a span of 11 MLS games -- and just their second in 16 games in all competitions. The Colorado Rapids had last won in MLS play on May 26, having scored just three goals in their last eight league encounters.
• The Rapids took the lead through a little good fortune. Goalkeeper Pat Onstad gave away a corner kick with a shanked clearance, and from a second attempt from the flag, Terry Cooke drove in a ball toward the near post that Dynamo midfielder saw go off his head and past Onstad for the 60th-minute opener.
• The Rapids went down a man in the 77th minute Ugo Ihemelu was sent off for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity after he pulled down Houston striker Joseph Ngwenya from behind just outside the area. But the Rapids withstood the final flurry from Dynamo to claim the win and close the gap for the eighth and final playoff place.
• Rapids head coach Fernando Clavijo made three changes to the team that lost 1-0 to FC Dallas the weekend before. Dan Gargan and Mike Petke came into a back four and Hercule Gomez returned to partner Jacob Peterson up top, while Nicolas Hernandez, Jose Cancela and Facundo Erpen all returned to the substitutes' bench.
• Here's Clavijo's team (4-4-2): Bouna Coundoul - Dan Gargan, Ugo Ihemelu, Mike Petke (Conor Casey 85), Brandon Prideaux - Terry Cooke, Jovan Kirovski, Pablo Mastroeni, Colin Clark - Herculez Gomez (Nick LaBrocca 94+), Jacob Peterson (Facundo Erpen 78). Substitutes Not Used: Jose Cancela, Nicolas Hernandez, Daniel Osorno, Zach Thornton
• "There was one team today that played well, and it was us," said Clavijo. "Anytime you get a win, especially against a team like Houston at home, it's something that will make you very comfortable. We are turning things around for the next 10 games we have. That's the idea."
TEAM NEWS
• After going with a 3-5-2 scheme for two games, losses to the Kansas City Wizards and FC Dallas, Clavijo returned to a 4-4-2 setup and it had immediately positive consequences.
• "We keep the ball extremely well," Clavijo said. "The problem is, possession hasn't translated into scoring goals. This is something that we need, to be more aggressive. We took chances, we created chances on both sides, right, left. I thought we saw Terry Cooke probably have the best game he's had in the last 10. That helps."
• Cooke was also happy with the formation switch. The Rapids had been playing out of a 4-4-2 for the entirety of the season until the change.
• "I've been a bit frustrated this season," Cooke said. "I haven't had as much of the ball like I used to in the past two seasons. Obviously teams have been marking me different, trying to keep my out of the game. The last couple games we've been playing 3-5-2, and Kansas City and Dallas, they like to have wide men and keep people pushed up forward, so basically I've been playing like a fullback the last couple games."
• Cooke said an added help was the work of Colin Clark on the left side of midfield. "It helps that we've got balance on the team," Cooke said. "We've got Colin Clark, who's a left-sided player. So we haven't actually got a right-sided player on the left always tucking inside - it closes the game. Now we can actually stretch teams out. We've got someone on the left tracking people down outside of the players, delivering on both sides. It was good. I could attack because I knew he was going to go on the outside, and vice versa. I think that was a big difference tonight."
• Clavijo was quick to say the tactical change was not necessarily caused by one factor. Another change will be ahead with Ugo Ihemelu suspended for the Revolution.
• "[Facundo] Erpen is injured from the last game; he had a 102-degree temperature before the game and he has been sick," Clavijo said. "... Niko [Hernandez] has been struggling, just like the rest of the team. We keep moving and keep giving the rest of the players opportunities to play in the games."
• While the Rapids were by no means eliminated from any postseason consideration with a loss against Houston, the club felt it very important to get a victory - especially after the 5-0 defeat by USL-1 side Seattle Sounders in the U.S. Open Cup.
• "As far as I'm concerned, it was a must-win game, as far as having a chance. It doesn't have anything to do with mathematically, but just for the psyche of the team. We were in the dumps, and to go up against the best team in the league and put up an effort like this and get a result speaks volumes about the character in this clubhouse," said midfielder Pablo Mastroeni. "Unfortunately, this low was a lot lower than we anticipated, but like all good pros we find ways to get out of it, and hopefully we're on the way up."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
The New England Revolution extended their lead atop the Eastern Conference and moved into a tie for the best overall record in MLS, getting the game's only goal as they defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday evening at Gillette Stadium. The Revolution now have 36 points from 20 matches, tied with FC Dallas for the best mark in the league, and they are six points ahead of D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls in the division.
LAST MATCH
• A sellout crowd was in attendance as the LA Galaxy played the third game in their week-long tour of the Eastern Conference. The Revolution had seen a five-game unbeaten streak come to an end the weekend before in a home loss to D.C. United, while the Galaxy hadn't won in three games, their last result also a loss to D.C. United.
• A flare-up of his ankle injury after making his MLS debut three days earlier left David Beckham out of the available gameday roster, while Frank Yallop also had key absences in defenders Troy Roberts (ankle) and Abel Xavier (leg) and midfielders Cobi Jones (hip) and Kyle Martino (suspended).
• The game's lone goal came in the 55th minute. Sharlie Joseph tried to slide a through ball between defenders to Taylor Twellman, and while Ty Harden tried to clear, he was unable to make solid contact. Twellman latched onto the bouncing ball and quickly turned and lashed home a left-footed shot from the heart of the area for his ninth goal on the campaign.
• Revolution head coach Steve Nicol made no changes to the team that lost 3-0 to D.C. United the Sunday before, Michael Parkhurst passing a fitness test on his right knee, injured in the United match which forced him off after just 37 minutes.
• Here's Nicol's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Reis - Jay Heaps, Michael Parkhurst, Avery John - Steve Ralston (Adam Cristman 87), Jeff Larentowicz, Shalrie Joseph, Khano Smith (Wells Thompson 84) - Andy Dorman - Taylor Twellman, Pat Noonan. Substitutes Not Used: Bryan Byrne, Gary Flood, Marshall Leonard, James Riley, Doug Warren
• "I think we totally deserved to win the game. We should have had it wrapped up by halftime," Nicol said. "There were probably three fantastic chances that we should have done better with. When you don't kill the game off, there's always a chance they can come back in it, and, obviously when we scored the goal we went a wee bit defensive, as you do one-nil ahead, running out of time. And you know they had a couple of chances. They could have stolen a point. We had a great save from that. But I think we deserved it overall."
TEAM NEWS
• Nicol said that even with all the pre-match hype and with a sellout crowd, his team wasn't concerned with the appearance of David Beckham in a Galaxy uniform - though any doubt was quashed an hour before kickoff when lineups were exchanged.
• "We're really not interested in the lineups of the team we play. We really come to terms with what we're doing," Nicol said. "You know, obviously certain people on teams we play against can harm us and certain things teams do can harm us, but, at the end of the day, we go with and attitude of when we do our thing then they're going to be in trouble."
• Much of the Revolution's offensive impetus came from striker Taylor Twellman. Twellman hadn't scored in the league in the past three matches, but he created opportunity after opportunity in the first half.
• "It's the most encouraging first half in a while for me," Twellman said. "It was four or five games without a chance, and I was creating chances."
• Since the start of June, the Revolution have lost just two games, both by shutout (0-2 to Chivas USA on June 30; 0-3 to D.C. United on Aug. 5). But they would still like to make finishes easier on themselves than on Sunday.
• "In the first half, we did everything right," goalkeeper Matt Reis said. "We controlled the game and gave them very few chances. They had a few at the end but nothing we couldn't handle. The last couple games, toward the end, we have not possessed the ball as much as we needed to. In those situations, we need to keep the ball, pass it around, and make them chase. Instead, we gave it away a little too easily."
• While Nicol was pleased to see Michael Parkhurst rebound from a hyperextended knee to play the full 90 minutes against Los Angeles, he wasn't sure of his availability against Colorado. Same with Steve Ralston, who had to come off in the 87th minute after colliding with Gavin Glinton.
