Despite playing with a man advantage for the final half hour, Houston Dynamo were held to a scoreless draw by Chivas USA on Sunday evening at Robertson Stadium. Still, Dynamo regained sole possession of second place in the Western Conference, now a point ahead of the third-place tie between Chivas and the Colorado Rapids.
Chivas were reduced to 10 men when defender Tim Regan receiving his second yellow card of the game in the 59th minute for a tackle from behind. Regan received his first yellow card in the 32nd minute after pushing Dynamo forward Alejandro Moreno.
Houston saved the most excitement for the last minute of the game, when Moreno took a cross from midfielder Dwayne De Rosario and slid a low header past Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan in stoppage time. The apparent goal was called back because Moreno was in an offside position when De Rosario sent in his cross.
Moreno's header was the second apparent goal to be called back for offside. In the first half, Chivas forward Ante Razov fired a shot past Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad that was ruled out because Razov was in behind the last defender when he received the ball.
A ninth-minute free kick by Brad Davis was Dynamo's first scoring opportunity of the evening. Davis' shot to the upper right hand corner of the goal was barely deflected by a diving Guzan, who went on to record a total of five saves in the game.
Chivas USA forward Jonathan Bornstein responded with a shot on goal in the 22nd minute, forcing the first of Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad's four saves. The shot came after Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark, trying to intercept a Chivas pass, instead kicked the ball straight into referee Jorge Gonzalez, allowing Chivas to regain control of the ball.
In the 42nd minute, Chivas midfielder Sacha Kljestan put another shot on goal, though Onstad made the easy save.
At the half, Chivas had put two shots on goal to Dynamo's one, but Dynamo reversed the trend in the second half, getting all four of their second-half shots on goal after Regan's ejection.
Chivas had a good chance early in the half before going down a man, when Ante Razov blasted a header in the 58th minute from inside the goal area that forced Onstad to react quickly, grabbing the ball over his head for the save.
In the 66th minute, De Rosario fired a shot from outside the box that Guzan blocked back in to play. Following up the rebound, Moreno fired another shot straight into the stomach of the diving Guzan, who held on to the ball to end the threat.
Two minutes later, Moreno sent a cross in for De Rosario, whose header flew just wide of the right upright. Dynamo would not threaten again until the 86th minute, when De Rosario received a ball that had been cleared out of the box after a corner kick and tried to arch it over Guzan's head. Guzan jumped up and caught the ball just before it crossed the line for his final save of the evening.
Chivas had a glorious opportunity in the 73rd minute. Francisco Mendoza received the ball on the left, and left Kelly Gray behind as he dribbled around him into the Dynamo penalty area. From about eight yards out on the angle, he fired a low shot aimed toward the far post, but Onstad threw out his leg to deflect it high into the air.
Dynamo finished the game with a 10-7 edge in shots and a 12-1 advantage in corner kicks, but couldn't translate it into the game-winner. Houston (10-8-10, 40 points) travels to Columbus to face the Crew on Saturday. Chivas USA (9-7-12, 39 points) head home to face the Colorado Rapids, also on Saturday.
Lucas Ogden-Davis is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
