Chivas USA took advantage of a 10-man Houston Dynamo, dropping the visitors 3-2 at The Home Depot Center on Saturday night.
Dynamo were left a man down after Ricardo Clark was sent off in the 31st minute for shoving Chivas USA defender Orlando Perez to the turf.
Three minutes prior, Dynamo had tied the score at 1-1 off a Dwayne De Rosario penalty kick, which offset an early goal by Jonathan Bornstein. Ante Razov added goals on both sides of the half and De Rosario scored his second goal midway through the second half.
With the loss, Dynamo saw their slim hold on second place in the Western Conference standings cut to one point as Chivas moved into third place.
It was a physical contest from the onset with players on both sides battling for loose balls and position.
In the 7th minute, recent Chivas acquisition Jesus Morales nearly gave the home side an early lead as he lunged for a ball crossed into the Dynamo penalty area. Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad, however, was positioned perfectly and saw the point-blank range attempt deflect off of him and out of play.
Onstad was less than impressive on Chivas' ensuing possession, though.
In the 8th minute, Chivas took a 1-0 lead after an Onstad gaffe. Morales sent a cross into the penalty area to Bornstein who brought the ball down with his chest. His touch was too strong and the ball bounced away from him and towards an onrushing Onstad who instead of smothering the ball, saw it squirt past him and in to the goal as Bornstein crashed into the hapless 'keeper.
Dynamo were unable to generate any offensive attack until the 27th minute when Chivas 'keeper Preston Burpo was ruled to have brought down speedy Dynamo forward Chris Wondolowski in the penalty area.
De Rosario took the ensuing spot kick, coolly slotting it past Burpo for his seventh goal of the season.
Then things fell apart for Dynamo.
Minutes later, Clark was called for a foul after tugging and shoving Chivas midfielder Sacha Kljestan. Kljestan pushed Clark after the foul and Clark retaliated with a shove, prompting players from both teams to enter the fray. Orlando Perez jogged towards Clark and as he approached, Clark shoved him to the turf. Referee Alex Prus then showed Clark the red card when things settled.
Reduced to 10 men, Dynamo assumed a defensive posture, substituting midfielder Adrian Serioux for Wondolowski in the 36th minute and leaving Alejandro Moreno as the lone forward.
Dynamo held firm for much of the rest of the half but Chivas' constant pressure finally paid dividends in the 45th minute when Razov beat Brian Mullan to a corner kick ball and knocked it past Onstad for the 2-1 lead heading into the half.
Chivas maintained their high level of pressure on Dynamo's defense in the second half and made it 3-1 in the 57th minute.
It was Razov again scoring for the hosts, one-timing a Brent Whitfield cross after a series of quick passes that spread the Dynamo defense, leaving Razov unmarked in the penalty area to bury the ball into the back of the net.
Dynamo stole one back 10 minutes later.
De Rosario capitalized on Chivas' inability to clear a loose ball in the penalty area and smashed the ball past Burpo from 10 yards out. The goal was De Rosario's eighth on the year.
Then, De Rosario drew what appeared to be a penalty in stoppage time after being taken down by defender Jason Hernandez in the area. Prus, however, ruled that no foul had been committed.
Danny Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
