Little by little, the Wizards keep piling up points.
Kansas City couldn’t quite manage to collect a huge win over the Union on Saturday afternoon, but manager Peter Vermes’ side salvaged a 1-1 draw to keep the playoff campaign moving in the right direction.
WATCH: FULL MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
And while the draw was a lost opportunity in some ways, another positive result on the road can only give the surging Wizards more confidence.
“We felt like we had a great opportunity to get a win here, so there’s maybe a little bit of disappoint in that aspect,” midfielder Davy Arnaud said. “But that’s not a negative thing. It’s good that we feel like we have a team that can win wherever we’re playing.”
The Wizards are now 4-1-3 in their last eight games and are creeping up on San Jose for the eighth and final postseason spot.
[inline_node:317630]And despite missing out on the full points, Kansas City can point to an improved mentality on the road and the results that have followed as a sign that the team has truly turned the corner and found a rhythm on the field.
“We’re going to play,” Vermes said. “We’re using the style of play that we’ve created to help secure these results. If we keep believing in the way that we play and keep executing the way we are, we’ll keep getting results.”
The visitors pressed the Union for the first 15 minutes before finding themselves on the back foot and struggling to hold possession in front of a near-capacity crowd.
That momentum swing and the Sebastian Le Toux goal that followed gave the Wizards a deficit to battle back from, and confirmed what the team has said all week: Philadelphia don’t get the credit they deserve.
“The points they have don’t show the quality of team that they are,” Arnaud said.
Philadelphia managed to contain Kansas City – who were missing leading scorer Kei Kamara because of national-team duty – for most of 70 minutes. But that changed in a split second in the 71st minute, when Arnaud’s free kick from the left flank sailed past goalkeeper Chris Seitz and dipped under the crossbar to even the match.
Arnaud said he was just trying to whip the ball with pace toward the back post, but had an inkling that it could find the back of the net after he had connected.
"Once I hit it and looked up,” Arnaud said, “you could tell that probably had a decent chance of going in if it got under the crossbar.”
The ball did just that, and Kansas City proceeded to put Philadelphia under pressure for the remainder of the game, barely missing out on a second goal. Still, a point is a point, something the Wizards haven’t always been able to collect on the road.
“Three games and seven points of out nine was big for us,” Vermes said. “This is definitely not an easy place to play.”
