Real Salt Lake vs. K.C. Wizards – Rematch
June 28, 2008 by f4denz.
3 weeks ago revisited
So it was a cool June 7th evening when RSL faced off with the Wizards at RES, but the play on the pitch was anything but cool. RSL really dominated the match but were not able to get any shots past Kevin Hartman who had an incredible night in goal. RSL was able to keep KC from doing much on offense and did well to shut down the scoring chances off set pieces, the Wizards bread and butter. That night RSL took 19 shots to KC’s 7, but could not bet anything to show up on the scoreboard and ended up with a 0-0 draw at home in a match that should have ended with a RSL win.
A lot has changed in 3 weeks
So when the two teams faced off 3 weeks ago both were near the bottom of their conferences each with 11 points, both were really struggling to find a team identity, but in three weeks a lot has changed for RSL who has claimed 7 points in the last 3 weeks on a draw with San Jose and victories over Chivas and New England. For KC they have gotten one more point since leaving Salt Lake City, a draw at Toronto in which KC played similar to how they did against RSL, in which they had few scoring chance but could not put anything on the board and got out played in almost every aspect of the match. RSL has scored 6 goals in their last 5 matches and allowed only 2 to be scored against them, while KC has scored 2 in their last 5 and allowed 7 goals to be scored against them. KC sits at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference and even a win against RSL would not move them up a spot, RSL sits in second place in the West and a win would put them in first place at least temporarily.
Winless in 7
KC has not won a match since an April 20th victory over the Chicago Fire, they have three draws since that date and 4 losses. Not very impressive but a majority of those matches have been on the road, and the offense has simply not produced goals for KC, their forwards have only scored 5 goals this season and the other five Wizard goals have come from either their midfield or defenders. In fact their captain Jimmy Conrad (one of the best defenders in MLS history) is tied for the scoring lead on KC with 3 goals, same as their DP forward Claudio Lopez. It is clear that with out Eddie Johnson, that KC has not found a way to score goals on a regular basis, their 10 goals on the season is tied for the worst in MLS with San Jose.
The only real shining spot for KC this season is their defense, which has only given up 16 goals this season and is the second best defense (Chicago is first), in part due to the play of Conrad and Hartman. KC’s Hartman has 5 clean sheets on the season which is tied with New England’s Reis for best in MLS. In looking at the projected lineup from KC, they are going to put a lot of effort into getting a win at home, and have put a line up together that includes the players that have scored 9 of their 10 goals. They will be missing Roger Espinoza again, who is serving his second red card suspension of the season, they may also be without a couple players due to injury as; Zavagnin and Souter are unlikely to play.
Further proof of KC’s desperation to put on a great show for their home fans, is the fact that will have a celebrity duo on hand at the Community America Ballpark. First up, is Brandi Chastain, the US Women soccer legend, who will appear at the match to sign autographs, and also appearing is Disney Channel star Selena Gomez of the hit series “Wizards of Waverly Place”. Will any of this help KC, no, but it should mean another sell out at the tiny stadium. Tiny both in seats with only 10,385, and size, as fitting a soccer pitch inside a minor league baseball park is always a bit of a challenge. The pitch at CAB is only 110 yards by 70 yards, but it sure looks even smaller on TV.
Looking for more firsts
RSL is looking for a couple more firsts; a win tonight against KC would give RSL sole possession of first place in the West (if only for a night), it would give them the first 6 game unbeaten streak in team history (they did have another 5 match streak in 2006), and it would be our first ever win in Kansas City. We could also see Javier Morales extend his lead as the top assist man in MLS, he currently has 7 assists.
As I talked about earlier in the week, RSL is in rare air for the franchise as we hit the midway point of the 2008 MLS season, they have team bests in points, goals, and goals allowed. A win tonight would put us into the positive goal differential and with the recent performances of the RSL defense and Nick Rimando (only two goals allowed in last 5 matches 3-0-2) it is likely that our biggest focus has to be getting goals on the scoreboard. It could be rough as Fabian is still listed as out, and while Robbie Findley is probable, one has to wonder if he is suffering any affects of the mild concussion suffered last week. One good thing for RSL is that Yura Movsisyan should be available, and on Wednesday he was chomping at the bit to get on the pitch and help his team, and he didn’t seem to mind a chance for a little revenge against the team that traded him away. Yura has struggled with injuries this season and has only played 170 minutes, this could be a chance for him to get some playing time and how sweet would it be for him to get his first goal of the season against his former side?
Two RSL players have to play with a little caution as both Kovalenko and Olave will get suspended with their next yellow card, and it would be nice to have both of them for the upcoming July 3rd face off with Houston at RES. Both players will have big jobs tonight, as Dema has to be able to keep an eye on Lopez all match long, and Olave and others will have to prevent Conrad from scoring on set pieces. If RSL can stop those two threats they really will have neutered the Wizard’s offensive threats, leaving them to rely on Sealy, who has only one goal this season but is very speedy, and Jewsbury who appears to have been moved to the back four of the Wizards.
What to expect
I think we will see a match very much like we did three weeks ago, as RSL is playing with a lot of confidence, but KC knows that their defense is among the best in the league. I expect RSL to control the possession by using quick passes in the midfield as Williams, Beckerman, and Morales continue to develop into one of the best creative midfields in the league. I think this match will come down to a very simple match up RSL strikers vs. Kevin Hartman, the last time Hartman was up to the challenge, but a couple things could play in RSL’s favor this time. First, after giving up an early lead to the Rev’s last weekend, RSL came back and dominated the best team in MLS, something RSL has struggled with in the past. Second, KC may get a couple surprises from the RSL offense, if Tino Nunez gets playing time it could be to his advantage, since KC has never had to face him before, and Yura, you simply never know what a former teammate will do when he gets a chance to get a little revenge.
If Robbie is really healthy and back to 100 percent, I think we will see him and Deuchar finally show the “one, two” punch on offense as RSL breaks down the Wizard defense and pick up a 2-1 win on the road as RSL make history on the road.
OFF MY SOAPBOX