Playing in their sixth consecutive match away from home, and not winning since the first game of the road trip back in April, the Kansas City Wizards were looking to gain some points against a Real Salt Lake side that has yet to lose in Utah during league play.
The Wizards settled for a scoreless draw in a match where their defense shut out an RSL side that has been averaging 2.4 goals a game while playing at Rice-Eccles Stadium this year.
Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman lead the way with seven saves on the night, keeping Salt Lake from finding the back of the net with some acrobatic and close range saves. It's something that his teammates appreciate, but also expect from the veteran goalkeeper.
"He's been doing it all year. He's always been making key saves for us, being in the right spot at the right time, and that's why we pay him the big bucks," said Wizards captain and central defender Jimmy Conrad. "This is just another example of him keeping us in the game and making the saves that we expect him to make. He's a good goalkeeper and I expect nothing less from him."
Davy Arnaud agrees with his captain, stating that Hartman's success between the pipes is nothing new.
"He's, what, leading wins in the history of the league," said Arnaud. "He has that for a reason. We expect him to make saves like that for us to keep us in games, and he did well tonight for sure."
Even though Kansas City started the game out well, taking it to RSL early, Hartman began to see more and more of the ball during the opening half. He made five of his seven saves before the break; one in particular was nearly a sure goal for Salt Lake.
In the 28th minute Hartman rushed of his line to deflect away a shot from a charging Kenny Deuchar. Hartman kept the ball out of his net, but it went over the end line for a corner.
The ensuing corner found the head of Deuchar and the 6-foot-3 Scotsman drove a hard shot on goal from close range. Hartman's reaction was perfect as he slapped the ball away from goal.
"It's one of those things that we were talking about [before the game], said Hartman. "We know that [Deuchar] is a dangerous attacking player in terms of high balls and flighted balls into the box. So, it's frustrating that on the first corner kick he gets an opportunity from six or seven yards out. So, I might have laid into somebody at that point. I was able to come up with the save and [Aaron] Hohlbein was able to come up with a clearance right after when I wasn't able to hold it. It was a team effort to really keep it out of the back of the goal."
The closing minutes of the first half were not joyous times for the Wizards, as Salt Lake controlled most of the match during that point and seemed to be attacking at will. Kansas City head coach Curt Onalfo admitted that their game plan of getting a quick goal took a lot out of his players, and they paid the price.
"It's just fatigue," Onalfo said of his team's performance at the end of the first half. "We came out and really pressed them, and we were hoping to try and get a goal early; that was our game plan. When you put that kind of energy on the road, we didn't decide to sit back we tried to press them, you expend energy. The hope is that you get a goal and all of the sudden you can drop off and look to counter a little bit. But, we weren't able to score a goal, and they started to get part of the game. And they should, they're playing at home. "
In the second half the Wizards reorganized and were able to take the game back from RSL and slow them down. From the goalkeeper's perspective, it had a lot to do with a couple of substitutions in the second half.
"In the second half, once Carlos Marinelli and Sasha Victorine were able to get on the field, I think they're two guys that really value possession a bit more. In the last 15-20 minutes of the game were able to push to get something," said Hartman.
Closing the long road stretch with a tie isn't necessarily a tragedy, said Hartman. In order to have success this season, he knows that a clear head needs to be maintained.
"We have to keep things in perspective," said Hartman. "It's a six-game road swing. If we would have won tonight we would have had seven points in six games. Not the worst thing in the world, but unfortunately I think we come out with five points. We continue to push, we look forward to getting home and play in front of our home fans and try to get some results."
Scott McAllister is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
