Group Stage - GROUP B - Match 8
Sunday, July 29, 2007 - 9 p.m. CT
Robertson Stadium, Houston, Texas
HOUSTON DYNAMO v MONARCAS MORELIA
REFEREE: Walter Quesada (CRC)
ASSISTANT REFEREES: Nate Clement (USA); Frank Anderson (USA)
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Ricardo Salazar (USA)
MATCH BACKGROUND
Defending Major League Soccer champion Houston Dynamo can become the first team from Group B to secure a place in the SuperLiga semifinals when they take on Monarcas Morelia at Robertson Stadium. Dynamo continued their unbeatable defensive form in the first match, needing just the one goal scored in the game to defeat Club América. Monarcas fell behind D.C. United on an early freekick goal and went a man down early in the second half, but got the goal of the tournament to secure a 1-1 draw.
Houston Dynamo
In Major League Soccer play, Houston Dynamo have been setting records with their defensive play. After not allowing a goal for an unprecedented 726 minutes, they continued that form with a shutout of Club América in their SuperLiga opener. "Pat (Ianni) and Eddie (Robinson) were physical with their two forwards and making life difficult for them. Craig (Waibel) and Wade (Barrett) were good, but I think Richard Mulrooney was great. He sat in the middle and distributed the ball well and broke up a lot of plays. I think it was a team effort tonight. Team win and team shutout." Dynamo controlled the match from the outset, despite being uncertain what they would face in América. "We tried to figure out what system they were playing early in the game and just adjust to that," said Barrett. "That was something Dom talked about before the game. We didn't know what they were going to throw at us but we needed to figure it out early and I thought we did a pretty good job of that."
Monarcas Morelia
Diego Martinez scored the goal of the tournament thus far to give Morelia a vital point against D.C. United. "It's a play that we basically already had practiced, where we looked to change the point of attack and find the open man," said Martinez. "It was a good goal, a pretty goal. Every player dreams of scoring goals like that, but in reality the result was the work of the whole team." Given that it came from the training ground, it was a particularly welcome goal for Morelia, still integrating a number of new faces into their team - including Brazilians Wanderson and Marcinho (Marcio Batista) and Uruguayan international Gonzalo Choy, all signed in the days leading to the match and all of whom got starts. "I think we are understanding better and the part of the preseason we've had together, we've been lacking some additions like Fernando Arce. I think we have a team to have a good season in Mexico," said Wilson Tiago. The result allowed Morelia to stay in touch to gain a place in the knockout stage. "Morelia was always coming from behind and D.C. United allowed us a number of occasions and the important thing was in the end we were able to get the tie," said Luis Ángel Lundín. Still, said technical director José Luis Trejo, "it's going to complicated, because we all want to win it."
State of Play: Group B
After their victory in the first game, Houston Dynamo sit atop the table in Group A and can seal a berth in the semifinals with a victory against Monarcas Morelia. D.C. United can also go a long way to securing their own spot in the semifinals with a victory against Club América, while the Aguilas all but need a victory if they are to have hope of advancing.
