After two consecutive 1-1 ties in which they were coming from behind just to salvage a draw, Houston Dynamo came out with intensity and withstood a late Real Salt Lake charge for a 4-3 win Saturday night.
The three points were the most important for the Orange, but they knew the win could have been a lot easier.
"It's good to win. The second two goals, we have to get better," said Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson. "I have to get better on the third goal. I take the credit on the third goal. The first goal was a gift to them because it was a foul in the box that wasn't called, but we can't give them the chances we gave them at the end of the game. We have to be sharper as a team. We can't give them the chances we gave them at the end of the game.
"We still got three points. We still have two teams who have to catch us. We got five games left. For right now, if Chivas and Dallas don't win, that's six points they have to make up in five games, and that's not an easy feat. Especially with the games we have coming up, we can get a lot of points out of the games. We have L.A. coming up twice and Salt Lake again.
"That being said, we can't go out and end the games like we did that one. Otherwise, we will be in trouble. The three points is definitely nice and a welcomed change from the three points we got the last couple."
Compared to the last two weeks when Houston came out sluggish, gave up the first goal and then clawed back for ties, Dynamo came out strong out of the gate and scored in the sixth minute when Corey Ashe crossed a pass from outside the area on the left to Nate Jaqua, who headed the ball into the net.
Real Salt Lake knotted it at 1-1 on a Fabian Espindola goal in the 18th minute, but Robinson gave Houston the lead back in the 28th goal when Richard Mulrooney launched a free kick into the area and Robinson headed it in for his first MLS goal of the season.
"We were definitely motivated (in the first half) because Chivas and Dallas are right behind us," Ashe said. "We are a team that likes to win. We're a team that likes to win and go off the team happy rather than tying or losing. We wanted to impose our will on them today."
The Dynamo continued to impose their will to start the second half when Jaqua and Ashe hooked up for two more goals in the 48th and 57th minutes. Ashe served the ball into Jaqua both times, and Jaqua knocked it in from inside the area.
The hat trick was Jaqua's second of his MLS career and first with Dynamo.
"It feels great. Even better that we got the win," Jaqua said. "They made it tough on us at the end. We were able to get out of there with the win, so that's the most important thing. The hat trick is neat. I'm happy to do that."
RSL made Houston sweat things out at the end as they closed the gap to one goal through goals by Carey Talley and Kyle Brown.
"It was bad to give the goal up on a set piece to make it 4-2," said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. "Then, we started to give the ball away at times, and you are making yourself under more pressure at times. They got their third goal, but after that, we were fine. Don't get me wrong, the last eight minutes my heart was racing."
Kinnear's worries weren't felt only by him.
"I think we did let down a little bit," Jaqua said. "They kind of quit playing a little bit, then we quit playing. They got that goal and that got them going again. We can't do that, especially against other teams we will be playing later on."
Ashe recorded the first three-assist game of his career, but he was happier to get the win.
"Luckily, I guess I was in the zone, but before I take any credit, all the credit goes to my teammates," Ashe said. "They back me up every week. The coaches have been behind me, and they keep me to stay positive. I'm happy that we got the win, and more important than my three assists, we got back in the win column."
Jeremy Rakes is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
