HOUSTON - Houston Dynamo remained atop the Western Conference, but increased their lead on FC Dallas by a only a single point, while Columbus increased their margin in the battle for the eighth playoff spot in MLS, as the teams battled to a 1-1 draw Saturday night at Robertson Stadium.
After trailing most of the game after Alejandro Moreno scored for the Crew, the Orange took advantage of having a man advantage for the final 52 minutes of the match and Nate Jaqua knocked in a rebound to knot the score and give Houston a point to increase their lead over Dallas to two in the Western Conference.
With losses in back-to-back games, it was the Crew that came out the stronger of the two teams, with two good chances in the opening 10 minutes. First, in the ninth minute, Ricardo Virtuoso got a foot on a cross in the left side of the area, but his attempt went wide right. In the 10th minute, Guillermo Barros Schelotto had a great shot from the left side of the box, but it hit the crossbar and bounced out.
Moreno then put Columbus into the lead in the 17th minute. Schelotto got through two defenders in the left side of the area, and slipped the ball to a wide-open Moreno standing at the penalty spot. Moreno fired a bullet into the lower left corner for his fourth goal of the season, his second against his former team.
Then in the 21st minute, the Crew nearly extended their lead, but Ezra Hendrickson's header off a corner kick went high.
Nate Jaqua was issued a yellow card in the 25th minute for a hard foul, and he will have to sit out Houston's next game after reaching the five caution plateau.
In the 30th minute, Dynamo finally put together a good opportunity when Dwayne DeRosario let one go from above the restraining arc. But Crew goalkeeper Will Hesmer made a terrific save, leaping to keep it from going into the upper left corner.
Things started to get heated as Marcos Gonzalez was shown a yellow card in the 32nd minute for holding Joseph Ngwenya and tackling him from behind. Gonzalez was then sent off in the 38th minute after picking up his second yellow card of the game when he tripped Ngwenya from behind , giving Houston a man advantage for the rest of the game.
Dynamo tried taking advantage of the advantage immediately off the free kick, but Ryan Cochrane's header in the area went wide right. The Orange continued on the attack, and in the 42nd minute, DeRosario gave an unmarked Jaqua a pass at the top of the area, but his shot sailed over the goal.
Moreno again nearly came back to victimize his former club just before halftime, but his shot from the left side of the area went wide left. De Rosario nearly answered in stoppage time as he latched onto the ball in the box, dribbled through three guys and fired a low shot, but it just skipped outside of the post.
Up a man, the game settled into a familiar theme for Dynamo, as they camped out in the Crew end, yet just couldn't find their way to a goal. Richard Mulrooney sent a pass into the center of the box from the right side, finding Jaqua, but he sent a header over the goal.
From a free kick some 30 yards from goal on the left, De Rosario tried his luck in the 57th minute, but his shot never made on target.
In the 67th minute Dynamo had a glorious chance when Mulrooney overlapped on the right and floated in a cross for Ngwenya in the heart of the goal area, but his glancing header went outside of the back post.
But just when it seemed Dynamo wouldn't find the goal, they capitalized in the 79th minute. Ngwenya somehow escaped a pair of defenders at the edge of the area and slipped the ball to Ricardo Clark, who fed it back to him. Ngwenya had his low shot stopped by a diving Hesmer, but the rebound went right to Jaqua, and he knocked the ball into the empty net to tie the score.
The Crew had one final opportunity on the counter to retake the lead in the 83rd minute, but Ned Grabavoy's weak roller from the top of the upper box was easily handled by Onstad.
Dynamo resumed their dominance in the Crew end and had another good look in the 84th minute, but Mullan's shot from the right side went high. De Rosario had one more decent chance in the 87th minute, after Crew midfielder Danny O'Rourke made a sliding block on a Jaqua chance, but his shot from the top of the box went high, and both teams were content to leave with a point.
Jeremy Rakes is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
