a span of 11 MLS games -- and just their second in 16 games in all competitions. The Colorado Rapids had last won in MLS play on May 26, having scored just three goals in their last eight league encounters.
• The Rapids took the lead through a little good fortune. Goalkeeper Pat Onstad gave away a corner kick with a shanked clearance, and from a second attempt from the flag, Terry Cooke drove in a ball toward the near post that Dynamo midfielder saw go off his head and past Onstad for the 60th-minute opener.
• The Rapids went down a man in the 77th minute Ugo Ihemelu was sent off for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity after he pulled down Houston striker Joseph Ngwenya from behind just outside the area. But the Rapids withstood the final flurry from Dynamo to claim the win and close the gap for the eighth and final playoff place.
• Rapids head coach Fernando Clavijo made three changes to the team that lost 1-0 to FC Dallas the weekend before. Dan Gargan and Mike Petke came into a back four and Hercule Gomez returned to partner Jacob Peterson up top, while Nicolas Hernandez, Jose Cancela and Facundo Erpen all returned to the substitutes' bench.
• Here's Clavijo's team (4-4-2): Bouna Coundoul - Dan Gargan, Ugo Ihemelu, Mike Petke (Conor Casey 85), Brandon Prideaux - Terry Cooke, Jovan Kirovski, Pablo Mastroeni, Colin Clark - Herculez Gomez (Nick LaBrocca 94+), Jacob Peterson (Facundo Erpen 78). Substitutes Not Used: Jose Cancela, Nicolas Hernandez, Daniel Osorno, Zach Thornton
• "There was one team today that played well, and it was us," said Clavijo. "Anytime you get a win, especially against a team like Houston at home, it's something that will make you very comfortable. We are turning things around for the next 10 games we have. That's the idea."
TEAM NEWS
• After going with a 3-5-2 scheme for two games, losses to the Kansas City Wizards and FC Dallas, Clavijo returned to a 4-4-2 setup and it had immediately positive consequences.
• "We keep the ball extremely well," Clavijo said. "The problem is, possession hasn't translated into scoring goals. This is something that we need, to be more aggressive. We took chances, we created chances on both sides, right, left. I thought we saw Terry Cooke probably have the best game he's had in the last 10. That helps."
• Cooke was also happy with the formation switch. The Rapids had been playing out of a 4-4-2 for the entirety of the season until the change.
• "I've been a bit frustrated this season," Cooke said. "I haven't had as much of the ball like I used to in the past two seasons. Obviously teams have been marking me different, trying to keep my out of the game. The last couple games we've been playing 3-5-2, and Kansas City and Dallas, they like to have wide men and keep people pushed up forward, so basically I've been playing like a fullback the last couple games."
• Cooke said an added help was the work of Colin Clark on the left side of midfield. "It helps that we've got balance on the team," Cooke said. "We've got Colin Clark, who's a left-sided player. So we haven't actually got a right-sided player on the left always tucking inside - it closes the game. Now we can actually stretch teams out. We've got someone on the left tracking people down outside of the players, delivering on both sides. It was good. I could attack because I knew he was going to go on the outside, and vice versa. I think that was a big difference tonight."
• Clavijo was quick to say the tactical change was not necessarily caused by one factor. Another change will be ahead with Ugo Ihemelu suspended for the Revolution.
• "[Facundo] Erpen is injured from the last game; he had a 102-degree temperature before the game and he has been sick," Clavijo said. "... Niko [Hernandez] has been struggling, just like the rest of the team. We keep moving and keep giving the rest of the players opportunities to play in the games."
• While the Rapids were by no means eliminated from any postseason consideration with a loss against Houston, the club felt it very important to get a victory - especially after the 5-0 defeat by USL-1 side Seattle Sounders in the U.S. Open Cup.
• "As far as I'm concerned, it was a must-win game, as far as having a chance. It doesn't have anything to do with mathematically, but just for the psyche of the team. We were in the dumps, and to go up against the best team in the league and put up an effort like this and get a result speaks volumes about the character in this clubhouse," said midfielder Pablo Mastroeni. "Unfortunately, this low was a lot lower than we anticipated, but like all good pros we find ways to get out of it, and hopefully we're on the way up."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY
The Los Angeles Galaxy saw their winless streak reach six games and their losing streak hit four, as they lost 3-0 to Chivas USA in the third installment of the Super Clasico this season. The Galaxy still have 14 points, now from 17 matches, still fifth place in the Western Conference and still 12 points out of eighth place in the MLS overall table and the final available spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
LAST MATCH
• Chivas USA had last played a home game on July 14, winning two of three on successive visits to Eastern Conference clubs. The Galaxy were winless in five consecutive league games and had lost three in a row, though the stretch did include victory in the SuperLiga semifinals.
• While the opening exchanges were tame by comparison, the rivalry boiled over just before the end of the half. Chivas USA's Jesse Marsch and the Galaxy's David Beckham had a running battle in the midfield and when Marsch hit Beckham with a high tackle, a scuffle ensued. Marsch received a yellow card, but in the melee, Alex Zotinca and Kevin Harmse took it one step farther and were both sent off by referee Terry Vaughn.
• After the break, Chivas were gifted a goal. A long through ball was played to the Galaxy area but Kyle Veris misplayed it as he tried to clear. Maykel Galindo quickly pounced and sent a rolling shot past Joe Cannon for the 58th-minute opener.
• Eleven minutes later Chivas doubled the lead through a wonderful sequence. Sacha Kljestan found Francisco Mendoza in yards of space on the right, and Mendoza followed with a perfect first-time pass to Galindo haring up the middle. The Cuban neatly slotted the ball past Cannon for his second goal on the night and 10th on the season.
• Chivas finished off the match in the 88th minute. Substitute Ramon Nuñez slid the ball to Kljestan at the top of the area, and he quickly turned and found Mendoza alone in the left side of the area. Mendoza then calmly curled the ball inside the near post for his first goal on the campaign.
• Galaxy coach Frank Yallop made four changes to the team that lost 5-4 to the New York Red Bulls the previous weekend. Kyle Veris and Abel Xavier came back into the team and formed a new central defense partnership in place of Ty Harden and the injured Ante Jazic. Cobi Jones came into a wide midfield role in place of Landon Donovan, after his international duty the night before, and Edson Buddle started in attack in place of Alan Gordon.
• Here's Yallop's team (4-4-2): Joe Cannon - Chris Klein, Kyle Veris, Abel Xavier, Mike Randolph - Cobi Jones (Landon Donovan 59), David Beckham, Kevin Harmse, Kyle Martino (Alan Gordon 72) - Edson Buddle (Troy Roberts 46), Carlos Pavon. Substitutes Not Used: Steve Cronin, Gavin Glinton, Quavas Kirk, Josh Tudela
• "I'm not sure where to start, but obviously results-wise it's not the worst result I've had since I've been here, but it's pretty close," said Yallop. "It's a disappointment altogether. I didn't see much fight. Some players tried hard tonight but some didn't know how to try and didn't give everything they had."
TEAM NEWS
• After playing 180 minutes over two matches over two days on two continents, the schedule - and his left ankle - finally caught up with David Beckham when it was announced he will not be available for the Colorado match.
• "I'm really disappointed to not be able to play my first match in Colorado, when I was there for the All-Star Game it looked like a fantastic stadium," said Beckham. "I'd love to be on the pitch with my team this Sunday, but our training staff has advised me that it would be detrimental to not only my health for this game but for the rest of the season as well."
• The schedule is affecting not only Beckham, but all of the Galaxy players. Landon Donovan, like Beckham, saw action in an international friendly on Wednesday, playing 64 minutes in the USA's 1-0 loss to Sweden before coming on as a second-half substitute against Chivas USA.
• "I can't remember, maybe ever in the history of professional soccer, that a team has had more games in closer succession with travel, with injuries. It sounds like excuses but we're humans, not robots," Landon Donovan said. "Eventually guys are going to break down. A few more guys got muscle strains tonight because you just can't physically do it. Your body can't do it."
• In addition to Beckham, four other players are listed as out for the Rapids match while three more are considered questionable.
• "I really don't want to sound like I'm making excuses but our schedule has been unbelievable. We've had no chance to recover," said Chris Klein. "We're literally looking for guys who can play games. On our part we didn't do as well as we could -- at some point what are you going to do? ... Ideally if you have a 30-man roster that can play you're OK, like they do in Europe, but that's not the case here."
• The loss, the Galaxy's fourth in a row in league play, left the MLS Cup Playoffs an ever more increasingly fleeting thought. The Galaxy have been shut out in four of their last five games, with only the four-goal explosion in New York in that run.
• "All this year, we've had guys who have taken plays off," Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon said to the Daily Breeze. "We just can't afford that. We're not good enough. I don't know if it's individual decisions, and I'm not going to say I'm above anything. We've got good individuals, but we don't have a good team."
