The Kansas City Wizards have still not lost at home since interim coach Brian Bliss took the helm in July. But Saturday's 3-3 draw with Real Salt Lake was on the disappointing side for the Wizards, because a victory would have done so much more to boost their chances of making the MLS Cup Playoffs.
"Personally, two points lost is how I look at the game, we should have gotten three," Wizards forward Josh Wolff said. "It was good to get in on a couple goals. But I still think we had chances to finish it off and we just didn't. To get three goals and not get three points is disappointing."
The draw, coupled with New York's victory against Chicago, left the Wizards tied with the Red Bulls for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
"I think this was a big game tonight. We needed to get three points," Wizards midfielder Davy Arnaud said. "To come back and get the two goals in the second half, then give up the tying goal was disappointing. I thought we played well, but having said that, we needed to get the result."
The Wizards overturned a 2-1 halftime deficit with goals from Scott Sealy and Jose Burciaga Jr. But the lead slipped away when Real Salt Lake's Jason Kreis scored in the 81st minute.
"Our commitment was there and our intent was there but our intelligence wasn't there," Bliss said. "We just have to do a better job of sealing it at the end."
It was not the first time that Kreis -- the leading goal-scorer in MLS history with 108 career goals -- has deflated an opponent. And it was not the first time he deflated the Wizards.
Kreis followed his shot from the top of the area and tapped it in after heading the ball off the post.
"He has scored some great goals as well," Bliss said. "When he was with Dallas, he scored a lot of them against us."
Kreis' goal was needed because of the outstanding production of Wolff.
Wolff scored the game's first goal in the sixth minute, beating Real goalkeeper Scott Garlick to the near post with a right-footed shot after a perfectly weighted ball from Arnaud sprung Wolff loose in the area.
"He was very good tonight," Arnaud said. "We see him every day in practice. When he is out there, he is involved in a lot of things."
Wolff had a hand the other two goals. He gently redirected Arnaud's pass into the path of Sealy, who scored his ninth goal of the season in the 54th minute. Wolff started the attack that led to Burciaga's goal, playing a ball forward along the left wing that Dave van den Bergh pulled back to Burciaga before going over the end line.
Wolff has been fighting a strained hamstring for a few weeks, but it is feeling better as time passes.
"It is good to contribute, and the past couple weeks I have been playing better coming off the hamstring," Wolff said. "It was difficult getting fit, getting strong, obviously confidence is a big thing in being a forward so it has taken a little time."
The Wizards need a win at home next Saturday against Chivas USA to keep the forces of mathematics crashing down on them before their final game at New York. The Red Bulls travel to Colorado while the Wizards play host to Chivas USA.
If the Wizards need a victory in New York on the final week, it might be difficult. Kansas City has only three victories in 15 games away, none of them since Bliss was named interim coach.
Robert Whitman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
