The Houston Dynamo suffered through numerous missed opportunities Wednesday night against Deportivo Saprissa in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions' Cup semifinal at Robertson Stadium.
Playing to a scoreless tie definitely wasn't the result Houston wanted and the frustration showed afterwards.
"Especially in the second half, I thought we were really dominant," said Houston coach Dominic Kinnear. "I thought in the second half we created a lot of traffic, but we just couldn't score. You have those nights sometimes. For us to come back from that game on Saturday (a 3-0 loss to New England) to come home showed a lot of character of the team. Also, if you look in the locker room, they are going to be frustrated, but the second half showed the character of these guys.
"If you look at all things tonight, should we have come out on top? Yeah, we probably should have. I think we created more chances, and we dominated play, but sometimes that doesn't give you what you are looking for," Kinnear continued. "It was a frustrating night. I know the guys are frustrated by their performance, but I think if you sit back and look at it from a neutral point of view, I thought our play tonight was fantastic."
The Dynamo took more shots than Saprissa, holding a 17-8 edge. In the second half, the Dynamo outshot Saprissa 9-1 with the Costa Ricans' lone shot coming on a Michael Barrantes bullet in stoppage time.
Houston had numerous chances with Franco Caraccio, who was inserted into the starting lineup alongside Brian Ching at forward, taking four shots, with three on goal. That move proved to put some energy into the Orange.
"I wanted to give [Caraccio] some minutes with the first team," Kinnear said. "He had been playing 15 minutes here or 20 minutes there, so I wanted to give him a chance to play with the first team with the number of games we have coming up. I thought he had a pretty good game."
Ching had several opportunities, including two headers that sailed just high over the crossbar.
"It was a rough night. We battled well, but I had several opportunities to put the ball in the net," Ching said. "I didn't do my job tonight, which is to finish. I thought that weighed on my mind, and it's something that I have to correct. I think we have to just get into form with scoring goals. We are getting chances. I have to keep my head in it and not let it get myself down."
The teams now head to Costa Rica on Wednesday for the second leg, with Saprissa holding the advantage playing on their home field. If the teams are still tied after 90 minutes, they will face a 30-minute period of extra time. If the teams are still tied, then the winner of the series will be decided in a penalty kick shootout.
"It's going to be difficult to beat them in Costa Rica, and we know that," Kinnear said. "Arsenal didn't win at home today (in the UEFA Champions League). It happens. You can't have your way all the time, and sometimes you have to work harder to get what you want. It's our approach to win on Wednesday."
Ching said Houston wants to be recognized as one of the best teams in the region, but in order for that to happen, they have to get to the championship game. In the other semifinal, Mexico's Pachuca holds a two-goal advantage after winning the first leg against D.C. United. Those two teams also play their second leg next Wednesday, at RFK Stadium in Washington.
"We're not going to overlook Saprissa at all," added Ching. "They are a different team at home. They are aggressive. If we win down there, then we will turn our attention to Pachuca or maybe D.C. can pull it out."
Jeremy Rakes is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
