When FC Dallas went up 1-0 on a Carlos Ruiz goal in the 14th minute, the near-capacity Houston Dynamo crowd at Robertson Stadium might have been stunned. But Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear wasn't nearly as worried.
Down 2-0 on aggregate and looking at having to score at least three goals to keep alive their dream of repeating as MLS Cup champions, their coach knew that it might just be a matter of time.
"We knew before the game that it was going to be difficult," Kinnear said. "I thought we had enough chances before they scored to go ahead, and I thought we came out with a great attitude but just couldn't finish for the posts and Dallas putting guys in the way. Then when Ruiz scored it really took us a while to recover from it, but I still thought our attitude was really good. At halftime, I told the team we had to kind of go for it, and maybe a little bit of luck would come our way."
First, that luck came Dynamo's way when Arturo Alvarez was sent off just a minute into the second half after he was involved in an incident with Brad Davis in the corner, shown a straight red card by referee Baldomero Toledo.
"Fortunately for us a player for Dallas loses his head and it makes it 10 men, and we really had to go for an attacking approach," Kinnear said. "That's what we did talking Craig [Waibel] out and putting Stuart [Holden] on, and then our first goal swung the momentum and put a little energy in our legs and a little fear in theirs."
The comeback began when Holden scored in the 67th minute, then Brian Ching scored the first of his two goals in the 72nd minute. Ching hit for the series winner seven minutes into extra time before Brad Davis finished the game off three minutes later, and the the veteran forward gave credit to his teammates and the raucous crowd for pushing the squad through the effects of the first Dallas goal.
"The first game they were really physical, and we knew it would be the same in this game," Ching said. "We did a good job of keeping our heads, and we got the last laugh putting balls in the back of the net. We gave a lot in the first half, and we were pretty tired in the second half, but the atmosphere was unbelievable."
Houston outshot Dallas 24-5, with 13 shots on goal to only three for the visitors. The heated rivalry produced 40 fouls, and it was the red card for Alvarez that gave Dynamo the edge they needed to keep Dallas on the defensive. FCD ended the game two players down when Drew Moor was sent off with a second yellow card in the dying seconds.
"Two goals is hard. The goalkeeper, the post, you sometimes wonder if we have luck," Kinnear said. "But when Alvarez got red-carded, I thought we were going to win. I thought then that we were in good shape, and with the chances we were getting, the momentum and luck had to change."
Having the man advantage allowed Kinnear's charges to dictate the pace and direction of play.
"We pushed Dwayne [De Rosario] really high on Bobby Rhine and that kept him back. With an extra man in midfield that gave Brad [Davis] a lot of ball. Brad is such a good passer of the ball, we almost wanted to force feed the left side, and that would leave Dwayne one on one maybe, where he is so good," Kinnear said. "Bobby is a good player, but maybe not the best right back in the league defensively. It opened up a lot of space for Brad and it led to better service for our wide players."
Ching had a chance to win it for Houston near the end of second-half stoppage time, but had to wait until the first overtime period to send the crowd into wild celebration with a shot from right in front of the goal that put the Dynamo ahead 3-2 on aggregate.
"I wanted to put the game away in the 93rd, and was a little disappointed," Ching said. "But it was good to score, and it always feels better when you win. I think we showed what kind of team we are. It's the team Dom built. We never give up. You saw that last year, and again this year in the playoffs."
Relative newcomer Nate Jaqua has been with Dynamo only since July, but the former LA Galaxy player already knows what makes the Houston group tick.
"This team just doesn't give up," Jaqua said. "We showed that again tonight. We knew if we were able to just get that first goal, it would break the seal and open it up for more. After that the goals just came. This is a great group of guys, a great organization, everyone works for everyone. It's a real team effort."
Kinnear also knew that with his team's history of fighting back, they were never really out of the game.
"We had a lot of chances to score goals," he said. "Over time they (Dallas) were a little tired and we found our way, then we had the great goal by Brad to cap it all off. The guys kept their heads. We were tested tonight, we were fouled a lot, we were baited at times. The guys put in a great performance. Now we're happy and look forward to the next one."
Now that the battles with their intrastate rival are done for the season, Dynamo can look ahead to the Western Conference Championship, when they will face either Chivas USA or the Kansas City Wizards. But Kinnear isn't afraid to let the league and fans know that he thinks they may have already seen the best matchup.
"It's a really good rivalry between us and Dallas," Kinnear said. "One guy coming from LA to Dallas keeps it, well, a gentle hate. It brings the bad side out at times, but the rivalry with FC Dallas is a great one. All the games we have played with them have been hard.
"You look at the games, the crowd here, it takes your breath away and I think it's the best rivalry in MLS. Maybe I am biased because I am part of it. Maybe Chivas and the Galaxy have an edge, but the away support here adds to it."
Glen McMicken is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
