Two weeks after dominating a flowing, open match against D.C. United in their season opener, the Wizards got a lesson in contrasts on Saturday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
The Colorado Rapids came to CAB determined not to allow the home team the time or space to ignite an attack that all but ran United off the field. Following Kansas City’s hard-fought 1-0 victory, the sheer volume of Wizards players receiving treatment was a testament to that determination.
The Wizards certainly didn’t win pretty, but a Kei Kamara set-piece goal early in the second half and 90 minutes of defensive effort was enough to earn a 1-0 victory and a crucial three points against the Rapids.
“We were talking about it when we came in at halftime, saying it’s not going to be an easy win,” Kamara said after the match. “It’s not going to be a four-goal game like we did last week. It’s going to be something where we have to play dirty, we have to play hard and whatever goal we get, we have to secure that win.”
The Wizards did just that, matching Colorado’s physicality and keeping the explosive tandem of Conor Casey and Omar Cummings under wraps for most of 90 minutes All in all, the team’s combined for 33 fouls, four yellow cards and one ejection in a match multiple players described as a “fight.”
Kansas City bossed the first half behind the electrifying play of Kamara and Ryan Smith. Smith gave Colorado defender Kosuke Kimura fits from the very start and nearly drew a penalty in the 9th minute after Marvell Wynne bowled him over in the box.
Smith, who assisted on Kamara’s goal, said the shift in philosophy from United to the Rapids was stark. Though he was only fouled once, the diminutive winger was repeatedly a target and was struck by the differences between United’s pass-oriented game and Colorado’s desire to play the ball in the air.
“They played a lot more direct,” Smith said. “They played a more lower division English style, where they were just knocking it straight into the big guy.”
After Kansas City’s pressure frustrated D.C., the Rapids came to CAB with a much different game plan designed to alleviate pressure and force the Wizards to breakdown a much more compact team. Though the Wizards were dangerous early on, both teams settled into a midfield battle with occasional chances sprinkled in for the remainder of the match.
“It was a banging game,” manager Peter Vermes said. “It’s almost like a pinball game. What they do is drop their guys off and really close off their half of the field. All of a sudden we come in there and there are 21 guys in one half of the field. That’s a tough area to play in.”
So tough that the Wizards weren’t able to muster a goal from open play despite having seven shots on goal and forcing Colorado goalkeeper Matt Pickens into multiple acrobatic saves. Unsurprisingly, the breakthrough eventually came from a set piece as Kamara rose above a crowd of players to glance Smith’s curling ball over the outstretched hands of Pickens in the 48th minute.
Once the Wizards got their goal, the game devolved into a physical battle with skill mixed in only intermittently. The rough-and-tumble play culminated in Colorado defender Julien Baudet’s dismissal in the 72nd minute for a foul on Kamara.
Vermes’ team dominated proceedings from then on, and although Kansas City is excited to be in poll position in the Eastern Conference—the Wizards moved into a tie for first place with a game in hand—the players know there isn’t much time to bask in the early success.
Colorado will stay in town for a U.S. Open Cup play-in game between the two teams on Tuesday with a chance to exact revenge for a frustrating defeat. As Jimmy Conrad acknowledged after the game, both teams will be prepared for another physical battle with their Cup lives on the line.
“You have to know coming in that it’s going to be a physical battle,” Conrad said. “I prepared myself, took a couple shots, gave a couple shots and we’ll do it again on Tuesday.”
Kamara: We had to "play dirty"
