Wizards cast spell over Dallas
Jewsbury earns first career points with goal in 2-0 win
Midfielder Jack Jewsbury provided the decisive strike on the hour by jabbing home a defensive mistake for his first MLS points, and Josh Wolff added the insurance goal on another fortunate bounce to continue the Wizards' recent dominance at home. The Wizards have now gone eight league games at Arrowhead without a defeat.
By blanking the Burn, the Wizards also nabbed their fourth clean sheet in seven games this season, kept their goals against at a league-low four tallies and left the Burn winless in Kansas City since 1998. The Burn, meanwhile, lost their third straight game after opening the season unbeaten in their first four.
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Within two minutes, the rebuilt back four was nearly taken advantage of, as Burn forward Bobby Rhine slipped through the back line to meet a through ball as the offside flag rightly stayed down. But Rhine fired his shot straight at Wizards 'keeper Tony Meola.
But 12 minutes later, Rhine and Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad knocked knees when the two collided in the center circle. Rhine was taken from the field on a stretcher with what was later diagnosed as a sprained MCL, Jason Kreis taking his place.
Both teams struggled to come up with any sort of clear chances in the first half, the best falling to Rhine, then a ninth-minute screamer from Wizards midfielder Francisco Gomez that cleared the crossbar.
The Burn were content with the tactic of trying to spring forward Eddie Johnson with long balls over the top, and they thought it had worked in the 27th minute.
Johnson was sent in alone on goal by Burn midfielder Ronnie O'Brien and sidestepped Meola near the edge of the penalty area, going down after Garcia appeared to give him a shove in the back. But referee Abbey Okulaja was unmoved by Johnson's protests.
On the hour mark, the Wizards' hit home thanks to a mistake made by Burn defender Philip Salyer. Wolff's seemingly harmless cross from the right side landed in the middle of the six-yard box and Salyer hesitated in clearing, allowing Jewsbury to sneak past him and poke the ball home.
Seven minutes later, Wolff doubled the lead with the help of another fortunate bounce. Forward Davy Arnaud's flick-on ricocheted off Salyer's back to Wolff, who quickly fired a high shot from just inside the area that Dallas 'keeper Scott Garlick couldn't reach.
The Wizards continued to push forward, and Arnaud nearly made the margin 3-0 in the 77th minute, firing a shot from close range that Garlick parried.
Burn coach Colin Clarke brought on Toni Nhleko and Oscar Pareja late in the match to try and turn the tide, and while both tested Meola with shots in the final five minutes, the Wizards goalkeeper added to his MLS record shutout total while the Burn went down to a third successive defeat.
Both Dallas and Kansas City go on the road next weekend, as the Burn (2-3-2) head out to face the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday at The Home Depot Center (10 p.m. ET; tape-delayed at 1:30 a.m. on ESPN2), while the Wizards (3-2-2) travel to the Meadowlands to play the MetroStars on Sunday, May 30 (7:30 p.m. ET).
MLSNet.com Man of the Match: Josh Wolff
Dallas Burn (2-3-2) vs. Kansas City Wizards (3-2-2)
May 22, 2004 -- Arrowhead Stadium
Scoring Summary:
KC -- Jack Jewsbury 1 (Josh Wolff 3) 60
KC -- Josh Wolff 2 (unassisted) 67
Dallas Burn -- Scott Garlick, Philip Salyer, Matt Behncke, Steve Jolley, Chris Gbandi (Toni Nhleko 79), Ronnie O'Brien, Brad Davis, Simo Valakari, Eric Quill (Oscar Pareja 73), Eddie Johnson, Bobby Rhine (Jason Kreis 17).
Substitutes Not Used: Jeff Cassar, Carey Talley.
TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Jason Kreis 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (4 tied with 1); FOULS: 11 (4 tied with 2); OFFSIDES: 6 (Jason Kreis 4); CORNER KICKS: 5 (Brad Davis 5); SAVES: 2 (Scott Garlick 2)
Kansas City Wizards -- Tony Meola, Nick Garcia, Jimmy Conrad, Vuk Rasovic (Shavar Thomas 46), Diego Gutierrez, Francisco Gomez (Jose Burciaga Jr. 66), Jack Jewsbury (Alex Zotinca 89), Kerry Zavagnin, Chris Klein, Davy Arnaud, Josh Wolff.
Substitutes Not Used: Justin Detter, Taylor Graham, Bo Oshoniyi, Khari Stephenson, Matt Taylor, Diego Walsh.
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Josh Wolff 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Josh Wolff 2); FOULS: 10 (Nick Garcia 3); OFFSIDES: 1 (Davy Arnaud 1); CORNER KICKS: 2 (Francisco Gomez 1, Chris Klein 1); SAVES: 4 (Tony Meola 4)
Misconduct Summary:
DAL -- Matt Behncke (caution; Pushing, Holding) 8
DAL -- Chris Gbandi (caution; Reckless Foul) 19
Referee: Abiodun Okulaja
Referee's Assistants: -Nathan Clement; Richard Eddy
4th Official: Tony Crush
Attendance: 10,013
Time of Game: 1:49
Weather: Cloudy-and-81-degrees
All Statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial.
