The Kansas City Wizards got another result Saturday, this time the hard way.
Playing "horrendous" soccer for 65 minutes, the Wizards got a pair of goals from Josh Wolff in the final 12 minutes to forge a 2-2 tie with the Chicago Fire. That outcome gives the Wizards a three-game unbeaten streak, and perhaps some more confidence that they can accomplish something important this season.
"It is a massive point, as big a point as you can get out of it," Wolff said. "A draw is the most you can expect from a game like tonight."
"A game like tonight" is best described as what Wolff called "horrendous" soccer for 65 minutes, followed by an inspired brand of soccer for the final 25.
Despite their winning streak, the Wizards came out Saturday as if weighed down by the history the team has in Chicago, where they had managed just two wins and one tie in the previous 16 games.
"I thought we were just not sharp, a step slow, looked a little tired," Wizards coach Curt Onalfo said. "It was a whole bunch of different things."
The Fire scored their first two goals in quick fashion, both by former English Premier League star Brian McBride.
The first goal came in the 12th minute on a McBride shot after Jimmy Conrad and goalkeeper Kevin Hartman collided chasing a ball in the air. Before Hartman could completely collect himself, Fire defender Wilman Conde gathered the ball and passed it to McBride, standing near the top of the penalty area, and McBride stroked it inside the right post.
"It is my job to call Jimmy off, and I didn't call him off, so we collided and the ball comes free," Hartman said. "I felt I was set back down in a pretty good spot and was ready to react, but it took another deflection."
The Fire brought Cuauhtemoc Blanco back into the starting lineup for the first time this season, and he paid dividends in the 20th minute when his free kick from 25 yards out on the right side went directly to the head of McBride on the left side of the area. McBride's sharp header bounced under Hartman and into the goal on the right side for a 2-0 Fire lead.
"We had two guys in space and we had a guy on him," Hartman said. "He got a lot on it, he hit it into a wet surface, and once it took the skip it was hard to catch up with."
The Wizards held possession for only very short periods of time, and never threatened to score. The only shot credited in the first half went to Jack Jewsbury, and they had no shots on goal in the first 45 minutes.
The Wizards avoided the shutout and put pressure on the Fire in the game's final 12 minutes. Claudio Lopez dribbled a ball out of the crowd heading toward the left sideline, then turned and lifted a ball into the penalty area where Wolff slid his foot into the ball to direct it past Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch.
The game-tying goal came in the 89th minute when Wolff again hit the back of the net. Michael Harrington putting in a curling cross from the right flank that Wolff nodded down into the goal off a retreating Fire defender and past Busch.
Onalfo said he was not surprised by the Wizards' performance, despite the poor start.
"We always talk about playing for 90 minutes," Onalfo said. "The game is not 45 minutes, it is 90 minutes. You can play a terrible 80 minutes of soccer and find yourself a rhythm for 10 minutes and get yourself a couple of goals and get yourself back in the game. That is kind of what happened tonight."
Said Wolff: "I am a big believer that once you get the first, it can change the momentum and you really believe you can get the second one. We got the second one and almost got the third. But a draw is the most you can expect from a game like tonight."
The Fire were credited with five shots between the 70th and 80th minutes as they tried to extend their lead. Two of the shots were on goal and required big saves from Hartman.
"We were pushing trying to get goals and playing with three back," Hartman said. "We were going to give up chances. But in the end we were able to scrap a point out of it."
Kent McDill is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
