KANSAS CITY WIZARDS v COLUMBUS CREW
ARROWHEAD STADIUM, Kansas City, Mo.
7:30 p.m. CT (ONN)
Aug. 12, 2006 (WEEK 19) / MLS Game #126
A pair of teams in desperate need of a victory comes together for the fourth time this season, and the Kansas City Wizards have gotten the better of their Hunt Sports Group brethren this season, having defeated the Columbus Crew in all three previous meetings. The clubs are the bottom two in the Eastern Conference, the Wizards winless in their last nine games and sitting in fifth place in the division, while the Crew have gone winless over their last 11 league matches and trail Kansas City by two points at the foot of the East table.
REFEREE: Mark Geiger. SAR (bench): Bill Dittmar; JAR (opposite): George Gansner; 4th: Colin Tait
MLS Career: 19 games; FC/gm: 31.5; Y/gm: 3.7; R: 3; pens: 8
MLS 2006: 4 games; FC/gm: 35.5 (avg: 28.9); Y/gm: 4.3 (avg: 3.44); R: 1 (MLS: 17); pens: 0 (MLS: 23)
Games involving Wizards: P3 W2 L1 T0; FC/gm: 26.0; Y/gm: 2.7; R: 0; pens: 0
Games involving Crew: P6 W5 L1 T0; FC/gm: 30.5; Y/gm: 3.2; R: 0; pens: 1
INJURY REPORT: KANSAS CITY WIZARDS - OUT: DF Jimmy Conrad (mandibular fracture); PROBABLE: MF Kerry Zavagnin (groin strain); MF Sasha Victorine (hamstring strain); FW Josh Wolff (groin strain); GK Will Hesmer (wrist sprain) ... COLUMBUS CREW - OUT: GK Jonny Walker (lower back), DF Jed Zayner (L knee ACL); DF Frankie Hejduk (R knee ACL); GK Jon Busch (R knee ACL); MF Danny Szetela (R knee)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: KC: Davy Arnaud, Nick Garcia
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: KC: Jimmy Conrad, Kerry Zavagnin ... CLB: Ritchie Kotschau, Brandon Moss, Joseph Ngwenya, Jose Retiz
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
LEAGUE HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (30 meetings): Wizards 13 wins (2 shootout), 46 goals ... Crew 13 wins (0 shootout), 52 goals ... 4 draws
AT KANSAS CITY: (13 meetings): Wizards 6 wins (1 shootout), 22 goals ... Crew 5 wins (0 shootout), 25 goals ... 2 draws
This is the fourth and final league meeting between the Eastern Conference rivals this season, the second of the season at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Wizards have guaranteed victory in the season series, the first time since 1997 they've won the series. Five times in the eight intervening seasons, the clubs have split the season series.
Coaches record: Brian Bliss vs. CLB: first game ... Sigi Schmid v KC: P25 W10 L11 D4
2006 (MLS)
4/1: KC 3, CLB 1 (Arnaud 21; Jewsbury 25; Johnson 61 - Kamara 33)
4/29: CLB 0, KC 1 (Wolff 74)
6/10: CLB 0, KC 1 (Burciaga 89)
The Wizards have won all three meetings between the clubs this season, winning 3-1 at Arrowhead Stadium to begin the 11th MLS season, before claiming a pair of 1-0 victories at the Ohio State Fairgrounds.
In their first meeting this season, the season opener at Arrowhead Stadium on April 1, the Wizards showed a glimpse of their promised lethal attack by jumping out to an early lead with goals just four minutes apart midway through the first half, spoiling the Crew's first match with Sigi Schmid at the helm.
First Davy Arnaud scored with a quick shot on the turn, then Jack Jewsbury picked up the second when he banged home a rebound from near the goal line after Jon Busch parried an angled blast by Jose Burciaga Jr.
Rookie Kei Kamara pulled back a goal in the 33rd minute when he finished off a through ball from Gaven, but Eddie Johnson restored the two-goal margin in the 61st minute, using every bit of his considerable speed to redirect Scott Sealy's cross from the right wing just inside the left post.
In their second meeting, the Wizards came away with a 1-0 victory at Crew Stadium. While the Crew owned the majority of the play - especially in the second half - it was a late goal from Josh Wolff finishing off a good passing move that gave Kansas City the victory. Sasha Victorine raced in on Crew 'keeper Jon Busch and got him to commit before sliding a pass to Wolff for him to finish into the open goal in the 74th minute.
Nearly two months later in Columbus, the teams were scoreless for 89 minutes until Matt Groenwald picked up a deflection on the right touchline and swung in a cross to the far post where Jose Burciaga Jr. ghosted in and flung himself forward, his header giving Kansas City the victory.
It was the ninth consecutive game with a single goal for the Wizards, but their first victory since April 29 - also a 1-0 win against the Crew.
Here's Sigi Schmid's team (4-4-2): Noah Palmer - Chris Leitch, Marcos Gonzalez, Chad Marshall, Ritchie Kotschau - Jacob Thomas (Kei Kamara 82), Ned Grabavoy (Tim Ward 63), Jose Retiz, Eddie Gaven - Jason Garey, Joseph Ngwenya (Sebastian Rozental 49). [Substitutes Not Used: Ezra Hendrickson, Brandon Moss, Rusty Pierce, Dan Popik]
Here's Bob Gansler's team (3-5-2): Will Hesmer - Tyson Wahl, Shavar Thomas, Nick Garcia - Lance Watson (Matt Groenwald 74) Alex Zotinca, Kerry Zavagnin, Sasha Victorine, Jose Burciaga Jr. - Ryan Pore (Scott Sealy 46), Davy Arnaud. [Substitutes Not Used: Jack Jewsbury, Ryan McMahen, Yura Movsisyan, Bo Oshoniyi, Stephen Shirley]
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
The Kansas City Wizards played to a second successive draw with the New England Revolution on either side of the All-Star break, the teams this time playing to a goalless stalemate at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday night. The Wizards saw their winless streak stretch to nine games though they've now drawn two in a row, still tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 22 points from 21 matches, level with the Chicago Fire (who have two games in hand), two behind the New York Red Bulls in third and two ahead of the Columbus Crew.
LAST MATCH
Both goalkeepers were called into action often in the sometimes fractious encounter in New England, after the teams had played to a 1-1 draw in Kansas City in the final league match for both before the All-Star break.
Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis was called upon to make seven saves - including five in the second half - while Wizards goalkeeper Bo Oshoniyi made five as both teams again failed to secure the full three points.
The home side twice felt they had won penalty kicks - early in the contest when Clint Dempsey was tripped up in the area and then at the death when a shot from Shalrie Joseph from outside the area appeared to hit a hand in the box - but referee Mauricio Navarro waved off the appeals on both instances.
Wizards interim head coach Brian Bliss made three changes to the team that played to the 1-1 draw with the Revolution before the break. Jose Burciaga Jr. was rested, giving Ryan Raybould his first career MLS start. Shavar Thomas also came back into the team, as did Jack Jewsbury, in place of the injured Kerry Zavagnin and Sasha Victorine, as Alex Zotinca moved from a fullback to wide midfield role.
Here's Bliss's team (4-1-3-2): Bo Oshoniyi - Ryan Raybould, Shavar Thomas, Jimmy Conrad, Nick Garcia (Jose Burciaga Jr. 81) - Jack Jewsbury - Alex Zotinca, Davy Arnaud, Dave van den Bergh (Ryan Pore 74) - Eddie Johnson, Josh Wolff (Sasha Victorine 92+). [Substitutes Not Used: Will Hesmer, Sergei Raad, Scott Sealy, Tyson Wahl]
"The guys battled hard. We've been talking about it - especially playing a team like New England - when the ball gets wide, we need to shut down the service," Bliss said. "We did a fair job of that; I wouldn't say a great job, but a fair job."
TEAM NEWS
Bliss said he felt Burciaga "with fatigue and the minutes he's logged, I thought he needed a break." So that meant the first career start for Raybould and a return for Thomas into central defense. In addition, with Kerry Zavagnin out with a groin strain, Jack Jewsbury filled the holding midfield role.
"They did well, I think (Andy) Dorman got in there early in the game in a tight spot, got in close, and Bo (Oshoniyi) made a great save on that and (Clint) Dempsey's free kick midway through the first half. Not only that, but he came out and boxed a few balls. When he wasn't doing that, I thought our defenders in there were sweeping the balls out well."
For Raybould, his previous MLS league experience consisted of an 11-minute substitute appearance a year ago. "Basically, the older guys on the team told me to go in there with confidence in my first start," Raybould said. "If you are tentative or scared, those players out there that are on the national team will pounce on that and make you look foolish. I thought I did a fairly good job."
Said goalkeeper Bo Oshoniyi: "I thought they we played well. They had their chances at the beginning of the game but I was able to make some saves. I thought Ryan Raybould played a great game back their and Jack (Jewsbury) did well in place of Kerry (Zavagnin). Defensively, we were sharp and it was a good result for the team."
The Wizards have now gone winless in nine consecutive matches, their longest such stretch since 2003, when they went 0-7-2 between July 26-Sept. 20. They concluded the end of last season winless in eight games, an 0-4-4 stretch leaving them out of the MLS Cup Playoffs, then won their first three games to begin this season.
"It was one of those games where we want three points every game but one point on the road against a team like this is big for us. I think the guys feel good about it. It's one of those games where we can come to the locker room and build from it."
Bliss said he also hopes Zavagnin and Sasha Victorine will be available for the Crew match, which could put an end to the winless run. Victorine was hampered by a hamstring strain, but came on as a substitute in stoppage time.
"We've got to be satisfied with the one point we got here," Bliss said. "We had some opportunities late in the game, and a couple of counters or a bounce here and maybe we steal one."
COLUMBUS CREW
The Columbus Crew return to action following their All-Star recess looking to put an end to an 11-game league winless streak. The Crew last won on June 3 and are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 20 points from 21 matches, but trail fourth-place Kansas City and Chicago by just two points in the battle for the final spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs, and are just four points behind the third-place New York Red Bulls.
After winning three games in a row to start a nine-game homestand in their new Toyota Park, the Fire had gone winless in three, with a loss followed by two draws. But the Crew were winless in their last 10 games, having not won since June 3.
Each goalkeeper did their part to ensure the game remained scoreless on the night. In the first half, before the first half hour was complete, Fire 'keeper Zach Thornton made two saves to keep the Crew off the board.
Then late in the match, as the Fire looked to grab the three points at the death, Crew 'keeper Bill Gaudette was called upon to make three saves, including a pair in stoppage time- the only ones he made on the night - to ensure his side shared the points.
Crew head coach Sigi Schmid made two changes to the team that played to a 1-1 draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy the previous Saturday at Crew Stadium. Leonard Bisaku and Marc Burch were the latest additions to the Crew's casualty list, and so Jose Retiz and Chad Marshall came back into the team.
Here's Schmid's team (3-4-1-2): Bill Gaudette - Marcos Gonzalez, Chad Marshall, Ritchie Kotschau - Ezra Hendrickson, Jose Retiz, Eric Vasquez, Chris Leitch - Eddie Gaven (Jason Garey 90) - Jacob Thomas (Kei Kamara 46), Ryan Coiner (Sebastian Rozental 68). [Substitutes Not Used: Brandon Moss, Noah Palmer, Danny Szetela, Tim Ward]
"We've got to start making those decisive plays," Schmid said. "It seems like we want a clean look all the time. There were periods of time we did possess well, but it's something we've got to do better. We've got to get people forward together, and then it's a matter of finishing those final runs."
TEAM NEWS
It was the sixth time over the 11-game winless streak the Crew were kept goalless. "We had two great chances in the first half that we don't finish on Zach (Thornton), and one of those two, if not both of them have to be goals," Schmid said. "That's just not good enough up front. We had a great opportunity in the second half where Kei Kamara has the ball, dribbles inside, Sebastian (Rozental) makes a great overlapping run and Kei either doesn't see him or doesn't want to play him the ball. That's a ball you got to play because that's a goal as well, if he plays that ball to Sebastian."
Eddie Gaven, who has two of the last four goals the Crew have scored, all over the last month, moved into a playmaking role, while Kei Kamara, who has one of the other two, came on as a halftime substitute.
"That part of our game has to improve and hopefully, as we come back from the All-Star break with Jason Garey healthy and (Ryan) Coiner here and, maybe we find a forward here in the transfer period ... then hopefully we can make it competitive," Schmid said. "If guys can't make plays then we've got to play guys that can."
In his second MLS start, Bill Gaudette recorded his first career clean sheet. "I thought Billy played very well. At the time it was one save, but then in the last two minutes of the game and in injury time there were two more, so he came up with three big saves," Schmid said. "In the back I thought we did pretty much what we wanted to do and we did a good job in forcing them to play the way we wanted them to play out of the back."
Gaudette is the fifth goalkeeper the Crew have used this season, tying an MLS record set in 1998 by the Miami Fusion. After playing behind a back four in the 1-1 draw with the Galaxy, Schmid returned to a back three for the Fire match.
"A little unfortunate, actually, that we didn't get a win out of this. I thought we had some great chances and the defenders in front of me did a fantastic job," Gaudette said. "I just had to clean up a couple things that got through and that's just part of the game. All credit goes to the defenders in front of me."
