If Houston Dynamo were at all concerned following a 1-0 loss to FC Dallas in the opening leg of their Western Conference Semifinal Series on Saturday, they certainly weren't showing it.
The reigning MLS Cup champions allowed just a single goal to FCD center back Clarence Goodson in the 23rd minute but dominated the game in every statistical category. Dynamo outshot the Hoops 15-9 and generated nine corners to FCD's zero. But in the end, the Orange were unable to find the net and head to next Friday's second leg trailing by a goal.
"We made one mistake and paid for it," said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. "There was a little bit of a scramble in the box and a bounce went their way. I thought we were pretty even in the first half. I thought in the second half, they were looking to protect the lead and we were looking to go after it. We had some good chances."
Kinnear and his players are definitely ready for Friday's return match. "We're down by one goal," he said. "I told the guys that in the second half, we were excellent. We just take that and take it to Robertson."
His players are also not concerned about being down by a goal heading into the matchup at Robertson Stadium.
"In all honesty, this is the same position we were in last year (during the West Semifinals) with Chivas (USA)," said midfielder Brad Davis. "So, we're not worried about it. We're going back home and know exactly what we want to do. On the road, we did well. We went down one (goal) but that's all we let in. We also created some chances. Our heads are up going back home and we look forward to working hard and trying to win three points there."
During the regular season, Dynamo defeated their in-state rivals three times, with the other meeting a draw. While it was the first success for FC Dallas against Houston this year -- and just their second-ever win -- the semifinal series is one that is really decided over 180 minutes, and not just 90.
"The only thing I would change is the result," midfielder Richard Mulrooney said. "I thought we did the right things and were a little unfortunate not to finish. We limited their chances and they got their one goal, wasted time and got the result. Thankfully, it's a two-game series and we go back to our place next Friday night and we're looking forward to it."
Dynamo midfielder Dwayne De Rosario had six of Houston's 15 shots and had many of the top scoring chances of the night, most of which came in the second half and Kinnear took notice of his great performance.
"He was trying to get the goal," Kinnear said. "He tries to run off the flicks and stuff like that. Sometimes, they have a hard time tracking him because he's always going forward. He was just inches from scoring a goal and sometimes, he was a catalyst for our attacks going in."
In the opening half, Houston was actually outshot by FCD 6-5 but in the second half, the Dynamo attack came alive and outshot their in-state rivals by a 10-3 margin.
"I told them (at halftime) that we had 135 minutes left of soccer," Kinnear said. "Do we have to go out and win? That would be nice but let's make sure the game doesn't get away from me. I thought on both sides of the ball, we were very attack-minded."
De Rosario remembered Kinnear's halftime speech well.
"He told us that we had one mistake and it led to one goal," he said. "It reminded us of the Chivas game (last Saturday) where we had a lot of chances but couldn't score. Again, he told us to keep plugging away because we have guys who can score. It was a matter of one going in and the floodgates opening.
"He (Kinnear) wasn't down on us. We took a lot of chances in the first half and the way we kept our composure after they scored was first-class. We need to continue encouraging and building each other up going into this next game."
Kinnear held Davis out of the starting 11 after he had started the last two matches. Before that, he had missed 13 straight matches with a knee injury. Davis did enter in the 63rd minute and admits he isn't quite at 100 percent but is getting there.
"I feel much better," Davis said. "There is still a little adjusting to do but at this point, when he (Kinnear) calls on me, I just have to suck it up. I know we have three games possibly left in our season so whenever he calls on me, I'll be ready to go. I have to stay in it and do my best all week to stay in it and be as strong as I can to be able to contribute come next week."
One thing that De Rosario noticed was how quiet the Pizza Hut Park crowd was after the FCD goal midway through the opening half.
"I think after that goal, they didn't really have much to get excited about," DeRosario said. "The majority of their chances were coming on our end. On their attack side, they didn't really create much and I think that's what made the crowd silent. We're going to have the crowd on our side and we have to keep them vibrant by scoring goals and creating chances."
With Dynamo being a battle-tested group of veterans, all wearing orange agree that Saturday's result is nothing to panic about.
"There is a lot of leadership in this room who knew that 1-0 wasn't devastating," Mulrooney said. "We have 90 minutes left and as long as we keep doing the right things, I like our chances."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
