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HOUSTON DYNAMO v FC DALLAS
ROBERTSON STADIUM, Houston, Texas
7:30 p.m. CT (FSN-Hou)
May 6, 2006 (WEEK #6) / MLS Game #31
A howitzer cannon is on offer as Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas put the battle for the state of Texas on the line for the first time this season, the opening meeting in home-and-home matches over the next two weekends. The series begins on the Buffalo Bayou this weekend and matches the top two sides in the Western Conference, separated by just two points after the opening month of the campaign.
REFEREE: Abbey Okulaja. SAR (bench): Kermit Quisenberry; JAR (opposite): Bill Dittmar; 4th: Jair Marrufo
MLS Career: 44 games; FC/gm: 31.0; Y/gm: 3.6; R: 3; pens: 12
MLS 2006: 1 game; FC/gm: 29.7 (avg: 31.9); Y/gm: 3.7 (avg: 3.96); R: 0 (MLS: 6); pens: 0 (MLS: 3)
Games involving Dynamo: P1 W0 L1 T0; FC/gm: 27.0; Y/gm: 3.0; R: 0; pens: 0
Games involving FC Dallas: P10 W2 L6 T2; FC/gm: 27.9; Y/gm: 2.2; R: 0; pens: 4
INJURY REPORT: HOUSTON DYNAMO - OUT: MF Aaron Lanes (R fifth metatarsal fracture); QUESTIONABLE: FW Julian Nash (L hamstring strain); PROBABLE: MF Chris Wondolowski (R knee MCL sprain) ... FC DALLAS - NONE REPORTED
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: HOU: FW Alejandro Moreno (through May 7)
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME: first meeting
This is the first of four meetings as the teams kick off their interstate rivalry; they'll meet again at Pizza Hut Park next weekend. It's the first of two in Houston. The next match at Robertson Stadium is scheduled for Aug. 12; they'll conclude their league series on Sept. 2 in Frisco.
Coaches record: Dominic Kinnear vs. DAL: P8 W3 L1 D4 ... Colin Clarke v HOU: first meeting
HOUSTON DYNAMO
Houston Dynamo won for the second consecutive week, claiming a 1-0 victory against the Colorado Rapids last Saturday at Invesco Field at Mile High. Dynamo remained in second place with the victory with nine points from five matches, now just two points behind Western Conference leader FC Dallas.
Dynamo won for the second consecutive week after a two-game winning streak, Brian Ching scoring for the fifth time against Colorado this season and sixth on the campaign as Houston beat the Rapids for the second time in a month.
Ching pounded home the rebound of his own header from a Dwayne De Rosario corner, saved well by Rapids 'keeper Joe Cannon but leaving Ching no challenge in putting the second chance over him into the back of the net.
Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made no changes to the team that claimed a 2-1 victory at home against Real Salt Lake the weekend before.
Here's Kinnear's team (4-1-3-2): Pat Onstad - Craig Waibel, Eddie Robinson, Adrian Serioux, Wade Barrett - Ricardo Clark - Brian Mullan, Dwayne De Rosario, Brad Davis (Kevin Goldthwaite 82) - Brian Ching (Ronald Cerritos 89), Alejandro Moreno. [Substitutes Not Used: Ryan Cochrane, Kelly Gray, Stuart Holden, Marcus Storey, Zach Wells]
"After the goal you tend to think, 'let's protect this,'" Kinnear said. "Our movement off the ball towards half time was a little bit stale compared to last week. ... I told them, if we keep it zero, obviously we're going to win the game, because we got our goal. Let's make sure we do everything to protect the lead, but let's not abandon playing."
TEAM NEWS
Colorado ended up outshooting Houston eight to four, although Houston took the lead with two shots on goal to Colorado's one. "Colorado can rue their missed chances, but I think we were a tough team to beat tonight," Kinnear said.
Goalkeeper Pat Onstad recorded his first shutout for Houston's new franchise. "It's nice," Onstad said. "Better than letting in goals, that's for sure. The guys played well tonight in front of me. They really limited their opportunities. They maybe had three good opportunities. Obviously we got a little lucky with the post (they hit), but I think you make your own luck in this league."
Dynamo were also happy as a group with the first clean sheet in new colors. "It's a good personal victory for us, because we've been giving up a lot of goals in the last four games now," said Ching. "That was one of our strong suits last year [as the San Jose Earthquakes], giving up the fewest goals in the league. This game is a good start. They definitely put a lot of pressure on us in the whole second half. It was good to see us hold up defensively under that kind of pressure, fend off their barrage and come off with a victory."
Ching has scored six goals on the season, five against Colorado, and four of those from headers.
"That's kind of one of my strong suits, set pieces," Ching said of the corner kick resulting in a game-winning goal. "I just try to make good runs in the box and lose my defender. I know we have a couple of guys on the team that can swing in great balls, Dwayne tonight, Brad [Davis] normally swings in a good one. Kevin [Goldthwaite] and [Brian] Mullan swing in great balls. My job is just to get open in the box. I did that tonight, and I was fortunate that it bounced right back to me and I put it away."
Now Dynamo come into the first battle for the state of Texas with a chance to overtake their northern rivals for top spot in the conference.
"They're a good team, we know that. It has to be the same type of effort as tonight. We have to be better on the ball," Kinnear said. "No matter where you're at in the season, it's always good to be in front of people. There's one team in front of us. That's our job now, to try and catch them."
FC DALLAS
FC Dallas went to Washington and came away with a share of the points in the top-of-the-table clash with D.C. United, the two conference leaders playing to a 1-1 draw last Saturday. FC Dallas remain atop the West with 11 points from five matches, two ahead of Houston Dynamo in the division but a point behind Kansas City Wizards in the race for the league's best overall record.
The teams traded long-range strikes for goals in the first half before FC Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala ensured the Hoops would leave with a share of the points after a string of remarkable saves following the break.
With U.S. national team boss Bruce Arena in attendance and his World Cup hopes still in the balance, Ben Olsen put United into the lead in the 17th minute with a powerful low blast from outside the area finishing off a neat passing move which concluded with a smooth layoff from Josh Gros.
But four minutes before the break Ronnie O'Brien pulled FC Dallas level with one of his patented right-footed piledrivers from well outside the area.
After the interval, Sala made a number of game-saving stops, twice acrobatically diving to his left to push aside a header from Bobby Boswell and a wicked free kick from Christian Gomez, and twice quickly coming off his line to deny Alecko Eskandarian after he was put clean through.
FC Dallas boss Colin Clarke made two changes to the team that defeated Kansas City Wizards 2-1 the weekend before at Pizza Hut Park. Alex Yi came into the back four for the suspended Chris Gbandi, while Ramon Nuñez started in place of Carlos Ruiz.
Here's Clarke's team (4-1-3-2): Dario Sala - Bobby Rhine, Drew Moor, Alex Yi (Clarence Goodson 77), Greg Vanney - Simo Valakari - Ronnie O'Brien, Ramon Nunez, Mark Wilson - Kenny Cooper (Aaron Pitchkolan 77), Roberto Mina (Carlos Ruiz 84). [Substitutes Not Used: Arturo Alvarez, Ray Burse, Abe Thompson, David Wagenfuhr]
"It was a very good game for both teams. The game had a good pace and tempo, and both teams scored similar strikes from outside the box," said Clarke. "But, we got the result [we wanted] at the end of the night."
TEAM NEWS
Argentinean 'keeper Sala certainly gained his teammates admiration with his play. "[Goalkeeper] Dario [Sala] was the man of the match today," said O'Brien. "He kept us in the game and made some great saves. A point on the road is always good, especially against a great team like D.C. United."
On Friday of last week, Al Dia reported Ruiz had missed a training session last week, and Clarke said the Guatemalan could face sanctions. While Ruiz was still slowed by a hamstring that kept him out of the Hoops match two weeks earlier, he did not start the game against United. The Dallas Morning News reported on Thursday that Colin Clarke plans no further disciplinary action.
In the 2005 campaign, when the Hoops came out of the gate on fire, racing to a 7-1-3 record in its first 11 games, they looked like the team to beat. Again, this year, Dallas seems well on its way towards looking down at the rest of the table.
"[This year] the team spirit is strong, chemistry is good, and the locker room is stronger [than last year]," Clarke said. "We are very happy with the way we have started the season."
