What were you doing on September 9, 2006? For the Wizards, this was the last time that the team scored on a corner kick. Davy Arnaud volleyed home a Jose Burciaga Jr. corner to put the Wizards up 3-1 against the Colorado Rapids, in a game they won 4-1.
Since then, the Wizards have had a total of 182 corners, 161 this past season. The Wizards scored on none of them. The closest the Wizards have come, was their home opener this past season, when Jimmy Conrad hit the cross bar.
The streak without corners stretches over a full year. The Wizards have played 34 games in league play. 38 in all competitions (1 USOC, 3 playoff). They were the only team in the league this season to not score a goal off of a corner.
The real problem was that many of the corners didn't even look dangerous. Regularly corners were played either too long, over the heads of all the attacking players, or were played too short and didn't make it over the first. Another problem for the Wizards was their size on corners. It's hard to challenge hard for the ball in the air when you only have two really true threats on corners (Sasha Victorine and Conrad). What makes it worse, is the fact that in that same length of time, the Wizards have given up eight goals off of corners, all this past season. Seven of them came in the regular season. The 8th came in the conference finals, against Houston.
Do you have permission for that corner flag photo? ;)
ReplyDeleteI know we're not signing him, but this is the biggest case for Jared Borgetti.
ReplyDeleteSealy jumps like I do. EJ can score with his head, but is more timid, and doesn't assert himself on corners like Borgetti does. JB sees them as opportunities where he can create a mismatch. Conrad is good in the air, and Sasha is solid. Outside of that, we've got nobody.
Then again, MLS Cup was won by a header from Osama de Rosario, so anything's possible.