Down 1-0 in the 54th minute, the New England Revolution-Kansas City Wizards match truly hung in the balance.
Revolution defender Jay Heaps had an Andy Dorman corner fall to his sliding feet at the far post. Three yards from goal, Heaps put the ball off the top of the crossbar and out for a goal kick.
Four minutes later, the Wizards found the equalizer that gave them a share of the points in Saturday night's 1-1 draw at Gillette Stadium.
"We dodged a bullet," said Kansas City head coach Brian Bliss. "That's the game sometimes."
The home side looked the better of the two teams in the first half but the Wizards, with key blocks from Shavar Thomas and Jack Jewsbury, managed to keep the deficit at one but did not look threatening in the attacking half.
"I didn't think we played poorly in the first half," Bliss said. "We were generating possession, not offense."
As the second half started, Taylor Twellman put a header over the bar just prior to Heaps' miss and it looked like the Wizards were on the ropes.
Then the Wizards struck back through what Bliss called a "well-orchestrated" goal, as Scott Sealy applied the finish after Ryan Raybould's cross was flicked down to Sealy's feet by Sasha Victorine.
It was Sealy's fourth goal in five contests. When Eddie Johnson was out injured, Sealy had a run in the side and the Trinidad & Tobago international credits the consistent run in the team for his recent upturn in form.
"For any striker, time is important," Sealy said. "The more games I start, the more I can get the rhythm."
Bliss was also able to give Jimmy Conrad a brief runout for the last five minutes of the match. It was the first match action for the defender in six weeks after his jaw was broken by a Clint Dempsey elbow at Gillette Stadium on Aug. 9.
"We'll try to use him [Sunday] in the reserve game." Bliss said. "Repetitions are good at this point."
The Wizards will lose the services of defender Nick Garcia for next week's contest against Real Salt Lake after picking up a yellow card in the 12th minute for a tactical foul at midfield. Bliss pointed to Conrad as Garcia's probable replacement if Conrad is fit enough.
The match, combined with New York's 4-3 loss in D.C., extended Kansas City's lead over the fifth-place New York Red Bulls to two points with three matches left to play. New York and Kansas City meet in the final match of the season at Giants Stadium on Oct. 14.
"In the past six to eight weeks, we've been playing well," Sealy said. "Hopefully, we can keep it going and reach the playoffs."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
