BRIDGEVIEW Ill. – The Houston Dynamo got a late goal from defender Bobby Boswell to earn a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire in front of 12,473 at Toyota Park on Saturday night.
Boswell rose above Chicago defender Yamith Cuesta to head a Brad Davis corner kick home in the 83rd minute. The goal extended Houston’s unbeaten streak to five games and brought Chicago’s winless streak to four.
Chicago took an early lead with an opportunistic goal in the 18th minute. Forward Diego Chaves beat Houston defender Corey Ashe to a loose ball just outside the box, turning and sprinting into the right side of the area before blasting a 10-yard shot into the top left corner.
Houston nearly equalized just five minutes later. Forward Will Bruin created the chance, beating Chicago center back Josip Mikulic in the box to get a clear look at goal. The rookie, however, was unable to sneak his chipped shot past Cuesta, who cleared the would-be goal from inside the six-yard box.
The 20 minutes that followed were very sloppy. Both teams struggled in possession, eventually resorting to a direct style that didn’t produce any legitimate opportunities until the 44th minute, when Houston forward Cam Weaver headed a Davis corner kick inches wide of the right post.
The Dynamo started the second half strongly, almost equalizing in the 47th minute when midfielder Lovell Palmer volleyed a shot from the top of the arch and sent the ball crashing into the outside of the right post.
The Fire weathered Houston’s storm and created a couple of dangerous chances in the middle of the second half.
The first opportunity came in the 62nd minute. Houston failed to clear a Marco Pappa free kick and Baggio Husidic collected the bouncing ball at the penalty spot. The unmarked midfielder, though, couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity, sending his half-volley well over the crossbar.
Chicago should’ve doubled their lead four minutes later. Some nice combination play on the left sideline allowed Fire winger Patrick Nyarko to play former Dynamo forward Dominic Oduro behind the Houston defense. The speedy striker ran into the box for a one-on-one with 'keeper Tally Hall but couldn’t quite finish, hitting his 12-yard effort off the crossbar and out of play.
Houston turned up the pressure after Oduro’s near miss, spending a lot of time in Chicago’s box before eventually equalizing with seven minutes left to play in regular time. Davis curled in high corner kick to the far post that Boswell headed across to pull the Dynamo even
Both teams pushed for a winner after Boswell’s goal but, despite having seven minutes of stoppage time to work with, neither came all that close.
The result moves the Dynamo to 2-1-3 on the season, while the Fire are now 1-3-2.
Scoring Summary:
CHI -- Diego Chaves 4 (Marco Pappa 2) 18
HOU -- Bobby Boswell 2 (Brad Davis 4) 83
Misconduct Summary:
CHI -- Dominic Oduro (caution; Simulation) 21
CHI -- Diego Chaves (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 91+
HOU -- Lovel Palmer (caution; Tactical Foul) 95+
Lineups:
Houston Dynamo -- Tally Hall, Hunter Freeman (Je-Vaughn Watson 78), Bobby Boswell, Andre Hainault, Corey Ashe, Danny Cruz (Colin Clark 67), Lovel Palmer, Geoff Cameron, Brad Davis, Will Bruin (Jason Garey 88), Cam Weaver.
Substitutes Not Used: Mike Chabala, Eddie Robinson, Kofi Sarkodie, Tyler Deric.
Chicago Fire -- Jon Conway, Jalil Anibaba (Dasan Robinson 76), Josip Mikulic, Yamith Cuesta, Gonzalo Segares, Patrick Nyarko, Baggio Husidic (Michael Videira 65), Logan Pause, Marco Pappa, Dominic Oduro (Gaston Puerari 83), Diego Chaves.
Substitutes Not Used: Orr Barouch, Dan Paladini, Bratislav Ristic, Sean Johnson.
Referee: Mark Geiger
Referee's Assistants: -Hector Vergara; Adam Wienckowski
4th Official: Ismail Elfath
Time of Game: 1:54
Weather: Clear and 60 degrees
Attendance: 12,473
