HOUSTON — In what was anything but a friendly match, the Houston Dynamo downed Monterrey, 3-0, a physical, card-filled affair in front of 28,440 at Robertson Stadium on Sunday night.
Houston got goals from Cam Weaver, Brad Davis, and Jason Garey, but when it was all over, the major plotline showed up on the disciplinary report. The match saw 10 cautions — eight yellows, two straight reds and four ejections — in total, including two ejections before halftime.
The fireworks started after a 12th-minute goal from Cam Weaver put Houston up 1-0. Weaver took his chance from 20 yards out and the deflected shot beat Monterrey goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco to give Houston the early lead.
Not five minutes later, the nastiness showed up. Monterrey’s Neri Cardozo and Houston’s Adam Moffat both earned yellow cards. Then Houston were awarded a penalty kick when Luiz Camargo made a run into the box on the end of a give-and-go with Brad Davis and was shoved by defender Severo Meza. Davis beat Orozco low and right to give Houston a 2-0 lead.
Just minutes after the second goal Luiz Ernesto Pérez was shown the door for an elbow on Davis that came after a nifty bit of footwork from Davis. The Monterrey captain made contact with Davis after the move and was given a straight red card.
Monterrey then went down to 9 men when Humberto Suazo, Monterrey’s most dangerous player with four of their five shots, elbowed Houston defender Hunter Freeman in retaliation for a physical challenge. Suazo, who memorably struck the goal that beat Real Salt Lake in the CONCACAF Champions League final in May, was ejected immediately.
With a two-man advantage, Houston took control of the ball in what was a relatively subdued second half. Still, there were three cautions and two ejections — Monterrey coach Víctor Manuel Vucetich was asked to leave in the 67th minute and Moffat was shown a second yellow in the 86th minute.
Houston’s patience and work paid off in the 70th minute when Davis hit a curling free kick from the right corner that found substitute Jason Garey at the back post. The ball fell to Garey when Rayados reserve goalkeeper Juan de Dios Ibarra mistimed his punch, and the Dynamo striker chested the ball in for the final goal.
Houston return to league play away to Sporting Kansas City next Saturday in crucial match in the playoff race.
Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Cam Weaver (unassisted) 12
HOU -- Brad Davis (penalty kick) 23
HOU -- Jason Garey (Brad Davis) 70
Houston Dynamo -- Tyler Deric, Hunter Freeman, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron (Josue Soto 65), Corey Ashe (Kofi Sarkodie 46), Colin Clark (Francisco Navas Cobo 74), Luiz Camargo, Adam Moffat, Brad Davis (Danny Cruz 80), Brian Ching (Jason Garey 46), Cam Weaver (Will Bruin 65).
Substitutes Not Used: Tally Hall.
Monterrey -- Jonathan Orozco (Juan de Dios Ibarra 46), Severo Meza (Eduardo Guevara 77), José María Basanta, Ricardo Osorio (Óscar García 63), César Delgado (Cesar Francisco de la Peña 46), Miguel Morales, Luis Ernesto Pérez, Neri Cardozo (Marvin Piñon 46), Sergio Santana (Marcelo Cazaubón 77), Humberto Suazo, Darío Carreño (Jesús Corona 63).
Substitutes Not Used: Luis Rodríguez, Guillermo Madrigal.
