The Kansas City Wizards made history by upsetting English Premier League power house Manchester United 2-1 Sunday in front of 52,424 fans — and did so with a man down for the majority of the game.
The Wizards established themselves early when team captain Davy Anraud made a run behind United’s defense and was met by a pass from teammate Kei Makara for the game’s first goal in the 11th minute. The Wizards, enthused by the energetic home crowd, kept pressuring United and did not let up the intensity.
In the 39th minute, United’s Ryan Giggs sent a through ball between the Wizards’ back line defenders to forward Dimitar Berbatov for what would had been the equalizing goal, but Berbatov was taken out by Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad. The referee wasted no time showing Conrad a red card. The result of the foul was a game-tying goal scored by Berbatov on the penalty kick.
The crowd saw nothing wrong with the foul and pelted the referee with boos for his decision to eject Conrad.
Those boos quickly switched to cheers when Wizards forward Kamara scored the go-ahead goal and put Kansas City up 2-1. It seems the Wizards were given a break for Conrad’s ejection when replays showed the ball may not have crossed the goal line.
The Wizards had only 10 men to United’s 11 world-class players, but it didn’t affect the outcome of the game — thanks in large part to the Wizard’s substitute goal keeper Eric Kronberg, who denied any United player who tried to spoil the Wizards’ historical night. Kronberg’s brilliant performance held off any last push United made at tying the game.
The final whistle blew and it was official: Major League Soccer’s Kansas City Wizards, currently fifth in the Eastern Conference, handed Manchester United its first loss on its North American tour.
United’s legendary head coach Alex Ferguson said in a news release he was very impressed by the Wizards’ athletic play and saw great potential for years to come in the Midwest.
“When we came here the last time, it wasn’t nearly as big as it is today,” Ferguson said. “So there is a general improvement, but there are big strides to make. I think 10 years from now you’ll see better results.”