Last weekend, Houston Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson played his first match in nearly a month.
Following Houston's 0-0 draw at Kansas City on April 12, Robinson was suspended after the MLS Disciplinary Committee ruled that his conduct against Wizards defender Tyson Wahl was overly violent.
The incident, one that involved a reckless elbow, took place in the 47th minute, but no foul was called. After the league reviewed the play, Robinson was suspended, fined and drew criticism from Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear, who was already missing several players due to injury.
Robinson returned to the field last Saturday against Colorado in the team's first win of the season. The Dynamo will be counting on Robinson's skill and leadership this weekend when they try to make it two in a row against a sizzling hot Chicago Fire unit at Toyota Park.
Robinson, who was visibly tired in his final minutes last weekend, said he is looking forward to the weekend clash and working on matching the fitness level of his teammates.
"It was just real nice to be back out there," Robinson said. "Right now I am just trying to get my work rate back up. For me it was even harder to match the rest of the guys' intensity (against Colorado).
"With the team working harder than ever to get that first win, their intensity level was just so high Saturday. The pressure on the ball, the sharpness of the passes, the overall decision-making -- it was all just really good."
Robinson looked fine in the first half. But Omar Cummings slipped past him midway through the second half, a move that led to the tying goal.
Robertson Stadium, bustling with a nice crowd on a good night for soccer, went quickly silent. Robinson and 'keeper Pat Onstad were beat and it looked like the Dynamo were destined for another draw at home.
Kinnear pulled Robinson in favor of Patrick Ianni three minutes later, and it appeared that the Dynamo coach was benching one of his better players.
He was, but not for letting Cummings knot the score. Simply put, Robinson was tired.
"That was totally his call," Kinnear said. "He told me at the half that he was feeling a little leggy. He was pushing a lot of the responsibility to Bobby (Boswell) with a lot of the balls that were in the air. And you've got to remember that he hasn't played in a month, but I thought his first half, he and Bobby were really solid out there.
"Eddie was the one who said he was dragging and Pat's (Ianni) been playing, so that was an easy decision," Kinnear continued. "I think he took their goal hard as well, but he came over the bench and I asked him how he was doing and he said he was dragging."
If the Dynamo are going to win two consecutive games since winning the Western Conference and MLS titles last fall, they are going to need Robinson to be at his best against a Fire team that has scored 13 goals this year, while allowing just three.
That is a tall task for any team, but Robinson makes the team that much better against one of the league's best.
Andrew J. Ferraro is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
