Four days after bringing a three-game losing streak to an end, Houston Dynamo will look to get a winning streak going Thursday when they face the Colorado Rapids at Robertson Stadium.
Earlier this season, Houston handed the Rapids their first defeat at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., knocking off the home side 3-1 on a strange, rainy night. But that win in early May is well in the past, according to Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear.
"We played well that night. They are probably disappointed with how that night went," Kinnear said. "But, I look at our last game and their last game. They had some positive moments in their game, and we had some positive moments in ours. It's a blank slate. I don't think winning that game gives us an edge. If it does, fantastic, but I just go in with everything new."
Houston will go into Thursday's match missing four starters. Brian Ching and Ricardo Clark have been called up by the U.S. national team, while Dwayne De Rosario and goalkeeper Pat Onstad, who is suspended for the Colorado match after receiving a red card Sunday, were called up by the Canadian national team.
It's a certainty then, that some of Dynamo's reserves will see some action. Still, the Orange know they need to get a winning streak going.
"Don't forget we are out four starters right now," said defender Craig Waibel. "We have some injuries, we have some national team guys and Pat's red card. We have some great guys on the bench who are ready to come in.
"Right now every win is a big win for us. The championship was last year, and everyone keeps saying we're a championship team. We're not. I think we're in eighth or ninth place in the league right now. Every win is a big win when you are in ninth place."
Against Colorado, Ching and De Rosario accounted for all three of the Houston goals. Colorado enters the game in second place in the Western Conference with 15 points after a loss to Toronto FC on Saturday.
After falling on the road last weekend against Toronto FC, the Rapids will be looking to get back on track Thursday.
"They are a team that needs a bit of a turnaround as well," Waibel said. "They are on a bit of a low spot for them. They are a fiery team. It's always a bloodbath with them. They are competitive. From the top player to the bottom player, they are out for blood. If you aren't a smart team, they can get under their skin."
With the loss of four players, rookie Corey Ashe is one man who will be seeing more action for Dynamo. Ashe sat on the bench in the first meeting with Colorado, but he knows what to expect against the Rapids.
"For the most part, when we went to Colorado, we took care of them," Ashe said. "They have an incentive, but we also have an incentive, and that's to get back on track. We're coming off of a win, and we want to keep it going. Hopefully, we can do it with Colorado.
"From what I saw sitting on the bench and what the coaches talked about was to be patient, knock the ball around and dictate the game. We need to control their key players and when the time comes, attack. Play hard for 90 minutes. That's what we did."
Kinnear knows Colorado will be a hungry team, and he also knows Houston needs to build on Sunday's win. With Colorado and Columbus coming up in the next four days, the Orange has a chance to pick up six points and move up in the Western Conference standings, but they have to take care of second place Colorado first, Kinnear said.
"You can only look at one more game," Kinnear said. "Colorado has 15 points, so they have done something right this year. You have the first win, so coming into practice on Tuesday is a little bit easier. You come into this game and look forward to it. I think we did a lot of things right on Sunday, so we look forward to continuing it."
Jeremy Rakes is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
