KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Wizards won’t be in action this weekend, but it’s not by choice.
Because they currently share CommunityAmerica Ballpark with the Kansas City T-Bones, who have use of the stadium for a Northern League playoff game, the Wizards were forced to move their home game against Houston – originally scheduled for this weekend – to Wednesday, Sept. 22.
That leaves manager Peter Vermes’ team with three games (at Chivas USA and back home at CAB against Houston and FC Dallas) in a matter of just seven days.
“I’d obviously prefer the way it was,” Vermes said.
And there are a variety of reasons for that. Instead of finishing a short road trip with a valuable home game against the Dynamo, the Wizards will have to travel all the way to Los Angeles to kick off the three-game stretch, meaning additional travel to drain their legs and less time to prepare for their upcoming home opponents.
Even more important are the playoff implications that come with either success or failure. Kansas City can ill afford to drop points, especially against two teams in Chivas and Houston that are below them in the standings.
“It’s a condensed period of time with a great number of games that are all important to the cause, which is making the playoffs,” Vermes said. “I think the key is – and this is going to sound like a standard line – to focus on the first game.”
To that end, the coaching staff has been focusing on working specific areas in need of improvement this week in training before the spotlight shifts to the Goats next week.
One of the few positives for the Wizards is that the two-week break between games allows the players time to rest and recover physically for the packed stretch ahead. Kansas City also had three players return from international duty – Kei Kamara, Roger Espinoza and Shavar Thomas – early this week.
“It’s always good to just play games,” Kamara said of the rapid succession of matches. “At the same time, these games mean so much right now in the last push for the playoffs that you wish you could have more time to rest. I guess that’s what this time is for right now.”
And although the Wizards will be knocked off the weekly schedule that coaches and players use to prepare for upcoming matches, Vermes stressed the need to accept the change and move forward.
After all, Kansas City haven't left themselves much of a choice at this junction of the season. Win and the playoffs are a little bit closer to becoming a reality. Lose and the end is probably near.
“You have to be ready for these situations and adapt and adjust to them,” Vermes said. “We have to be prepared to deal with all the things that come our way, and this is just an another obstacle.”
