After missing their chance to clinch a spot in the SuperLiga semifinals on Sunday, Houston Dynamo will have to go through D.C. United in order to advance to the next round. Dynamo tied Monarcas Morelia 1-1 on Sunday night, and they will enter Wednesday's matchup with MLS foe D.C. United in a first-place tie in Group B.
Both teams enter the third game of group play with a win and a draw for four points. Morelia is in third with two points and plays last-place Club America on Wednesday night, needing a win for a chance to advance.
The Orange know that Wednesday's game at Robertson Stadium is going to be a tough match.
"If we don't take it seriously, it's going to be a tough game," said Dynamo forward Joseph Ngwenya. "We have to come in here and win. It's what we want to do every time we step on to the field. MLS is even competition, so it's going to be a tough game."
Dynamo left the field Sunday frustrated after taking a 1-0 lead 12 seconds into the match on an Ngwenya goal. Morelia, however, tied the game in the 74th minute on a miscommunication between goalkeeper Zach Wells and the Dynamo back four.
Houston, which hasn't lost in 11 consecutive MLS matches and has lost only one game in the last 14 (a 1-0 loss to Charleston Battery in the U.S. Open Cup), will look to continue their winning ways from the past two months.
"I told the guys that if they look at the last two months of the year, we are unbeaten, including SuperLiga," said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. "That's with travel and turf and three games in eight days on more than one occasion. I told the guys to keep doing what you're doing. It was frustrating because we scored the first goal, and we looked to win that game, and that didn't happen.
"But what can you say? If the guys weren't trying, that would be different, but the effort these guys have put out there has been fantastic. You can't win every game you play, and we know that, but as long as you put yourself in position, you should be happy with that, and I think we've done that every time we have played over the last two months."
Playing a league team will provide a bit of added incentive for the Orange.
"Whenever you are playing a league team -- whether it be preseason, league or playoffs -- you want to be the better team," said defender Eddie Robinson. "I think a large part of this league is mental edge. You look at the teams that are at the bottom of the table in the MLS, they aren't bad teams. Mentally, they are just having a hard time getting out of a funk.
"I think right now we have a bit of a mental edge on D.C. because the last couple times they have come here, we've been successful. We want to continue that. We want to carry that into the league games. It's certainly going to feel like a league game, and we want to win like it's a league game."
Compared to the last two games, Houston will not have to spend time feeling out D.C. After not having a scouting report against Club America and seeing Morelia play against D.C. as their only preparation, Dynamo will know what to expect from United having played them twice already this season.
"We know them. We've played them two times already, so we know their players. We know going in what their strengths are," Kinnear said. "Hopefully, we can exploit some of their weaknesses. It makes the pregame talk a little easier. Before it was like, 'We have to figure this out in the first 15 minutes of the game.' I liked that, too, because it showed a different side of us that we can catch on to teams very well."
Fatigue might play a factor in Wednesday's game. Both Houston and D.C. will be playing their fourth game in 11 days. The Orange showed they were a little tired at the end of Sunday's game, but they know they have to get a result.
"Every time we step onto the field, we play to win," Kinnear said. "The approach isn't different from anything else. We've had two good results. The guys looked a little spent at the end of the last game. The guys have battled through this, and we need to get a result."
Jeremy Rakes is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
