HOUSTON – Terry Dunfield put a damper on the Houston Dynamo’s Saturday night, depositing a late header to give visitors Toronto FC a 1-1 draw at BBVA Compass Stadium.
The veteran midfielder got his second of the season with just five minutes left, beating a sleeping Houston offside trap to steal the point.
OPTA CHALKBOARD: TFC make Dynamo pay for sluggish second half
It was perhaps a bit of cruelty to Houston, who’d carried the run of play and took a well-earned lead 21 minutes in through striker Will Bruin. The sophomore hit a deft chip from 12 yards, taking advantage of a charging Freddy Hall to sneak the ball under the crossbar for his first goal in seven matches. Bruin’s tally was the direct result of some sublime build-up play from Boniek Garcia and Ricardo Clark, skinning the Toronto backline in the process.
HIGHLIGHTS: HOU vs TOR
Houston were in the ascendant after the goal, dominating play in the first half but never finding the right look for their second.
While the first half was full of energy, the second half developed at a much slower pace. After a stalemate first 10 minutes Toronto’s Luis Silva attempted to wake the game up, working through both Andre Hainault and Jermaine Taylor before firing directly at Dynamo ‘keeper Tally Hall.
Neither side created much after that until the last 10 minutes, giving Dunfield the stage for his road heroics.
Pushing for a late equalizer, the central midfielder made a streaking run through the box to latch onto a pinpoint cross from Darren O’Dea after a quick throw-in. Free in the box, Dunfield hit a sharp header that Tally Hall could only parry off the bar and into the net.
The final five minutes saw Houston push number forward but only Je-Vaughn Watson came close to pulling the full reward, finding a good look from eight yards that Freddy Hall was able to hold onto.
With the draw Houston misses a chance to pull into a tie for second place in the Eastern Conference but it does extend their home unbeaten streak to 21 regular season matches including 13 this season and stays in third place with 42 points, two behind the New York Red Bulls. Toronto remain bottom of the East with 21 points from 26 games, all but eliminated from playoff contention.
Houston return to CCL action when they travel to Honduras to face Olimpia Thursday before traveling to Toyota Park next weekend to play the Chicago Fire in a match rich with playoff implications.
Toronto will face Santos Laguna in CCL play Wednesday before traveling to face East leaders Sporting Kansas City on the weekend.
MLSsoccer.com Men of the Match
Rank |
Player |
What We Saw |
1 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/boniek-garcia"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Boniek Garcia</span></a> |
Made yet another telling play on the goal, and created space any time he was on the ball. Did his typical hard defensive work as well. |
2 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/terry-dunfield"><span style="font-size:12px;">Terry Dunfield</span></a> |
Reborn under Paul Mariner, Dunfield's all-action style has paid on both sides of the ball for the past 2 months. Won his team a point in this one. |
3 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/jeremy-hall"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Jeremy Hall</span></a> |
Flying under the radar, but finally looks comfortable at right back. Neutralized former teammate Mac Kandji and pitched in offensively. |
