who had played all of nine minutes in league play before the game -- hit for a wonder goal. Receiving the ball from Stammler, Altidore ran into space up the center of the park and beat Gaudette with a wicked rising drive from all of 30 yards.
Crew head coach Sigi Schmid made two changes to the team that lost 2-1 to the Chicago Fire the previous Sunday. Ezra Hendrickson came back into the team, replacing Jose Retiz in the midfield, and Joseph Ngwenya returned from suspension, coming in for Sebastian Rozental, hampered by a groin injury.
Here's Schmid's team (4-2-3-1): Bill Gaudette - Chris Leitch, Marcos Gonzalez, Chad Marshall, Rusty Pierce - Ezra Hendrickson, Duncan Oughton (Eric Vasquez 79) - Joseph Ngwenya, Eddie Gaven, Ricardo Virtuoso (Kei Kamara 61) - Jason Garey (Jacob Thomas 74). [Substitutes Not Used: Ned Grabavoy, Andy Gruenebaum, Ritchie Kotschau, Brandon Moss]
"We put ourselves in a tough position with the red cards. The guys battled well and we did have a few chances," said Duncan Oughton. "I don't know what to say, I am pretty angry right now."TEAM NEWS
Certainly, the two red cards changed the match. "Obviously hard to swallow. I think there were some unjust calls both ways. It didn't help the game especially from a viewing standpoint or any standpoint," Oughton said. "It is disappointing because the guys battled hard and that is the heart we needed. It is a shame we haven't had that since day one."
"At this point I'm pretty frustrated, I'm not going to comment on the referee," goalkeeper Bill Gaudette said. "I just want to say we're all pretty frustrated and I'm not going to make any negative comment."
It was the second time Gaudette faced Djorkaeff from the penalty spot. Last year, the French World Cup champion scored.
"Sometimes you're a hero and most times you're just laying on the ground watching the opposing team run back," Gaudette said of facing penalty kicks. "I was fortunate enough to get a hand on it to keep my team in the game for a brief time."
The loss left the Crew seven points out of the playoffs with four games to play. The Crew will be eliminated from playoff contention if they lose to Houston AND New York wins either of its next two games (vs. New England Wed.; at D.C. on Sat.) OR Kansas City defeats New England on Saturday.
"I told the team that I thought we played well, that we were the better team even playing a man down in the first half," Schmid said to the Columbus Dispatch. "But I also said to them that we put ourselves in (a must-win) position in June, July and August by not taking advantage of the opportunities that were presented to us."
The Crew have the next two games at home before they head on the road for their final two matches, making the task just that much harder. In addition, the two home games are against Western Conference opposition (facing FC Dallas next weekend), then traveling to Chicago and New England to wrap the year.
"We knew it was an uphill battle before today even started. We just want to come out and give the same effort every week. Especially going home for these next two games, we want to show our fans that we really care," Oughton said. "You can see by looking around the locker room after the game today that there are a lot of guys that really, really care here and are upset at losses like that. That is how it should be. We are going to go back and give the same effort next week and the week after and get results to finish the season on a high note. We want to set a positive tone if we squeak into the playoffs, set a positive tone for that, or for next year."
HOUSTON DYNAMO
Houston Dynamo maintained their slim hold on second place in the Western Conference, playing to a scoreless draw with Chivas USA despite going up a man, on Sunday evening at Robertson Stadium. Dynamo are still in second place in the Western Conference with 40 points from 28 matches, still leading the third-place tie between Chivas USA and Colorado Rapids by just a single point, while now trailing FC Dallas still by six points.
LAST MATCH
Chivas USA were playing the second game on their Texas swing, after defeating FC Dallas at midweek, while Dynamo were back home after a five-game league road trip that saw them go 1-3-1.
Despite playing with a man advantage for the final half hour, Chivas held on to grab a share of the points in the scoreless draw and stay within a point of second-place Dynamo.
Chivas were reduced to 10 men when defender Tim Regan receiving his second yellow card of the game in the 59th minute for a tackle from behind. Regan received his first yellow card in the 32nd minute after pushing Dynamo forward Alejandro Moreno.
Both teams put the ball in the net on the night, each ruled out for offside. In the first half, Ante Razov hit a stunning blast on the turn from outside the area, but he was ruled to have come back from an offside position to collect the pass.
Then the home side seemed to have gotten a dramatic winner deep into second-half stoppage time. Dwayne De Rosario hooked in a cross from the left and Alejandro Moreno stooped to head it home under the bar, but again the flag as Moreno and strike partner Brian Ching both appeared to be ahead of the last defender when the ball was struck.
Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made two changes to the team that defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 the Sunday before at The Home Depot Center. Paul Dalglish was given his first MLS start, coming into wide on the right of midfield for the suspended Brian Mullan, while Brian Ching made his first start since Aug. 12, coming into attack in place of Chris Wondolowski.
Here's Kinnear's team (4-1-3-2): Pat Onstad - Craig Waibel, Ryan Cochrane (Kelly Gray 32), Adrian Serioux, Wade Barrett - Paul Dalglish (Stuart Holden 74), Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis (Kevin Goldthwaite 82) - Dwayne De Rosario - Alejandro Moreno, Brian Ching. [Substitutes Not Used: Chris Aloisi, Julian Nash, Zach Wells, Chris Wondolowski]
"Obviously it's disappointing," Kinnear said. "You come in looking for three points. We had a lot of guys going forward tonight and their final touches were missing a little bit. You give Chivas some credit for defending well."TEAM NEWS
Dynamo were once again left just a single point ahead of the third-place between Chivas USA and Colorado Rapids. While they can secure a playoff spot with wins in three of their final four games, they could also find themselves potentially out of a playoff spot in as short as a couple of weeks.
"We looked at the standing yesterday, it's a little bit tighter. You have a team here that whatever way the result goes it could be a difference in the standings," Kinnear said. "They bunkered in with 10 [men] and defended well."
Even though Dynamo held a one-man advantage throughout most of the second half they struggled to create any real clear-cut chances.
"It's not what we wanted, not what we anticipated and not what we expected," Kinnear said. "Attacking-wise, which is usually a strength of ours, (we were) off. It was a collective effort. Our passing, our movement, our possession were stale." Said striker Brian Ching to the Houston Chronicle: "Four or five of us were just off tonight. We just couldn't connect."
Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad, whose superb play helped the home side avoid a loss, was also disappointed with his team's performance. "We came out in the first half a little nervous," said Onstad. "We were a little tentative at home. In the second half, we just couldn't take advantage of it against 10 men. We're a little disappointed we didn't come out with three points."
After struggling on their five-game road swing, Dynamo weren't pleased with coming away without the full three points on their return. Two of Houston's next three games are on the road beginning with the trip to Columbus.
"I think that was very disappointing for us. We only got one win out of that and four points total," said goalkeeper Pat Onstad. "We blew a few games that we think we should've gotten points out of. We're still in the race for it, we just have to get some wins and hopefully get a win in Columbus."
Paul Dalglish was given his first MLS start in place of the suspended Brian Mullan in a wide role on the right side of midfield. "It was great to get my home debut. I was a little disappointed with the way it started. I'm just trying to get used to the heat," he said. "... I was a bit disappointed with the first 15 or 20 minutes. I should've scored in the first five minutes. After that I thought I settled down."
Said Kinnear: "He started off pretty good. He was pretty dangerous on the right hand side. I think he was a little surprised when the ball fell his way. He gave them problems, and ran at them in the first half. I think he started off pretty good with us."
Dynamo defender Ryan Cochrane made an early exit against Chivas after pain in his left Achilles' tendon became unbearable. He was substituted in the 32nd minute by Kelly Gray. Cochrane said he's been dealing with the injury for the past couple of weeks.
