Kansas City Wizards Earn 1-0 Road Win at 1st Place Columbus Crew
Published on July 14, 2010 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
The Kansas City Wizards earned a hard-fought road victory Wednesday night, posting a 1-0 result over the 1st place Columbus Crew. Rookie striker Teal Bunbury scored his first MLS goal on the night, while goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen posted his 6th shutout of the year with a season-high seven saves. Three of Nielsen's saves were highlight-reel efforts.
After Columbus held most of the possession early, Kansas City broke out on the counter and took a 1-0 lead through rookie striker Bunbury in the 14th minute. Left back Roger Espinoza, an Ohio State University product, started the play by intercepting a pass from Frankie Hejduk and turning immediately up field. Espinoza found winger Ryan Smith at the half line, and Smith unlocked the Crew's defense with an inch-perfect pass in between defenders into the path of Bunbury. The University of Akron product made no mistake, blasting home a shot between the legs of goalkeeper William Hesmer for his first MLS goal.
Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen made his first huge save of the match in the 19th minute. Columbus midfielder Adam Moffat stepped around a defender and laced a shot on goal from 20 yards out that was on goal just under the crossbar, but Nielsen extended a big palm and pushed the ball over and out of bounds to keep Columbus off the score sheet.
The Wizards nearly went up 2-0 on back-to-back chances in the 27th and 28th minutes. First, Smith served a dangerous cross behind the Crew defense that left back Gino Padula deflected straight at his own net, forcing a reaction save from goalkeeper Will Hesmer. On the ensuing corner kick, Kamara rose high and headed the ball toward goal, but midfielder Eddie Gaven cleared the ball off the line to keep Columbus within striking distance.
Kansas City had another chance to pad their lead in the 50th minute when Espinoza again started a counter attack. Kansas City's World Cup participant launched a long ball ahead to right forward Kei Kamara in the penalty area. Kamara brought the ball down and laid it back for on-rushing midfielder Davy Arnaud at the top of the box. Arnaud's first-time effort went wide, however, and the match remained 1-0 in favor of the Wizards.
Nielsen made his next big save in the 70th minute, standing his ground and sticking out his right boot to deny Columbus attacker Guillermo Barros Schelotto from close range.
The Wizards could have sealed victory in the 81st minute after a pair of opportunities, but they converted neither. First, Smith put Bunbury in behind the defense. Bunbury rounded goalkeeper Hesmer, but his touch took him too wide, and he was forced to hold the ball up and cross toward substitute midfielder Graham Zusi at the back post. Zusi rose and headed the ball toward goal, but Hesmer had recovered and blocked the shot.
Nielsen made his final highlight-reel save in the 89th minute, parrying a shot off the foot of substitute Emmanuel Ekpo wide even though several players on both teams were in Nielsen's line of sight. Nielsen made two more routine saves in stoppage time to seal his 6th shutout of the season, good for a tie for 3rd in MLS. His 51 saves on the year also put him 3rd in MLS among goalkeepers.
The Wizards have little time for recovery, traveling immediately to Colorado Thursday morning before a Saturday night match against the Colorado Rapids. The game will kick off at 8 p.m. CT, live on KCWE 29. Next Sunday, English Premier League giants Manchester United come to Kansas City to play the Wizards at 5 p.m. CT in the first-ever event at newly renovated Arrowhead Stadium. Tickets for the match are still available through Ticketmaster.com or by calling the Wizards at 888-4KC-GOAL for special packages.
Fast Facts:
* Kansas City is now 4-8-3 (15 pts) on the season.
* The Wizards jumped to 5th place in the Eastern Conference with the win.
* Kansas City won their first match against Columbus since September 15, 2007.
* The Wizards are 17-19-5 all-time against the Crew, including an 8-11-3 record on the road.
* The Wizards scored the first goal in the game for the 4th time this season.
* Kansas City is 4-0-0 when scoring first.
* Rookie Striker Teal Bunbury recorded his first MLS goal on the night.
* Bunbury attended nearby Akron University and was playing his first game back in Ohio as a professional.
* Bunbury made his 4th start as a professional, playing as the center forward in Kansas City's 4-3-3 formation.
* Midfielder Ryan Smith picked up his 6th assist of the season on the goal.
* Smith is now tied for 4th in MLS in assists.
* Defender Roger Espinoza registered his 1st assist of 2010 on the play.
* He now has six career assists.
* Espinoza played college soccer at Ohio State University in Columbus and scored his lone professional goal at Columbus Crew Stadium.
* Goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen tied a season high with seven saves on the night to keep his 6th clean sheet of the season.
* Nielsen is now tied for 3rd in MLS in shutouts.
* Nielsen now has 51 saves on the season, good for 3rd in MLS.
* Kansas City was without striker Zoltan (torn ACL).
Quotes:
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MANAGER PETER VERMES
On the match and Jimmy Nielsen
"I think in the first half we kind of took it to them a little bit. We took very good chances, and they seemed to have a lot of set pieces in the first half based on the fact that we lost possession in our defensive third. Once we won the ball, we lost it and gave up a lot of set pieces in the first half. I think in the second half we started out well and as they're trying to drive the game and get back into it, we're trying to find some counterattack situations against them. I give both teams credit, because both teams were around the goal even though the referees added seven minutes when there was only supposed to be four in front of that goal box. First, I have to commend our team, and most importantly, our goalkeeper [Jimmy] Nielsen was huge and obviously made some great saves that saved the game."
On his team not scoring in the second half to seal the game
"It's a tough thing when you can't ice the game and could have rally put a dagger in a team. But, we've done this earlier in the season when we've scored a goal early and were able to hang on. From the team's perspective, they can pull it together a little tighter and say 'hey we can score a goal and hang on and we can fight through it.' That's a consolation at the end of the day. For sure you want to absolutely ice it because you don't want to give them an opportunity to get back in the game."
KANSAS CITY GOALKEEPER JIMMY NIELSEN
On the match
"We played very well as a team today. We played a clever game and a smart game and we gave 100 percent out there today. It was tough, and we knew Columbus was a good team. I think again today they showed that they are a good team, but this is just what we needed. It was a great one-nil win away from home, and it's so important for us, and hopefully we can build on this victory today and give ourselves some confidence."
On making some crucial saves to preserve the victory
"That's what we need from the goalkeeper. That's my job, and that's what the club pays me to do. So, I'm happy for the win and, I don't care much about my own performance."
KANSAS CITY FORWARD TEAL BUNBURY
On scoring his first career MLS goal tonight
"It felt amazing; I've been waiting for a while to get my first goal. My team's been pushing me both in training and in games to keep my confidence up, and I feel like after getting my first goal, my confidence is really getting higher."
On the importance of tonight's victory
"It means a lot. I kept hearing how hostile and tough it was to come here and get a win, especially with this drought we've been having. It was really important for us to come here, high press them and not take them lightly, but still go after them. I think it's a credit to everybody on the field, with all the work we've put in and getting the victory here is huge."
COLUMBUS HEAD COACH ROBERT WARZYCHA
On his second half substitutions
"I thought we started to play well in the second half. We started to create chances with the same group of guys that we started. You try to change the luck and that's why we had some fresh legs in the end of the game."
On the first half attack by Kansas City
"They did not come here to lose. If you look at their record, like Peter Vermes said, when they play Chivas, they dominated the game, but the result was different than they would have wished. They pressured defenders in the first half and they created a lot of chances. They hit us in the corner kick which is something that rarely happens to us this year. They made a great a run and the guy hit the target and scored the goal ...We were trying to have some composure, we were trying to possess the ball. We didn't get behind the defenders and we didn't get behind the defenders in front. We did not have many crosses. They were fresh and organized and it was hard to break their line of defense so we had to play the ball to Jason [Garey] and try to find Guillermo [Barros Schelotto]. It didn't work, but the second half was a little bit different. We moved the ball a little quicker and tried to find an open player and create the chances."
COLUMBUS GOALKEEPER WILLIAM HESMER
His overall thoughts on tonight's match and Kansas City's goal
"On the first goal, I think in my opinion, it was three mistakes: a bad cross, a bad job in the corner and a bad job of me saving it. So, anytime you have three mistakes like that it's going to haunt you. Goalkeeping and just not putting the ball away will haunt you. So, overall, I think we're happy with our performance, but very disappointed with the result."
On Kansas City coming into tonight's game with their backs to the wall
"They're a good team and their record isn't indicative of how good of a team they are, but we shot ourselves in the foot tonight... I think we should be disciplined enough and organized enough; this is a veteran team, so we should know that and say 'OK,' let's sucker them in a pop them, but we didn't take our chances."
COLUMBUS MIDFIELDER ADAM MOFFAT
On the team's mentality heading Saturday's match against New York
"Obviously we want to get back to it straight away. It's disappointing to lose any game, but at home it's especially hard to take. We want to bounce back straight away to show us this was just a little bump. So hopefully we can get back going; we could have easily won this game tonight if we take those chances."
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