A stunning bicycle kick by Brian Ching four minutes from the end gave Houston Dynamo a 1-0 victory against D.C. United at Robertson Stadium on Saturday night, but both teams ended the evening with their postseason futures secure.
The Dynamo victory, combined with Real Salt Lake's 3-3 tie with the Kansas City Wizards, clinched a playoff berth for Houston. And although D.C. United lost, they still clinched the MLS Supporters' Shield emblematic of the regular-season record, after the FC Dallas loss to the Columbus Crew.
The lone goal of the night was a stunner from Ching, who received a flick-on header near the top of the box from forward Paul Dalglish and sent the full overhead blast screaming past United goalkeeper Troy Perkins. The play was set up by a cross from Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis, who also received an assist on the play.
Dalglish was in the game as a substitute for forward Alejandro Moreno, who left the game in the 52nd minute due to fatigue. Moreno traveled to Venezuela earlier in the week to play for the his national team against Uruguay on Sept. 27.
The game featured two very different styles of attack. Houston preferred an aerial attack, working the ball down the sidelines and crossing it into the box, usually in the direction of Ching. United, however, preferred to run the ball up the center of the field with good skill and short passes and combination play, launching shots from the top of the penalty box.
An early series of set pieces brought the first scoring opportunities of the game. In the 12th minute, United midfielder Christian Gomez sent a free kick into the box for his teammates, who were crashing the goal from the top of the box. But the cross was errant and went straight to Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad.
Houston then went straight back down the field, earning a set piece of their own in the 14th minute from a foul by D.C. defender Brandon Prideaux. In what would prove to be the most dangerous moment for Dynamo in the first half, Davis sent in a cross for Ching, but his header sailed just outside the left goal post.
In the 28th minute, Houston had another scoring opportunity when Moreno dribbled the ball into the box and crossed it to Ching, whose shot was blocked before reaching the goal. Receiving the rebound, Moreno sent in another cross, which flew harmlessly over everyone's heads and out of bounds.
D.C. United received two yellow cards at the end of the half, with defender Joshua Gros receiving a yellow for pushing Brian Mullan to the ground and Christian Gomez being carded after exchanging words with referee Brian Hall while the teams were walking to the locker rooms at halftime.
The Dynamo offense began to apply more pressure in the second half. In the 56th minute, Dynamo captain Wade Barrett recovered a loose ball inside the box, firing a sliding shot on goal. Perkins made a tough save, deflecting Barrett's ball wide right for the first corner kick of the game.
With the MLS Supporters' Shield already in hand thanks to the Crew's earlier, United coach Peter Nowak chose to rest a few of his starters in the second half, pulling Jaime Moreno and Gomez in the 67th minute and calling Matias Donnet to the bench in the 77th minute.
Another Dynamo sally into D.C. territory was cut short when Dalglish received a yellow card for pushing in the 76th minute, while trying to recover a loose ball inside the United penalty box.
The play of the game came in the 86th minute, when Ching decided the game with a bicycle kick from the middle of the area that sailed past Perkins. Though United held the edge in total shots 6-5, Dynamo put three of their shots on goal while United had none.
In a matchup of playoff-bound Eastern Conference teams next Saturday, United return home to face the New England Revolution. Dynamo will look to improve their playoff seeding when they travel to Real Salt Lake the same day.
Lucas Ogden-Davis is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
