizards down two men and took away from their usual advantage in the late going due to their high fitness level: 12 goals have come in the last 15 minutes of matches this season.
But as Johnson admitted, the outcome should have been decided well before the 82nd minute.
"Forwards, we get paid to score goals. We're getting chances; we're not finishing the ball," he said. "We worked too hard to be in that position today. If we finish our chances, none of this would have happened; it would have been a different ballgame. It hurts."
Though frustrated in seeing his team's record fall to under .500 for the first time this season and eschew another chance to get nearer to qualification for the playoffs, Onalfo remained unflappable in his belief.
"Nobody said it would be easy. This group of guys won't give up and we're going to keep plugging away," he said. "We're going to lick our wounds, and we have two key players out in our next game against D.C. United, who everybody says is the best team in the league. ... Our goal is to make the playoffs and that's our intention."
Bob Rusert is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
