Kansas City Fizz

Not much has gone well for the Wizards this season (breaking news, I know). They haven't won since June 17 (a stretch that cost Bob Gansler his job) and they blew a chance at earning three points last night at home in front of a crowd that was sparse enough for them to introduce to the crowd to the players before they played the national anthem.

(A side note: If anyone needs a soccer-specific stadium, it's the Wizards. They drew 7,710 last night and have averaged more than 10,000 per game over the course of a season just five times since their inception. Missouri is a soccer hotbed, with strong youth soccer clubs like Busch which competes with the top clubs from around the nation. There must be plenty of folks that would buy tickets to watch the home town team in a more soccer friendly environment. I don't blame them for not buying tickets to watch the games at Arrowhead -- seven thousand at that place makes it resemble Hartford on a weekend. Plans are in the works for a new stadium, but they need to move quickly as the franchise can't survive on such poor attendancee. Philly appears to be the clear destination for the team's relocation if a deal cannot be reached.)

Back to the game. K.C. dominated all night, capitalizing on the sluggish, sloppy play of the Revolution midfield and back line. The Revs rewarded K.C.'s high pressure with plenty of misplaced, lazy balls that gave fuel to the Wizards' counterattack. The 99 degree temperature at game time slowed the visitors early on, but the Revs paced themselves well, and by the end of the match, were having their way with the Kansas City defense.

The Revs shouldn't have even been in the game at that point, though. The Wizards failed to capitalize on a number of dangerous crosses in the first half and hit the post on one occasion in the opening minutes. For all the good movement Eddie Johnson made off the ball, and all the good touches he mustered to keep possession for his side, he was unable to find the back of the net. (Another side note: I know it was against MLS opponents, but Johnson looked like what the U.S. will need now that McBride is gone. He was strong on the ball and quick to beat the rest of the field to plenty of long balls. He gave the Wizards the ability to posess the ball from side to side and then spring a quick attack downfield. The added bonus: He played creative crosses of his own, though none of his teammates were able to capitalize. His only shortcoming was that he didn't score. Kind of a major detail, I admit)

Again, back to the game. The Wizards failed to kill the game with an insurance goal and, when you do that against a team with as much talent as the Revs, it's not likely to end in victory. Credit the Revs for keeping their composure and focus after surrendering an early goal to Josh Wolff. Even after Pat Noonan was stymied by goalkeeper Oshoniyi and Clint Demspey put an open header wide of the net, the Revolution contined to pressure K.C.'s back line and eventually reaped a one-point reward.

Might a bigger home-field advantage have helped the Wizards prevent the late New England surge?