Over the entire season, the Kansas City Wizards have looked toward the attack first. Yet for most of their Western Conference Semifinal Series, they were forced to hang on against a Chivas USA onslaught, especially in the away leg at The Home Depot Center.
As a result, the dangerous strike pair of Eddie Johnson and Scott Sealy remained mostly grounded after the first 15 minutes of the match, a scoreless draw that was good enough to see the Wizards through to Saturday's conference final. But Kansas City likely cannot afford a repeat performance against what will be a fully-loaded Houston Dynamo on Saturday in their contest to be the second finalist in MLS Cup 2007.
"It's got to be us managing the game, not the game managing us," said Johnson. "We need to dictate the pace of the game. ... It's not going to be easy. Our midfielders getting more of the ball -- that's how we really [dictate] the game."
The performance last Saturday brought comment that the Sky Blues employed a bunkering tactic to protect their one-goal lead earned in the home leg a week before.
"It wasn't so much of us bunkering in, it was our inability to keep the ball and that made us defend for good stretches of the game. But our guys found a way ...," said Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo. "I was frustrated with how we were moving and solving things in the midfield for a while. We talked about it at halftime, and it got better in the second half."
Failure to hold the ball once they got possession forced the Wizards to fall back instead of leaving gaps Chivas could further exploit.
"Whenever we won the ball, they were so far into our half that they had immediate pressure on the ball. We weren't able to get guys open quick enough to be able to receive and keep possession," said midfielder Sasha Victorine. "One of the things that helps keep possession is winning the ball in the other team's end. ... If we can win the ball better in attacking positions, it allows us a better chance to keep the ball."
Against Houston, the Wizards feel they will be facing a situation that should allow them to take better advantage of their attacking speed and prowess.
"They are going to send numbers forward and attack us. We play two styles of soccer that are very similar: high tempo, high pressing, and quick balls forward in transition. That means that there will be space to run into," Onalfo said. "We feel like it's a great match up and a great game for Eddie [Johnson] and the rest of our team."
Victorine, a veteran of multiple conference finals while with the Los Angeles Galaxy, added that quick decision-making will remain imperative.
"[Playing Dynamo] will be a little different, but it's going to be similar. Every single person will work hard, and that's what you know for sure. So wherever you are, you're not going to have time on the ball. ... It's going to be tight," he said. "The keys are matching their effort, making sure defensively we keep our shape, and when we get our opportunities, to go at people. The biggest thing we can do is find that space behind them and make them turn and run at their own goal."
Midfielders Victorine, Davy Arnaud, Kerry Zavagnin, and Kurt Morsink will be counted upon to recognize and quickly play that space for Johnson and Sealy or any fellow midfielder running through. Two players who have not seen many minutes lately -- left-footed players Jose Burciaga Jr. and Carlos Marinelli -- could also figure into the Wizards' midfield plans as well. Burciaga's ability to whip in pacy and dangerous crosses and Marinelli's ability to play quick, penetrating passes could be what the Wizards offense will need to tilt the match in their favor.
"We're going to watch Carlos closely to see how he's doing," said Onalfo of the Argentinean's ankle sprain. "But it's likely [the starting lineup] will be very similar [to the one against Chivas]. It looks to me like we're going to have Carlos as an option, which is a great asset."
Against a Houston team that wields dangerous weapons in Dwayne De Rosario, Brian Ching, Brad Davis and others, Kansas City will have to be efficient. What the Wizards do with their time and space will determine how much time and space Dynamo get.
Bob Rusert is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
