KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Sometimes box scores are full of contradictions. Never was that more true than following Kansas City’s 2-0 loss to Chivas USA Saturday night.
The Wizards took 12 more shots than the Goats, earned 14 corner kicks to the visitors’ one and kept their opponents pinned inside their own half for much of the contest.
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Unfortunately, the one statistic that really mattered didn’t go Kansas City’s way: the scoreline.
“We did everything that you need to do to win the game,” Wizards captain Davy Arnaud said. “But unfortunately we come out on the wrong end of things again. This might not sound right, but the way we played tonight is a positive sign.”
So while the focus will once again fall on the team’s tendency to give up soft goals, a clearly frustrated Peter Vermes took some solace in the fact that the Wizards played arguably their best 45 minutes of soccer this season in the first half and deserved more.
“I don’t have anything to say other than the fact that we dominated the whole game,” Vermes said.
But like most of the Wizards defeats this season, domination didn’t result in offensive output, and unforced errors doomed the club to their seventh loss in 10 games
And though the manner of the goals was not surprising given Kansas City’s defensive struggles this season, the culprit was a little bit unexpected. Jimmy Conrad had been the team’s lone consistent performer in the center of the defense, but the veteran’s two second-half mistakes left Kansas City facing yet another hill to climb.
“I’m responsible for both goals,” Conrad said. “Obviously, we’ve been giving up soft goals all year, and it was just my turn I guess to catch the disease. It’s unfortunate. I feel bad that I put my team in that position. We have a lot of people – both on the field and off – who do a lot of work to make sure we win, and we’re just not getting it done.”
The first of those goals came in the 56th minute, when Conrad, who said he thought he had more time on the play, sent his clearance off the onrushing Osael Romero’s back and into the path of Justin Braun. Braun took one touch and sent a drive inside the right post.
Thirty minutes later Braun was at it again when Conrad’s pass to Shavar Thomas was picked off by the young forward and curled past a helpless Jimmy Nielsen.
“I probably underplayed it a little,” Conrad said, “and (Thomas) probably wasn’t expecting me to play it there. Obviously, hindsight is 20-20, and I could have done X, Y and Z.”
But here’s the fact: Kansas City dominated and lost, yet another blow to a squad that can’t seem to catch a break.
“To walk away with nothing out of this…” Vermes said, “the game can be tough sometimes.
