Kansas City Wizards at New York Red Bulls: Match Night Commentary

The New York Red Bulls and Kansas City Wizards are out of the playoff race, but players for both teams are still battling for the professional futures as they look to impress in this Eastern Conference tilt at Giants Stadium tonight.

The Red Bulls will try to win a third straight match since Richie Williams took over as interim head coach for Juan Carlos Osorio, while fellow New Jersey native Peter Vermes tries to win his second straight as interim head coach of the Wizards, who he took over for Curt Onalfo.

I will be providing commentary throughout the night so please feel free to follow the match here As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump).

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FINAL- Wizards 1, Red Bulls 0. Carlos Johnson got a red card after the final whistle. Not sure what that was for. Just saw the replay. Don't see how he winds up with a red card there.

This is the Wizards first win in Giants Stadium since April of 2000.

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91st minute- KC is close to wrapping this one up as the Red Bulls put a hammer lock on the No. 2 pick in the 2010 MLS Draft (Expansion Philadelphia gets the first pick).

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90th minute- SAVE HARTMAN!!! Stops a near-post shot from Johnson. What a save by the veteran.

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90th minute- Red Bulls with a corner kick.

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86th minute- Mbuta appeals for a penalty, but wasn't getting that call.

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84th minute- No late magic from Wolyniec tonight. Does any other REd Bull have it in them to tie this game and keep Richie Williams record (this year) undefeated?

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81st minute- Tonight's attendance is 10,234. Nowhere near that many are here, but I'm a bit surprised there are even this many fans (and by this many I'd say 5,000).

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79th minute-  Matt Mbuta comes in for John Wolyniec.

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74th minute- Here's a good stat. The Wizards hasn't won at Giants Stadium since April of 2000.

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71st minute- You know what this game needed? A few drinking games. I missed the boat tonight in that regard. You can blame me.

My money is on a late Wolyniec equalizer. 

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66th minute- SAVE LEATHERS. Rojas with a nice side volley that Leathers clears away.

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64th minute- Nick Zimmerman is in for Ernst Oebster. Zimmerman has fallen off the depth chart after having a very good early to middle part of the season.

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61st minute- Michael Harrington has settled back in as a starting left back for KC. Seems like not too long ago when he was a fringe name in the U.S. left back conversation.

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58th minute- SAVE COUNDOUL!! Does well to get big as Hirsig comes bearing in on goal.

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57th minute- Here's a question. If you took the Red Bulls and Wizards and combined them into one team, would they make the MLS playoffs? I'm not sure it would be a lock.

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54th minute- Stammler misses wide. Not a bad look.

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52nd minute- Nice ball from Rojas to spring Wolyniec but it's a bit too fast. 

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50th minute- Rojas with a shot, forcing a save from Hartman.

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47th minute- We're back. No subs and Jonathan Leathers gets an early yellow.

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HALFTIME- If any of you are still following along let me know. I'm thinking about going into the stands for the second half if there aren't many following tonight.

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HALFTIME- KC out-shot New York 9-5, with both teams putting three shots on goal. Not sure  

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HALFTIME- The Red Bulls miss Angel, but probably miss Albert Celades just as much. His presence in the middle and patience and skill on the ball brings some composure that is missing from the Red Bulls midfield right now.

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HALFTIME- Wizards 1, Red Bulls 0. A thoroughly lackluster 45 minutes of soccer.

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45th minute- Red Bulls lucky to be trailing by just a goal heading in. 

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41st minute- Kandji with a hard shot forcing a tough save. Great run by Kandji off the Hirsig turnover.

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38th minute- Here's an interesting factoid, unless someone can prove otherwise, this may be the first time in MLS history that two New Jersey natives coach against each other. Richie Williams and Peter Vermes are both Jersey-born.

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34th minute- Not much rhythm to this game as the Red Bulls chase and KC looks patient with its one-goal lead.

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25th minute- KC is determined to try and hit the Red Bulls on the counter any chance they get. Can the Red Bulls midfield avoid sloppy turnovers? Rojas and Oebster seem extra vulnerable tonight. 

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23rd minute- Oebster with a goal disallowed for offside. 

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21st minute- The Red Bulls offense is sorely missing Angel's presence as the focal point of the attack. There's no real  direction from this group.

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17th minute- WOLFF WIDE!! KC just picked the Red Bulls defense apart with one sharp pass from Gomez. This could get ugly.

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13th minute- A bit of a high cross from Rojas. He must have thought Peter Crouch was playing.

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12th minute- Rojas was the one who lost the footrace with the not-so-fast Claudio Lopez. Oebster had the first miscue on that sequence so the blame is more the midfield's than the Red Bulls back-line.

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10th minute- GOAL KC. And it's Josh Wolff finishing the rebound off a Lopez shot. KC 1, Red Bulls 0.

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9th minute- The Red Bulls are starting Andrew Boyens and Leo Krupnick, which may qualify as the slowest centerback tandem in the history of soccer. Expect some chances for KC. 

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7th minute- Kandji looking dangerous early. Red Bulls will need to generate some offense minus Angel. It looks as though Kandji is up for the challenge.

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6th minute- We're off and it is still scoreless. Apologies for the late start.

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PRE-GAME- Here is the Wizards' lineup:

--------------Arnaud----------Wolff----------------

Lopez----------------------------------------Gomez

-----------------Hirsig----Jewsbury----------------

Harrington----Hohlbein---Conrad-------Leathers

-----------------------Hartman----------------------

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PRE-GAME- Here is the Red Bulls lineup tonight:

--------------Kandji-----------Wolyniec--------------------

--------------------------Rojas--------------------------------

Obster-----------------------------------------------Richards

--------------------------Stammler---------------------------

Borman--------Krupnick-----------Boyens----------Johnson

--------------------------Coundoul---------------------------

BENCH- Danny Cepero, Walter Garcia, Mike Petke, Nick Zimmerman, Jeremy Hall,Matt Mbuta, Luke Sassano

Juan Pablo Angel, Albert Celades and Kevin Goldthwaite are all sidelined with injuries.

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