Geoff Cameron watched the replay several times in the trainer's room of the Houston locker room in Crew Stadium.
Emerging after 10 minutes, he was angry, but composed, when he spoke to the media.
"It wasn't a PK," the defender said. "Plain and simple he fell down. Bobby (Boswell) and I had it covered."
No matter what he saw or said the outcome wasn't going to change. The penalty call on him for fouling Alejandro Moreno led to the stoppage time goal by Eddie Gaven to give the Crew a 2-1 victory Sunday afternoon.
The loss left the Dynamo (11-8-7, 40 points) two points behind the Crew for the Supporters' Shield and upset with the result, especially after Cam Weaver tied the match in the 80th minute.
"It was disappointing because we put so much energy into that game," forward Brian Ching said. "I felt we didn't deserve to lose at all. It's kind of taken away from you. I'll leave it at that. I thought we deserved at least a tie.
"We were the better team. We created more chances and fight hard and then to have it in the 90th minute given to the other team is extremely disappointing and frustrating.
"These points all matter. For it, in our eyes, to be unfairly taken away from you, it's not hard to have that emotion bubble over. You see guys frustrated. You put so much energy into the game and come away with nothing when you deserve so much more than that."
Ching helped set up the tying goal by Weaver, who had entered four minutes earlier for Corey Ashe. Ching took a service from Cameron in the box and flicked the ball to Weaver, who was at the top of the goal box.
"When I first made the run I knew he was there and I was hoping he would get on the end of it," said Ching. "Great finish for him. All our subs came on and lifted us."
Two minutes later, the Crew's Adam Moffat was sent off for a reckless challenge. Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark stepped in and was also ejected.
The match appeared headed for a 1-1 tie, just like the season opener on March 21 in Houston, but referee Jorge Gonzalez thought he saw Cameron take down Moreno, a former member of the Dynamo.
"The same guy's diving all over the field and he did the same thing when he played for us," Ching said. "We know that coming in. It's part of the game. We carried the better of the play. It wasn't a great game. We definitely didn't deserve to lose that game and they didn't deserve to win it."
Cameron, commenting as Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear walked by saying, "Tell them the truth," said the Crew's actions were frustrating, but effective.
"It wasn't a PK," Cameron said. "[Moreno] dove all game. That's how they play. They dove for free kicks and the ref awarded them. Obviously, (the referees) have to know he goes in and looks to fall down. We watched the PK twice. He should be fined for diving. Him and (Guillermo Barros) Schelotto, diving all game. They should review it and give them a fine.
"No chance it was a PK. He wasn't even close to the ball. If it was a PK, shouldn't he have given me a yellow card or some type of caution?"
The Dynamo have lost two straight and are 2-4-3 over the past 10 games. Their lead over second-place Los Angeles in the Western Conference remains at two points.
"We're fighting for points," Cameron said. "We've got 40 points but we want to get ahead of the group. It's important to create a gap between the teams behind us. It's a disappointment we lost three points but we have to look ahead to the next game coming at us. We have four games left. We're going to try and get as many points as we can. If we can take that last 45 minutes of play and use that next weekend we'll be cruising."
Houston plays a CONCACAF Champions League match Wednesday in Mexico vs. Pachuca before hosting Real Salt Lake on Saturday when midfielder Brad Davis returns from a one-game caution-points suspension.
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
