HOUSTON DYNAMO v TORONTO FC
ROBERTSON STADIUM, Houston, Texas
7:30 p.m. CT (Ch. 55; The Score)
July 15, 2007 (WEEK 15) / MLS Game #103
In the final league match before the MLS All-Star break, Houston Dynamo have a chance to create history when they take on Toronto FC for the second time this season. Dynamo haven't lost since the start of June - and haven't allowed a goal now in more than 10 hours of play, and are just 77 minutes from the league shutout record. It's the fifth game of a six-game road trip for expansion TFC, but they are unbeaten in their last three.
REFEREE: Abbey Okulaja. SAR (bench): Steven Taylor; JAR (opposite): Thomas Supple; 4th: Oscar Ortiz
MLS Career: 63 games; FC/gm: 30.2; Y/gm: 3.6; R: 5; pens: 18
Games involving Dynamo: P6 W4 L1 T1; FC/gm: 33.5; Y/gm: 3.7; R: 2; pens: 1
Games involving Toronto FC: first game
INJURY REPORT: HOUSTON DYNAMO - OUT: DF Ryan Cochrane (concussion); MF Brad Davis (R knee sprain); MF Eric Ebert (sports hernia); DOUBTFUL: MF Corey Ashe (L ankle sprain) ... TORONTO FC - OUT: MF Tyler Hemming (knee); GK Greg Sutton (concussion)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: HOU: Dwayne De Rosario
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: HOU: Ryan Cochrane ... TOR: Andrew Boyens, Jim Brennan, Danny Dichio, Srdjan Djekanovic, Maurice Edu, Chris Pozniak
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (1 meeting): Dynamo 0 wins, 0 goals ... Toronto FC 1 win, 1 goal ... Ties 0
AT HOUSTON: first meeting
• This is the second meeting between the clubs, the lone meeting this year to be held at Robertson Stadium.
• Coaches record: Mo Johnston v HOU: P2 W1 L0 D1 ... Dominic Kinnear vs. TOR: P1 W0 L1 D0
LAST MEETING
5/16: TOR 1, HOU 0 (Welsh 25)
• Four days after winning for the first time in club history, TFC followed it up with a 1-0 win against Dynamo on May 16 at BMO Field.
• On a cold, rainy night at Exhibition Place, Toronto scored the game's only goal in the 25th minute. Ronnie O'Brien swung in a free kick from the left flank, and Andy Welsh got his head in ahead of the massed pack to nod home his first MLS goal.
• The TFC defense made that lone strike stand up for the first clean sheet in club history. Greg Sutton made four saves in goal for Toronto - and was helped in the 12th minute when a corner kick deflected past him, but O'Brien was perfectly positioned to hoof it away off the line.
• Dynamo 'keeper Pat Onstad also made four saves, keeping the Orange close in the 81st minute when Edson Buddle came racing in all alone on goal, but standing up to block the angled shot with his chest.
• Here's Johnston's team (4-4-2): Greg Sutton - Marvell Wynne, Jim Brennan, Andrew Boyens, Kevin Goldthwaite - Ronnie O'Brien (Chris Pozniak 73), Maurice Edu, Carl Robinson, Andy Welsh (Adam Braz 83) - Edson Buddle, Alecko Eskandarian (Andrea Lombardo 65). Substitutes Not Used: Srdjan Djekanovic, Gabe Gala, David Guzman, Cristian Nunez
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Richard Mulrooney, Ryan Cochrane, Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett - Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis - Dwayne De Rosario - Joseph Ngwenya (Stuart Holden 68), Brian Ching. Substitutes Not Used: Corey Ashe, Kelly Gray, Patrick Ianni, Craig Waibel, Zach Wells, Chris Wondolowski
TORONTO FC
Toronto FC ran their unbeaten streak to three games - all on the road - in coming back to claim a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park last Saturday night. Toronto FC have 18 points from 15 matches, sitting in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Chicago Fire and four ahead of Kansas City and Columbus.
LAST MATCH
• The Fire had won just once since the start of May, losing for the seventh time in 10 matches in a 2-0 loss at Los Angeles on the Fourth of July, while TFC won for the first time ever on their travels on Wednesday, claiming a 2-1 win at Real Salt Lake.
• The Fire had been shut out in back-to-back games and five of their previous seven, but finally found the back of the net in the 70th minute, after Chad Barrett was bundled over by Tyrone Marshall in the area. Barrett stepped up to take his own penalty, sending the 'keeper the other way for his fourth goal of the year.
• But the two No. 1 overall picks the last two years in the MLS SuperDraft teamed up for the tying goal in the 78th minute. Racing into the area, Marvell Edu received a lofted 35-yard pass from Marvell Wynne, near the midfield stripe. Edu brought it down with his chest before stabbing it past Matt Pickens from about at the penalty spot for his third goal of the season.
• TFC boss Mo Johnston made two changes to the team that defeated Real Salt Lake 2-1 the previous Wednesday. Marvell Wynne returned from national team duty with the USA at Copa America, coming in at right back for Chris Pozniak, while Andy Welsh came into the team in a wide midfield role and Collin Samuel moved forward as Jeff Cunningham was out with a abdominal strain.
• Here's Johnston's team (4-4-2): Srdjan Djekanovic - Marvell Wynne, Tyrone Marshall, Jim Brennan, Todd Dunivant - Ronnie O'Brien, Maurice Edu, Carl Robinson, Andy Welsh (Chris Pozniak 65) - Danny Dichio, Collin Samuel. Substitutes Not Used: Andrew Boyens, Adam Braz, Miguel Canizalez, Jeff Cunningham, Boris Pardo, Marco Reda
• "Performance-wise, unacceptable. In terms of distribution, poor, very poor. The structure of the team was good, but I wasn't pleased with the effort," Johnston said.
TEAM NEWS
• While Toronto was in the fourth game of a six-game road trip, and the Chicago match was the third game in a week, Johnston was not happy with how his team played.
• "Well, they were going to get a couple days off, but they're not going to get them anymore," he said after the match. "We've got a lot of hard work to do. We've got a hard game against Houston coming up, so we need to take care of that."
• While Johnston had another international back in Marvell Wynne and kept his team essentially the same, he hinted changes could be in the offing.
• "We've got quality players, we've got guys sitting on the bench. Guys come off the bench hoping to give us a spark but we never passed the ball well," Johnston said. "If we're tired, I'm not buying it, because they are tired as well."
• Edu's goal was a real beauty, controlling with aplomb a well-flighted ball from Wynne as the two No. 1 picks combined for the equalizer, securing a point for TFC.
• "I thought the boys battled hard. Obviously I think we started off a little sluggish, but we picked up in the second half. I thought we played pretty well, but it could've been better obviously," Edu said. "We're a little disappointed we didn't get three points, but you know it's been a long road stretch. We'll take this point on the road and just go on from there."
• The fans at BMO Field have already shown their full song in filling up nearly every seat in the stadium in the club's first year. But they are also gaining a reputation for terrific support on the road.
• "Hats off to the fans. This is the second or third road trip they've made. They're out there supporting us so we just have to produce better for them," said Edu. "We love these fans, and they love us. Hopefully we continue to play good soccer and continue to get some points and make the playoffs."
HOUSTON DYNAMO
Houston Dynamo continue to roll through Major League Soccer, extending their lengthy unbeaten and shutout streaks with yet another 4-0 victory, this time against the Chicago Fire on MLS Primetime Thursday at Toyota Park. With the victory, Dynamo now have 32 points from 17 matches, and took over sole leadership of the Western Conference while also moving to the top of the MLS overall table.
LAST MATCH
• Dynamo hadn't lost since the beginning of June, and hadn't allowed a goal in nearly nine hours, while the Fire had won just once in their last 11 games.
• In the Fire head coaching debut of Juan Carlos Osorio, Dynamo showed their intentions early before finally breaking through in the 31st minute. Ricardo Clark, who earlier hit the crossbar, hooked a ball on the flank to Wade Barrett. Barrett banged in a low cross from the left corner and Stuart Holden reached behind himself on the run to punch the ball past Matt Pickens.
• Dynamo broke the game open with two goals in four minutes around the hour. In the 58th minute, Nate Jaqua came back to haunt the team that dealt him away in the offseason. Joseph Ngwenya was trying to dribble out of a jam in the area, but the ball was poked free right to Jaqua, and he turned a ripped a high blast inside the near post for his first goal with Houston.
• Then Ngwenya scored one of the goals of the season. After Jaqua's industry won the ball, Ngwenya beat Fire defender Jim Curtin with a half-moon, collecting the ball on the other side, then rounded Pickens as he came off his line then went to ground. From almost on the goal line, Ngwenya pushed the ball along the line and off the inside of the far post (62).
• Chris Wondolowski provided the final touch just after the full 90 minutes ticked over. Dwayne De Rosario went on a run through the Fire defense and hit an angled shot that Pickens just got a hand to. Wondolowski came running in at the far post to just touch the ball over the line and into the empty net.
• Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made three changes to the team that defeated D.C. United 1-0 the previous Sunday at home. Ryan Cochrane returned to the team, coming into central defense in place of Patrick Ianni. Ricardo Clark returned from international duty, coming in for Dwayne De Rosario in the center of midfield, and Nate Jaqua started in place of Brian Ching up top.
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-4-2): Pat Onstad - Craig Waibel, Eddie Robinson, Ryan Cochrane (Patrick Ianni 45), Wade Barrett - Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Richard Mulrooney, Stuart Holden - Nate Jaqua (Chris Wondolowski 91+), Joseph Ngwenya (Dwayne De Rosario 81). Substitutes Not Used: Mike Chabala, Brian Ching, Nick Hatzke, Zach Wells
• "The way we are playing, the weather was perfect for the game tonight and we told the guys that from the beginning, you knew from the new setting what was going on, they wanted to come out and try to get on top of us and we said right from the get-go 'let's try to play in their half of the field if we can.' I thought we did," said Kinnear.
TEAM NEWS
• Dynamo now have not allowed a goal for 605 minutes, the second-longest streak in MLS history, passing the 521-minute mark of the Los Angeles Galaxy set last season. The MLS record in less than a game away: the Kansas City Wizards record of 681 minutes set in the 2000 season.
• "We're playing well and we're scoring goals at the right time, but most importantly I think the energy is there when we get the ball. We keep it, and we don't give it away in bad areas, and guys have been fantastic, especially tonight," said goalkeeper Pat Onstad.
• Added Joseph Ngwenya: "Our defense is playing great. They're very sharp and they bring a great intensity. These guys never gave up this year. No one hung their heads when we lost three in a row. Instead, we picked each other up and kept fighting."
• The last goal scored against Houston came on June 10, when Alejandro Moreno scored in the 25th minute of Houston's 2-1 win against the Columbus Crew. It was Moreno's first goal with Columbus - after he had been traded from Houston for Ngwenya a month earlier.
• "You look at the streak that we've had a couple of these wins, both been at home, so that makes a little more difficult when you're playing away from home," said Kinnear. "Pat [Onstad] made some good saves early on that kept the game at zero and I think that's important."
• It was the third time in six games Dynamo scored four goals in a game - and all have been on MLS Primetime Thursday. Houston also defeated Chivas USA 4-0 on June 21 and the New York Red Bulls 4-0 one week ago.
• Jaqua spent the last four years in Chicago before moving to the Los Angeles Galaxy via Toronto FC in the offseason, then was traded to Houston last week. "I heard more cheers than boos," said Jaqua. "Being back in Chicago is great, especially seeing all my buddies from the team and all the fans here. I loved playing here. It's great to be back here."
• The addition of Jaqua has already provided another dangerous weapon in a Dynamo arsenal that includes Brian Ching and Dwayne De Rosario - both of whom started on the bench for the Fire match.
• "He's got good size and he's very fast with the ball," Ngwenya said. "It is very easy to communicate with him. He's a great guy and he fits in here." Said Kinnear: "I think in the second half, Joe [Ngweyna] and Nate [Jaqua] were excellent tonight. Holding the ball up, running into spaces. You're always happy when you win and your forwards play well and they score. It was a good homecoming for Nate and Joe continues to impress his teammates."
