The Kansas City Wizards came into the RFK Stadium brimming with confidence and did what very few teams have done this season -- outplayed D.C. United on their home turf. However, they left stadium the same way that every other team has -- with a loss.
Despite creating far more chances throughout the match than the home side, the Wizards fell after Luciano Emilio scored his ninth goal of the year off a rebound in the 39th minute to give D.C. United a crucial 1-0 win.
The loss further dampens the Wizards' playoff hopes as they remain nine points behind in the cluttered race for the last spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Both teams traded innocuous possession in the midfield at the onset of the match with each team trading reasonable chances in the early going.
Wizards midfielder Claudio Lopez got in behind Bryan Namoff before crossing it nicely to Davy Arnaud at the near post, whose snap shot was denied by United 'keeper Josh Wicks' sharp reaction save. United countered that in the fifth minute with Namoff's deep overlap down the right flank culminated with a floating cross that met Chris Pontius on the back side, but the rookie's header sailed just over the bar.
United had no answer for the crafty Lopez throughout the match but despite his repeated penetrating runs, the Wizards could not get finish the job in the final third.
The Wizards did well to close down United's big three of Emilio, Jaime Moreno and Christian Gomez until the 23rd minute when Moreno found a sliver of space in the Kansas City penalty area, knocking a header off the crossbar. Gomez sent a dipping free kick from the right flank into the penalty area that goalkeeper Kevin Hartman punched away, but only as far as Rodney Wallace on the back side, who sent it back into the crowded middle with the rebound making its way to Moreno near the penalty spot.
Jonathan Leathers countered three minutes later, finding quality open space in the right channel and lacing a right-footed shot from 20 yards that Wicks could not handle cleanly, but was cleared away by a panicked United back line.
Leathers got the nod over Lance Watson at right back in the only change that Wizards interim head coach Peter Vermes made in his starting XI from the team that defeated New England 4-2 on Saturday.
The Wizards kept United on their heels, generating a flurry of chances from two successive corners, nearly taking the lead at the 36 minute mark. Herculez Gomez got the first crack, collecting a ball from the left touchline and hammering a first-time shot that Namoff got just enough of his head on to redirect over the bar.
On the ensuing corner, Jimmy Conrad's header from in close bounced directly off the bar setting off a torrid sequence during which the Wizards got off three more shots, including a bicycle kick from Josh Wolff and the resulting rebound that United frantically cleared to safety.
But completely against the recent run of play, United snatched the lead in the 39th minute when Emilio pounced on a rebound inside the 6-yard box and buried into the unattended net to make the score 1-0. United took a short corner with a quick exchange between Gomez, Namoff and Emilio on the right side. Namoff flicked the ball to the back post where Pontius got his head to it just in front of Jack Jewsbury, beating Hartman but not the post. The rebound fell directly to Emilio who had drifted into the goalmouth.
The Wizards, however, picked right where they left off before the goal with their best chance of the half. Davy Arnaud was inexplicably left unmarked inside the United 6-yard box but his driving header spun wide into hit the side netting from a perfectly floated ball from the left flank by Lopez.
They continued to attack United's right side of defense as Lopez made another long run down the flank to open the second half but his low cross aimed at two Wizards near the penalty spot was knocked away smartly by United.
Lopez took a crack of his own from a simple back pass from Wolff off a quick counter shortly thereafter, but his left-footed blast went well high of the target.
As frustrations mounted for the Wizards, who clearly had the better opportunities throughout the match, their attack became more simple and direct in hopes of forcing a United mistake on the back line.
A sloppy clearance attempt by Devon McTavish left Arnaud alone in front of goal again in the 65th minute, but his right-footed shot from 12 yards skimmed off the top of the crossbar. Wolff nodded the long diagonal ball from the deep right flank down toward his running mate that McTavish stepped past in him clumsy attempt to clear, leaving the Texan perhaps too much time to pick his spot on what should have been a relatively simple finish.
Hermes decided to bring on some fresh attacking legs for the stretch run, inserting Graham Zusi for a relatively quiet Santiago Hirsig in the 79th minute.
The frustration peaked in the 86th minute when second-half substitute Chance Myers was ejected after receiving a second yellow card from referee Terry Vaughn after inadvertently kicking Moreno in the groin area, Myers had knocked down Ben Olsen harshly from behind earlier on in the half.
The Wizards conclude their week-long, three-game road swing on Saturday evening when they take on the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium.
Chris Snear is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
