Make it Four

Tonight wasn't the prettiest game of all time as Sporting KC and Chivas USA played a very unappealing first half in tonight's game. The game was played at a very timid pace to start the game, neither team seemed really interested in having a real go at it early on. Other than Ryan Smith that is, who seemed set to show up his former club. Any of Chivas' attacks in the first went through the Englishman. He played through Casey Townsend on a nice throughball early on, but Jimmy Nielsen was quick off his line, smothering the chance. Later in the half, Smith had a chance himself, but Nielsen did well to keep Smith from getting a shot off. KC ended up having to foul him to slow him down, Seth Sinovic picked up a yellow in the first half for a tactical foul as Smith broke on a fast break.

KC had some half chances themselves, the best of which fell to Sinovic off a Bobby Convey cross. Sinovic called off Kamara, but his volley was well over the goal. KC did have one big penalty shout in the first half, as Rauwshan McKenzie brought down CJ Sapong as he went for a header, but no call was made.

To start the second half off though, Sporting completely changed the game. Graham Zusi got tons of space in midfield and was able to attack the goal, firing in a shot from about 25 yards out that rattled the cross bar. Zusi was the first to react to the shot as well, chasing it down and heading the ball back into the middle for Sapong who had beaten his marker, and Sapong headed into the net to give KC the lead. The goal seemed to wake Chivas up a little bit as they started to come into the game more. The game really started to open up as the game started to go end to end. At one end, Nick LaBrocca struck the post after getting played in behind Kansas City's defense. KC though went right back down the field, and Convey played in a cross that Roger Espinoza flicked up to Kamara, whose header went just over the bar.

If not for a nice save by Dan Kennedy, KC would have gone up 2-0 around the 75th minute, as Kamara forced a nice save on a header off of a Zusi corner. Chivas though were creating their own chances, Townsend really should have finished his opportunity, after Ante Jazic drew in the defenders. That was about Chivas' last real good chance though, because after Peter Vermes brought on Teal Bunbury and Jacob Peterson for the gassed Sapong, and fairly ineffective Convey, KC seemed to get new life in their offense. Bunbury's taken plenty of flack, but he showed well in creating chances tonight, in one instance, combining very well with Peterson to create a chance that Bunbury put wide. Late on, Chivas really struggled to create offensively, and KC was content to possess and take the ball to the corner, to kill the game and make them 4-0 for the first time in club history.

Wizards Man of the Match - Kei Kamara - While Kamara didn't get a goal tonight, he was all over the field. Many of KC's best chances tonight involved in some way Kamara. Another good performance from the Sierra Leone international.

Player Ratings - Nielsen 7, Sinvoic 6, Collin 7, Besler 8, Myers 6, Cesar 6, Espinoza 7, Zusi 8, Convey 5, Sapong 7, Kamara 8. Subs Bunbury 6, Peterson 6, Nagamura NR.