Goals by Paul Dalglish, Chris Wondolowski and Nick Hatzke helped the Houston Dynamo defeat the Red Bulls, 3-1, at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, FL. The result handed New York (3-1-0) their first defeat of the preseason. Midfielder Ansu Toure put the Red Bulls on the scoreboard late in the match.
The first half was an even contest between the two sides. New York's opening scoring chance of the evening came in the 11th minute, when, after good passing on the left, forward Jerrod Laventure found himself with some space on top of the box but blasted his attempt high.
Houston capitalized on its first major chance of the game in the 29th minute. After New York turned the ball over in midfield, a ball was played to Dynamo forward Paul Dalglish. Dalglish took on his defender before blasting a low, curling shot that went just inside the right post.
New York pressed on, looking for the equalizer. After good build-up in the midfield, Dave van den Bergh put off two good shots on goal, but both his attempts were blocked. In the 35th minute, defender Marvell Wynne was open on the right wing and forward Jozy Altidore almost got on the end of his dangerous cross at the near post. Five minutes later, defender Todd Dunivant played a long ball to Altidore who flicked it in the path of midfielder Dane Richards. However, the rookie lashed his shot wide.
Goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus had to come to the Red Bulls' rescue moments later when Dalglish broke free of the defense before the 'keeper prevented a shot from going off.
For the fourth preseason game, the Red Bulls changed their entire lineup at halftime. Houston, which stuck with its Starting 11, continued to press for a second goal. Six minutes in, Craig Waibel slipped in and launched a deep cross that goalkeeper Nick Rimando tipped away. Later, defender Hugh MacDonald made a tremendous sliding tackle to stop a Dynamo 2-on-2 breakaway.
In the 62nd minute, forward John Wolyniec almost tied the game when he blasted a shot from outside the box that Dynamo 'keeper Zach Wells had to tip away.
Four minutes later, Houston doubled its lead when after a question of offside, a ball swung in from Mike Sambursky on the right wing was tapped in by Chris Wondolowski.
Trying to come back, MacDonald almost got on the end of a free kick in the 71st minute, but the ball skipped by.
Despite constant Houston pressure, New York was able to get on the scoreboard in the 86th minute after Toure was able to make the score 2-1. However, moments later, Nick Hatzke was able to finish off a low cross from Sambursky, sealing Houston's victory.
The Red Bulls' last match of its Florida preseason camp is on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET against Real Salt Lake at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex.
Houston Dynamo 3, New York Red Bulls 1
Scoring Summary:
HOU ' Dalglish 29'
HOU ' Wondolowski 66'
NY ' Toure 86'
HOU ' Hatzke 87'
Disclipinary Summary:
HOU ' Mullan 17'
NY ' Philipakos 69'
New York Lineup (First Half):
Ronald Waterreus, Todd Dunivant, Carlos Mendes, Jeff Parke, Marvell Wynne, Dave van den Bergh, Seth Stammler, Claudio Reyna, Dane Richards, Jozy Altidore, Jerrod Laventure.
New York Lineup (Second Half):
Nick Rimando, Dema Kovalenko, Hugh MacDonald, Marcel Mahouve, Eric Denton, Peter Philipakos, Blake Camp, Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Ansu Toure, Randi Patterson, John Wolyniec
Houston Dynamo Starting Lineup:
Zach Wells, Eddie Robinson, Ryan Cochrane, Paul Dalglish, Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Alejandro Moreno, Craig Waibel, Mike Chabala, Wade Barrett, Brian Ching.
