Since the calendar has turned over from May to June, Houston Dynamo has turned a complete 180 on their season. With Chivas USA returning to Robertson Stadium for a MLS Primetime Thursday matchup, Houston tries to continue their three-game winning streak and stay undefeated in June.
Houston will also be looking to leapfrog Chivas in the Western Conference standings as the Orange are one point behind their in-division rivals.
"It's an important three points. They are an in-division rival, so it's like six points in my mind," said midfielder Richard Mulrooney. "They are in front of us right now. We are in third, and we are looking to move up. Dallas has a few points on us. They have some games in hand and they have won some games, so we need to make this a four-game winning streak, and that's what our mindset is."
A lot has changed since the two teams met in Houston's second of the season, a 1-0 Dynamo win at Robertson Stadium on April 14. The Orange struggled through the first two months of the season gaining just seven points in eight games before their current winning streak.
Houston hopes to keep their gameplan the same as it has been over the last three games and hopes the results will continue.
"We're going to go out and put them under pressure and try to get balls wide," said midfielder Brad Davis. "We'll go from there. We take the same mentality that we want to get three points out of each game, especially here at home. It's been awhile, so we want to get three points for our fans and ourselves and leapfrog them and get second in the division."
Chivas enters the rematch of last season's Western Conference finals winners of three in a row and have earned at least a point in their last five games. Chivas hasn't lost since a 2-1 defeat at D.C. United on May 5.
"They are just a good technically sound team," Mulrooney said. "They knock the ball around well. Defensively, I think they have the best goals against average in the league. Defense wins championships in this team, and they have one of the best right now. They have some good players who can knock it around, and if we don't play smart, they will pick us apart and we will lose. We have to play a smart game as well and figure out the best way of attacking them."
Houston has done a lot right in their three-game winning streak, including doing the one thing they hadn't done earlier in the season - score goals. The Orange have hit the back of the net six times over the past three games, and Joseph Ngwenya has led the charge with a goal in each of the games.
The attack led by Ngwenya as well as Chris Wondolowski and Brian Mullan on the offensive end has helped lead Dynamo up the Western Conference standings and head coach Dominic Kinnear wants them to continue doing what they have.
"You keep telling them the things they have been doing right in those three games," Kinnear said. "I think Joe and Wondo and Mulls, when he's up there, fought for every ball. So when you do that and you win a good percentage of those balls, it gives your team a chance to attack and play in the other team's half. We make sure that Joe, Chris (and) Brian make smart, intelligent runs and don't always come to the ball but always try to stretch the game as well."
Dynamo know Chivas well and they know how Chivas like to play.
"They do like to play a lot through the middle," Kinnear said. "We know they have very intelligent players who like to play a lot of quick 1-2 touch passing. It's important that if they do get into their rhythm we stay with runners because they can't bait you in and get around you. And make sure that when we win it - because they commit a lot of players to the attack - that we find our spaces wide to advance."
This will be the first game for Houston in 10 days, but the layoff isn't anything that Dynamo is worried about, and they are ready to return to the field.
"We needed the break. Three games in eight days causes you to be wiped. To think if we would have had a game last week, I'm not sure if we would have had enough time to recuperate," Mulrooney said. "Second, we're on a three-game winning streak. We are pumped and excited. The trainings this week have been intense. Dom has set up training sessions to get the most of us, so if there was any rust on us, we would have already wiped it off with some WD-40 and we're ready to get back on the field."
Jeremy Rakes is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
