HOUSTON DYNAMO v COLUMBUS CREW
ROBERTSON STADIUM, Houston, Texas
7:30 p.m. CT (FSN-Hou)
July 4, 2006 (WEEK 15) / MLS Game #90
The Columbus Crew make their first-ever visit to Houston Dynamo, with both teams kind of treading water in recent weeks. Dynamo made a pair of trips to The Home Depot Center for their last two games, and came away with draws against each Carson denizen. They haven't lost in six games, but have four draws in that time. The Crew haven't won in five games, but haven't lost in their last three, following two home draws with a scoreless result in New York nearly a week ago.
REFEREE: Jair Marrufo. SAR (bench): Adam Wienckowski; JAR (opposite): George Vergara; 4th: Colin Tait
MLS Career: 42 games; FC/gm: 30.0; Y/gm: 3.4; R: 10; pens: 20
MLS 2006: 5 games; FC/gm: 24.0 (avg: 29.2); Y/gm: 2.0 (avg: 3.56); R: 0 (MLS: 11); pens: 1 (MLS: 18)
Games involving Dynamo: first game
Games involving Crew: P10 W1 L6 T3; FC/gm: 27.0; Y/gm: 3.8; R: 3; pens: 6
INJURY REPORT: HOUSTON DYNAMO - OUT: DF Adrian Serioux (L big toe fracture); MF Patrick Ianni (L quadriceps strain) ... COLUMBUS CREW - OUT: DF Rusty Pierce (L hamstring strain); GK Jonny Walker (lower back), DF Jed Zayner (L knee ACL); GK Bill Gaudette (R broken hand); MF Danny Szetela (L foot fracture); DF Frankie Hejduk (R knee ACL); GK Andy Gruenebaum (R broken hand); GK Jon Busch (R knee ACL); DOUBTFUL: MF Jacob Thomas (R oblique strain); PROBABLE: FW Jason Garey (R hamstring strain)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS: HOU: Brian Mullan (suspended next yellow card) ... CLB: Marcos Gonzalez (suspended next yellow card)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME: first meeting
This is the first-ever meeting between Dynamo and the Crew, the first of two this season, the only one set for Robertson Stadium. Their lone meeting in Columbus is set for Sept. 23
Coaches record: Dominic Kinnear vs. CLB: P4 W2 L2 D0 ... Sigi Schmid v HOU: first gameHOUSTON DYNAMO
Houston Dynamo came away with a point on a second trip to The Home Depot Center in four days, playing to a 1-1 draw with Chivas USA on Wednesday, after a scoreless draw with Los Angeles Galaxy at the weekend. Dynamo are still in second place in the Western Conference with 23 points from 14 matches, four points behind the pace-setting FC Dallas.
LAST MATCH
Chivas USA were returning home after getting a pair of draws on their two-game road trip the previous week, while Dynamo hadn't lost in more than a month.
The teams traded goals in the second half to share the spoils. In the 55th minute, Dwayne De Rosario collected a pass from Wade Barrett and the Canadian sidestepped a Jesse Marsch tackle, freeing up the necessary space to send a hard shot past a diving Preston Burpo and into the right netting. It was his fifth goal of the season.
But Marsch redeemed himself 20 minutes later. Dynamo 'keeper Pat Onstad made a save on a hard angled Francisco Palencia shot from eight yards out but the rebound fell at the feet of Marsch, who slid in and slammed the ball into the back of the net for his first goal as a member of Chivas.
With the draw, Dynamo stretched their unbeaten streak to six matches while Chivas USA have lost just once since May 20.
Dynamo boss Dominic Kinnear made one change to the team that played to the scoreless draw with the Galaxy. With Eddie Robinson suspended, Kelly Gray made his first start since April 15, coming in at right back as Craig Waibel moved centrally.
Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Kelly Gray, Craig Waibel, Ryan Cochrane, Kevin Goldthwaite (Brad Davis 82) - Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Wade Barrett - Dwayne De Rosario - Brian Ching (Ronald Cerritos 88), Alejandro Moreno. [Substitutes Not Used: Chris Aloisi, Mike Chabala, Stuart Holden, Zach Wells, Chris Wondolowski]
"I think when you come into this trip you're looking to win both games, you think to come up with four points, a win and a tie, is considered a good trip," Kinnear said. "To come out with two ties even though we didn't get beat, the general feeling is disappointment."TEAM NEWS
Despite missing more than a month because of national team duty, Brian Ching remains Dynamo's leading scorer with seven goals in just eight matches. But he hasn't been able to find the back of the net in two games back from the World Cup.
"It's just mental right now. Going to the World Cup there are a lot of emotions and even though I didn't play, it takes a lot out of you," Ching said. "... Things have kind of caught up to me after coming back from the World Cup and jumping in and playing two games right away. There's a little bit of fatigue and I'm looking forward to some time off here."
In Ching's absence, just one goal came from a forward: Alejandro Moreno's goal June 17 against Real Salt Lake. Despite his cold spell after returning, Dynamo are confident the touch will return.
"He had a couple of unfortunate chances here and there," said Dwayne De Rosario. "He's holding the ball well for us and it's just a matter of time before he gets a goal and we're confident that when that goal comes he'll go on his run again."
Dynamo were also bothered by their inability to put the game away. "We created chances and in the end we didn't take advantage of those chances and if you don't take advantage of chances it costs you games," Moreno said. "Obviously, as I said before, it is disappointing when we go up a goal and we think we will are going to be able to control the game and then we make a mistake in the back and we give up a goal and we don't take advantage of the chances we created to put the game away."
Said Kinnear: "I thought with the attacking play with the players I always expect to get goals, whether one or two or three. I think we had those chances tonight. With 1-0 up we had some good goal-scoring chances to go up 2-0 but we didn't do that so it gives them hope to stay in the game."COLUMBUS CREW
The Columbus Crew played to a draw for the third consecutive match, battling to a drab scoreless draw with the New York Red Bulls last Wednesday at Giants Stadium. The Crew are tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 17 points from 15 matches, even with the Chicago Fire, three points behind the Kansas City Wizards and 18 points adrift of leaders D.C. United.
LAST MATCH
Richie Williams was making his debut as interim head coach for the Red Bulls after Mo Johnston was dismissed the day before. New York was coming off just their third loss on the season, while the Crew hadn't won in four games, drawing twice in four days at home the week before.
While the Red Bulls created more chances than they had in any game during the season, it was the Crew who came closest to breaking the deadlock, Joseph Ngwenya's skimming angled shot in the 64th minute beating Red Bulls 'keeper Tony Meola but hitting the base of the left-hand post.
In the end, the Red Bulls played to their MLS-leading eighth draw while the Columbus Crew drew for a third consecutive game. The league record for draws in a season is 13, set in 2004 by Columbus.
Columbus head coach Sigi Schmid made three changes to the team that played to a 1-1 draw with Chivas USA the previous weekend at Crew Stadium. Tim Ward came back in on the left side of the midfield, while Joseph Ngwenya and Knox Cameron were again installed as the strike partnership, in place of Kei Kamara and the injured Jason Garey.
Here's Schmid's team (3-4-1-2): Noah Palmer - Marcos Gonzalez, Ritchie Kotschau, Chad Marshall - Ezra Hendrickson, Brandon Moss, Jose Retiz, Tim Ward (Chris Leitch 76) - Eddie Gaven - Knox Cameron (Sebastian Rozental 70), Joseph Ngwenya (Ricardo Virtuoso 89). [Substitutes Not Used: Leonard Bisaku, Dominik Jakubek, Kei Kamara, Eric Vasquez]
"It was a workmanlike tie on the road. This result on the road is a good result for us. If we had won at home on Saturday against New England, then this result looks even better," Schmid said. "We came in and played on turf, which is not a surface we're used to. We should be highly motivated today because us coming out with a point is good."TEAM NEWS
Schmid is continuing to search for a dangerous partnership in attack. The Crew have scored just two goals over their last five matches, have been shut out four times on the season and have scored more than one goal on just one occasion on the season.
"Offensively for us, we're trying to find the guys who are going to be consistent for us. Joseph (Ngwenya) has probably been our most consistent performer, in terms of being dangerous, being close," he said. "Eddie Gaven is there, but there was a play in the first half where a hesitation cost us some plays that would end up in goals. It's a little bit not being comfortable together but we're looking for that consistency."
Since scoring goals in two of his first three with the Crew after his trade from Los Angeles, Ngwenya hasn't found the back of the net. Since his last goal, the Crew's lone in a 5-1 loss to D.C. United on May 31, just one of four goals have been scored by forwards.
"It's not coming right now," Ngwenya said to The Columbus Dispatch. "We have to credit the defense for keeping us in the game, but I'm sure it's very tough for the fans. We just need a little more patience. If the fans bear with us, I'm sure we'll get it going."
Said Schmid: "Everybody thinks that because we have experience we can do all these marvelous things, but what experience is is not relying on all the physical things you can do but relying on your head. That's when you can become very consistent as a club."
After struggling some over the past few weeks, Noah Palmer recorded his first clean sheet as a professional, in his sixth consecutive start in a Crew uniform.
"Noah made some good saves tonight. I think he gained us a point tonight," Schmid said. "He came up with a big save in the first half and a solid save in the second. Definitely his best game."
Schmid was also pleased with his team's defending. "I thought Marcos Gonzalez and Chad Marshall did a good job tonight, and I thought (Jose) Retiz did a good job in midfield. We opened up some stuff offensively. We tried to shoot some balls but I think we still passed up some shots. Those are the little things that we have to do. We lost our shape a little bit at the end. ... Getting a tie on the road is good, and we kept two points away from them. The impetus to make the game is on them. I didn't think they made the game against us. I thought we did a good job of bottling them up."
