The last time Pachuca and Houston Dynamo squared off, it was in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Pachuca defeated the Orange 5-4 on aggregate over their two-leg series, but Dynamo will have a little chance for redemption when the teams meet again Tuesday night at Robertson Stadium with a berth in the SuperLiga final on the line.
A lot has changed since the two teams met in March, but one thing remains the same -- they both want to win.
"It was almost six months ago now," said Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad. "They changed their personnel a lot. We changed our personnel. Both teams are in different stages of their season. I wouldn't say a revenge factor, but I would say we -- in our locker room -- are definitely looking forward to it.
"They are a good team, a talented team. We thoroughly enjoyed -- we didn't enjoy losing -- but we enjoyed the two-game series, and we thought it was some of the best soccer we've played and thought it was some of the best soccer we've seen an opponent play."
Houston knows Pachuca is among the best, if not the best, Mexican teams. Heading into the Superliga semifinal, the Orange know they have their hands full, despite finishing with the best record in group play of the eight teams in SuperLiga.
"Anytime you are in a tournament and want to advance, you want to play the weakest team, and Pachuca is by far not the weakest team in this part of the world," said Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson. "They are a very good team, and they know that.
"I think the confidence we have right now comes because we know the last time we played them here, we beat them. We were in preseason, and they were in their regular season. We flip-flopped right now. They are just getting started, and we are well into action in the season. They have a ton of good players, and we are just going to have to find a way to beat them."
The last time the two teams met Houston was nearing the end of their preseason, while Pachuca was in the midst of Mexico's Torneo Clausura. This time around the Dynamo have nine MLS contests remaining, and Pachuca has just started the new season, the 2007 Apertura.
After the Orange lost their last two games against Real Salt Lake and Colorado, both by 1-0 scorelines, Houston wants to play well and get a win Tuesday night.
"We had a good talk after the game in Colorado. We haven't played well the last two games," said Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear. "I'm not going to lie. If we've said we've played well, then we are fooling ourselves. This is completely different. I think the good thing about these guys is that they forget quickly. Even with wins, when the game is over, we look to the next one. We know we haven't played well. We know we need to play better because this opponent is good in many areas. I think we'll play better (Tuesday) night than we have the last couple games."
Houston has a bit of an advantage playing at home. When the two teams met in March in Houston, the Dynamo walked a way with a 2-0 win.
"We'd rather play at home than away," Onstad said. "Pachuca is a hard place to play because of the altitude, and they get great fan support. They are a tough team, so it's going to be a tough team no matter where we play."
There is a lot of respect in the Dynamo locker room for Pachuca, which lost 2-1 to the Los Angeles Galaxy to open SuperLiga group play, but then tied FC Dallas 1-1 before knocking off Chivas de Guadalajara 1-0. They have started their league season in great form, defeated Tecos 4-1 and Morelia 3-1.
"We've played Club America, which was supposed to be one of the better clubs in Mexico, and we've seen D.C. play Chivas," Onstad added. "I think, for our money, we think Pachuca is the team to beat in Mexico. They are the class of the league. They play great soccer. It's a fantastic style they play and tough to play against. For us, that's the measuring stick in the region, and you always want to measure yourself against the best teams.
"We feel they are probably the best team in the region. That's why they have so many championships. If we want to be considered one of the better teams in the region, then we need to try to beat these teams. Nothing better than to beat them Tuesday night."
Kinnear concurs with Onstad, and added that revenge isn't a factor heading into Tuesday's rematch of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup semis. Dynamo just want to advance.
"It's not revenge. It's the semifinals of the tournament," Kinnear said. "I think we came into the tournament with the right approach. I thought that for us to come out on top of that group was pretty impressive. I thought the other three teams in the group, Club America, Morelia and D.C, were very difficult.
"Everyone wants to look back to those games in March. They've lost a couple players, and we've lost a couple players from those games, too. I don't look at it as revenge. I like the matchup because it's two teams who like to play. I want to get into the final. We're not playing to continue this game against Pachuca. We're playing because we want to defeat Pachuca and go on to the final."
Jeremy Rakes is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
