Houston Dynamo scored a first-half goal through a Craig Waibel header and that's all it took to defeat FC Dallas on Saturday night at Robertson Stadium and claim the "El Capitan" cannon for the inaugural season of the Texas rivalry.
Waibel got on the end of a nice corner sent in by Dwayne De Rosario in the 37th minute for the game's only goal as Houston claimed an important victory. The win put an end to Dynamo's four-game winless streak, ended the four-game winning streak of FC Dallas, and narrowed the gap between the teams to four points at the top of the Western Conference.
Dynamo dominated the first half, taking six shots compared to just one for FC Dallas. Brian Ching and Alejandro Moreno were a solid force up top, peppering FCD 'keeper Dario Sala.
The lone bright spot for Dallas was the play of Kenny Cooper at forward, who hassled the Dynamo defenders but had little support in his role as a lone striker.
In the 21st minute Houston had their first good look at goal as Brad Davis curled in a great cross from the right that found Ching in the middle of the box for a wide open header, but Sala made the save from close range.
Marcelo Saragosa did well in support of the Hoops defense, reading the play well and breaking up passes from the midfield to the forwards.
After Dynamo won several corners in a row, they finally broke through in the 37th minute of play. De Rosario sent in a great corner that found Waibel, who was able to rise above the crowd and sent a header deceptively into the ground where it bounced past Sala and into the goal.
Following the goal, the chippy play seen in earlier meetings in the Texas rivalry began to again show up. It led to yellow cards for Bobby Rhine in the 40th minute, then Ronnie O'Brien in the 45th.
Waibel did well getting forward during the entire game, and nearly had a hand in a second goal for Houston after the break. He put in a nice ball for Ching who got a head to it, but it went wide left of the net in the 53rd minute.
The Hoops started to find more of the ball in the second half, with Ramon Nunez and O'Brien getting more space on the wings leading to more chances for Dallas.
Nunez was brought down just outside the box in the 55th minute. The young Honduran stepped to the ball on the resulting free kick and whipped a shot that rattled off the right post and bounced back into play.
Another promising chance for FC Dallas came by way of a 59th-minute free kick from Greg Vanney. The veteran center back sent in a strong left-footed shot that forced a goal line save from Moreno, who was able to clear the danger.
With his team down in the 64th minute, FC Dallas head coach Colin Clarke brought on Carlos Ruiz for his first action after missing three games due to a hamstring injury. The substitution gave FC Dallas a lift, as they found many more dangerous chances once Ruiz entered the match.
The Hoops were getting forward well in the game's waning minutes. The best chance of the late going came in the 86th minute as Rhine played a great square ball right to the feet of Arturo Alvarez, but his shot went wide right of the goal.
Dynamo held on to not only take the ever-so-valuable three points, but also to take ownership of the El Capitan cannon for the first year after taking seven points from the first three matches of the season between the two teams.
Scott Joiner is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
