KC-HOU Pregame. Hoping to give Houston a problem
By: Herschel |
1 Comment
On this 4th of July weekend Houston comes into KC hoping to improve on their goalless effort from last weekend against one of the worst defenses in the league (LA’s), while KC, tries to make it 2 wins in a row in the league after a horrible Superliga performance.
KC will be missing defensive leader and captain Jimmy Conrad, as well as midfielders Davy Arnaud and Roger Espinoza due to Gold Cup call ups, while Kevin Souter will not be available due to injury. The Dynamo also has its share of vacancies in the starting lineup, missing Brian Ching, Stuart Holden and Andrew Hainault because of the Gold Cup, while Wade Barret, Eddie Robinson, and Craig Waibel are out injured; Ricardo Clark missed his US Cup game due to personal reasons and I am unsure of his availability.
It will be a scrappy battle for tired teams who just got off playing US Cup games and, who after Saturday’s match will again continue to play for the Cup midweek. I do wonder how much offense will be generated from teams that regardless of their mid week results have struggled to score recently and are missing key offensive players such as Ching and Arnaud.
I really can’t predict what the KC lineup might look like with the defense having been exposed against Santos last Sunday and with a midfield that could not contain the fast passing Mexican team. Some posters and bloggers have suggested moving Matt Besler to his more natural center back position instead of struggling Rauwshan McKenzie and slotting Michael Harrington to his natural left back position instead of continuing to place him in the right side of the midfield where he has produced some terrible performances. Also the attacking midfield could see either Kurt Morsink or Graham Zusi there if Harrington does move back to defense. The Morsink/Hirsig midfield does have the interesting option of having them rotate the d-mid position so that Hirsig can move forward and do some more vertical passing like he did in his first game vs. Toronto where he got an assist.
Coach Onalfo might consider Houston’s weakened attack and leave Hohlbein with McKenzie in the middle hoping that they can control the dangerous and speedy Kamara but if Vuoso from Santos gave us fits a faster Kamara could spell trouble. I expect this to be a low scoring affair with either a tie or KC winning by one.
I’m going to throw out 2 possible lineups today:
Hartman
Watson—Hohlbein—McKenzie—Besler
Jewsbury—Hirsig—Morsink/Zusi—Gomez
Wolff—Lopez
OR
Hartman
Watson—Hohlbein—Besler—Harrington
Jewsbury—Hirsig—Morsink/Zusi—Gomez
Wolff—Lopez
KC-2 (Lopez, Wolff)
HOU- 1 (Kamara)
On a side note: Not much going on this holiday weekend and looking to watch a classic movie? Here’s the trailer to one of my favorites; the one and only original Die Hard. If you haven’t seen it (where have you been?) you have to watch it; if you have, watch it again, you can’t get tired of watching John McClaine kill terrorists.
Have a great 4th of July weekend and always keep our guys in gals in the military serving throughout the world in your prayers this Independence Day and every day.
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Outcoached, Outplayed & Outscored. Out of the Superliga
By: Herschel | 2 Comments
I was going to write this recap as soon as I got home last night after the game, but I decided to give myself a 12 hour “cool off” period so I wouldn’t be too overcritical of the team. That being said I feel about the same and things seem to have just gotten worse since I’ve been thinking about the horrible uninspired soccer that KC played, not only yesterday, but throughout the SuperLiga. Read the rest of this entry »
Superliga weekend once again. KC vs. Santos
By: Herschel | Add Comments
KC takes on Santos this Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at Community America Ballpark. By the time the game takes place KC will know what result it needs to qualify to the next round. A win and KC is in regardless; a tie will have the Wizards hoping for a New England win or at least a tie (goal differential will come into play at that time). Read the rest of this entry »
Almost done in by ten; AGAIN!
By: Herschel | Add Comments
It was the 34th minute in a less than exciting game when New England attacker Michael Videira went up for a ball with KC defender Aaron Holhbein. In his effort to head it he swung his elbow back and struck Hohlbein in the face. Referee Jorge Gonzalez pulled out the red card right away and sent Videira to the showers. Right then and there I knew we were in trouble. Read the rest of this entry »
Superliga. Take 2
By: Herschel | Add Comments
KC travels to New England to play the walking wounded Revolution. A win for NE and they are in to the next round, while a KC win will get them close and leave everything in the group up in the air until next Sunday when they play Santos at the CAB. Read the rest of this entry »
KC vs Atlas. ZZZZZZZZSuperliga Recap
By: Herschel | Add Comments
In the sweltering heat of Saint Louis where the temperature on the field was near 100 degrees, the Wizards and Atlas ended in a scoreless draw, in a game that left alot to be desired for an international competition. Read the rest of this entry »
Superliga/US Cup here we come
By: Herschel | Add Comments
The Wizards have a busy schedule coming up next in the next few weeks: they play Sunday in St. Louis (still mad about that) vs. Atlas; Wednesday in New England; and Sunday vs. Santos Laguna at the CAB. If all goes well and the Wizards were to win this tournament, they could be looking at a nice purse (close to $ 1 Million or so they say) and with the added bonus of giving some Reserve players some playing time while allowing some of the older starters a few days off. Read the rest of this entry »
Third time’s a charm. KC-NE Recap
By: Herschel | 1 Comment
For the 3rd straight game KC opponents went a man down and this time the finally figured out a way to Wizards step on the gas and take advantage of the extra man; they easily controlled the game from that moment on earning a well deserved win; their second one in 8 games. Read the rest of this entry »
The Coach has answered.
By: Herschel | 1 Comment
Before I give my short pre-game analysis of Saturday’s game at the CAB I would like to say that I feel honored because it seems that Coach Curt Onalfo took the time to read my last post and e-mail me his opinion on my criticism about the team, the players and his coaching. Since the Coach sent me an e-mail and did not post his answer in an open forum (comments) I will not answer his e-mail in an open forum (although I will do it if he’s OK with that), but regardless of his displeasure with how I see things, I can only say that my article is actually based on facts and my opinions were based on those facts. I am not responsible for how players have played, coaching decisions or things done by the front office. Read the rest of this entry »
In Curt’s World (Part 1). My rant against Curt Onalfo
By: Herschel | 6 Comments
From past commentaries most everyone who actually reads what I write knows that I am not a fan of Wizards coach Curt Onalfo. Adding fuel to the fire was the pathetic display that team showed last Saturday in a 2-0 loss vs. a 10 man Columbus Crew. After last Saturday’s performance, KC has 1 win in their last 7 games (2 of those non wins came against teams with 10 players for almost 1/3 of the game). Read the rest of this entry »
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