Great Weather. Bad Soccer (KC-DC Recap)

By: Herschel | May 7th, 2009

So my prediction of a lineup change came true; sort of. Jack Jewsbury and Hercules Gomez were back in the lineup for KC sending Michael Harrington and Roger Espinoza back to the bench. Still this made no difference because the Wizards again struggled to score and came from behind to tie D.C. in a game that was so bad that it can only be topped off by their last weekday game, a poor display vs. the Red Bulls.

I’m changing my recap format and from now on I’m doing it by sections. So here we go:

Player Ratings: Kevin Hartman (5), Lance Watson (5), Jimmy Conrad (5), Aaron Hohlbein (5) (Michael Harrington (5)), Matt Besler (6), Josh Wolff (6), Santiago Hirsig(4), Jack Jewsbury (5), Davy Arnaud (3), Herculez Gomez (4)(Roger Espinoza (4)), Claudio Lopez (5).

KC Man of the match: Josh Wolff. Great goal. At times he shows the instincts of a good striker.
KC Goat of the match: Josh Wolf. Missed a sitter that could have given KC the win. At times he doesn’t show the instincts of a good striker.
Opponent MVP: Rodney Wallace. If this kid keeps upping his game the Costa Rica NT will have a good left wing player for years to come.
Opponent Goat of the Match: Rodney Wallace. His careless play lead to Watson dispossessing him for the KC goal.

Player that was in the game but was absent: Davy Arnaud. Remember a few weeks ago when he was the toast of the MLS with those long range goals. In the last 4 games he has been a non factor. I agree that defenses have collapsed on him in the middle, but he needs to move around more; rotate to the sides and give us some runs like he gave us last year; that should open the middle of the field for him to take his cannon-like shots.

Game Summary: DC came in with a game plan to try and hold the ball and try and catch KC napping; KC on the other hand was trying to retain some ball control in the middle and spring Lopez and Co. into the attack. D.C. accomplished their mission first when Rodney outmuscled Lance Watson and slid the ball under a charging Hartman (Note: I like Watson, has the heart many lack, but he does not have the physical presence to be a defender; yes he provided an assist, but Wallace made him look bad when DC was attacking, just like Vitti from Toronto and the Chicago wingers did in the last few games). This goal came minutes after Chris Pontius struck a shot off the KC post. So much for the ball control KC had exhibited at the beginning of the game; it didn’t pay off. That was all the real excitement of the first half.

The second half started with KC again pressuring while DC patiently waited their chance to counterattack. After about 10 minutes of really bad back and forth soccer where KC was pressuring, a mistake by the rookie Wallace let Lance Watson get a pass in to Jewsbury on the side who crossed the ball to Wolff so he could slide in with the equalizer. After that the game again fell into a zombie like mode with the Wizards getting 2 more real chances; a shot with little angle from Lopez on a breakaway (when Gomez was all alone in the middle); and a header that Wolff should have put in (it’s Louis Creyton in goal man, anything towards the goal has a chance to get in). After that it was drool time at the CAB, at least for my kids, who were there on a school night; at least they didn’t fall asleep too late, the game put them to sleep right after the KC goal.

My Question to Coach Onalfo: Do you really think the team is playing that well that you insist on playing the same midfield? Our defense isn’t too hot either. Hirsig has not played a one-touch ball since he started playing; again Gomez, Wolff and Arnaud made sporadic appearances throughout the game; and once again the little man with the big heart Lance Watson got schooled by bigger and better players. Also, with 2 forwards on the bench you pull a defender for a mid/defender with 10 minutes left? so much for exciting attacking soccer. Sorry, but this tie at home feels like a loss.

Interesting Stat: KC has played 8 games; in only 3 of those games have they scored more than ONE goal: 3-2 loss to Toronto; 2-0 win vs. San Jose; 2-2 with Chicago

Off to Columbus to play a tough road game.

Here are the game highlights.