An explosive showdown for first place in the Western Conference ended in a scoreless draw between the Houston Dynamo and Real Salt Lake on MLS Primetime Thursday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
While Real Salt Lake held a 16-10 edge in shots on the night, both teams had shots cleared off the goal line by defenders. RSL also finished a man down after Chris Wingert was sent off in second-half stoppage time.
The first shot of the game was fired by the Dynamo in the 13th minute. Brian Mullan received the ball just outside the corner of the area. After surveying his options, Mullan laid the ball back to Stuart Holden waiting just outside the penalty arc. But Holden's first time attempt went well over the crossbar.
A few minutes later the turf monster reared up in favor of the Orange. RSL's Javier Morales sent a high ball into the Houston area that was brought down by the head of Kenny Deuchar and placed right in the path of a charging Kyle Beckerman. Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad looked to be in trouble until Beckerman touched the ball. Rather than take the shot, the RSL midfielder looked to try and control the ball and in the process ended up dribbling away from Onstad and toward the corner.
Not only was Onstad getting help from the turf, his defense was lending aid as well. In the 24th minute the Dynamo goalkeeper was drawn to the edge of the area by Robbie Findley, who latched onto a long ball from the middle of the park. Findley waited for reinforcements and then dropped the ball back to Beckerman, whose shot went through the feet of Onstad but was cleared off the line by an alert Bobby Boswell.
Real were pressing again in the 26th minute. Findley directed a forceful header just over the bar, although Onstad looked to be in position for the save had the shot been on frame.
Back on the offensive end the Dynamo created a few chances of their own in the closing minutes of the first half. In the 41st minute, Dwayne De Rosario got his head on a cross, but sent his chance well wide.
As the half came to a close RSL's Deuchar had a chance to put the home side up as he was the recipient of an open cross. To the dismay of the Rice-Eccles crowd the Scotsman whiffed on his chance and the referee blew his whistle for the end of the period.
Following the intermission Houston spent some time defending. Findley had a go from the top of the box that shaved the top of the crossbar in the 50th minute.Then in the 53rd Onstad was perfectly positioned to grab a shot by Wingert from distance.
Onstad was called on again in the 56th minute to stop a point-blank header from Deuchar. The RSL striker got on the end of a free kick whipped in by Morales and pounded a header right at the Dynamo goalkeeper.
Another RSL defender, this time Ian Joy, took his chance from long range, but Onstad was up to the task as he punched it away for a corner. The Dynamo defense deflected a shot from Andy Williams in the 60th minute that looked to be headed for goal.
The match increased in intensity as both sides were pressing for the win, and as it grew intense the fouls started to pile up. In a flurry of yellow cards that were shown, Ricardo Clark was among the guilty for a foul on Tony Beltran around the center stripe in the 81st and with that card will miss the Dynamo's next match for yellow card accumulation.
Desperate for a goal the Orange converged on the Salt Lake penalty area with surge after surge of late attacks. In the 84th minute Mullan had an open shot toward the top of the area that was well-struck but was punched away by a diving Nick Rimando.
Another Houston corner kick in the 87th minute nearly produced a winner for the Orange. The play was brought down by the head of Craig Waibel and then directed on goal by the head of De Rosario. The ball was headed for the inside of the post before Beltran jumped up and nodded it off the line.
In extra time tempers overflowed as Wingert and Corey Ashe started a shoving match that resulted in Wingert being shown a red card by referee Mark Geiger and Ashe receiving a yellow.
Scott McAllister is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
