D.C. UNITED vs. HOUSTON DYNAMO
Saturday, July 19, 2008 - 8 p.m. ET
RFK Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Group Stage - GROUP A - Match 9
REFEREE: Alex Prus (USA)
ASSISTANT REFEREES: Adam Wienckowski (GUA); C.J. Morgante (USA)
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Andrew Chapin (USA)
MATCH BACKGROUND
D.C. United and the Houston Dynamo play the first of their two matches in four days, this one in SuperLiga 2008. D.C. United are on the brink of elimination after losses in their first two matches, after both teams reached the semifinals out of the same group a year ago.
D.C. United
While D.C. United have not yet been eliminated from the 2008 SuperLiga, their performance in the first two games has been another disappointment, one that follows on the heels of a semifinal defeat in the inaugural SuperLiga. United have not been to an international final since 2001, when they lost to Mexico's Club América in the final of the one and only CONCACAF Giants Cup. "Our performance, particularly in the first half (against Atlante), was atrocious; we had no commitment, no passion, and we played flat. It is unacceptable, especially in a tournament like this. Every time a player wears the D.C. United uniform, they should be proud. This team is well known for its pride, and that's something we did not show today," said head coach Tom Soehn. United's players might be looking more to the league encounter with Houston that will follow three days after the SuperLiga match. "Now we have Open Cup and the league to focus on. Chicago's on top of the standings and we've got some ground to make up there as well. Now we have to put all our energy towards that. I think we'll come out and play against Houston, then we'll concentrate on the league game we have with them on Tuesday," said goalkeeper Zach Wells. One bright spot for United has been the play of Jaime Moreno, who has filled an unusual attacking midfield role in the absence of injured Marcelo Gallardo. "He has so much experience up top. The ability to hold the ball for us in critical areas of the field, especially in [the opposition's] defensive end, speaks volumes for him and I think that really helps us lead the attack," said defender Bryan Namoff. "It enables us to make runs out of the back and get our wingers involved."
Houston Dynamo
The Dynamo came into the Guadalajara match facing a number of absences. Richard Mulrooney and leading scorer Brian Ching missed the first two SuperLiga games with injuries, while against Chivas they were without the services of Dwayne De Rosario (suspended) and Stuart Holden, who was injured late in the game against Atlante. Partially as a result, Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear started his team in an unfamiliar 3-5-2 system. "We played a 3-5-2 tonight because we did want to sit back and let them dictate play," Kinnear said. "But our guys figured it out, played well and should be proud of themselves." While Dynamo traditionally play with four in the back, they said it was not a big adjustment. "We got the 3-5-2 going, and even though it is something ... we don't normally play, we have been playing this way since we were little kids so it was no big deal," said defender Patrick Ianni. Three nights after scoring a season-high four goals against Atlante, the Dynamo again struggled to find the back of the net. Housont came into SuperLiga with just one goal in their previous three league games. "That is just the way things are going for us," said midfielder Brad Davis. "We scored four the other night against Atlante and then tonight, we had three good shots cleared off the line." In 2007, the Dynamo started SuperLiga with a win against Club América and a draw against Monarcas Morelia, then concluded group play with a 1-0 win against D.C. United at home. "Now we have a good attitude knowing we can compete with and did compete with two really good Mexican teams," said Davis. "Now we just need to go to D.C., play a good game and take care of things there."
State of Play: Group A
No team has qualified for the semifinals, and no team has been eliminated, in Group A.
The tiebreakers in the group stage are as follows: (i) Head-to-Head Results; (ii) Goal Differential; (iii) Goals Scored; (iv) Coin Toss.
This weekend's results may lead to a number of three-way ties in each of the groups. If no one team has defeated the other two (Head-to-Head Results), then the subsequent tiebreakers are employed to advance a single team (as opposed to eliminating teams). If the tiebreakers fail to advance a single team, the tiebreakers are then used to eliminate one of the three teams. The tiebreaker procedures would then be reapplied between the two teams left standing in order to determine the club to advance. The tiebreakers are applied one more time between the two teams that failed to advance if it is necessary to determine a second-place team.
