HOUSTON – Even down a man, the Houston Dynamo looked like they could hold off Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night and hang on to a slim 1-0 win.
But Brian Ching’s 70th minute red card, Houston’s second of the match after Colin Clark’s ejection in the 51st minute, was too much for the Dynamo to overcome. Ching kicked Sporting defender Aurelien Collin to earn his marching orders from referee Kevin Stott.
“I apologize to [the team] because I made a bad decision and the team paid for it,” Ching said. “There were some tackles in the first half that were just as bad as some in the second half but were judged a little differently. But it wasn’t the right decision on my part and the team suffered. I owe the team two points.”
It was Collin’s strike from outside the box in the 90th minute that finally broke Houston’s resistance after a stellar night from goalkeeper Tally Hall, who came within minutes of leading his club to an improbable three points.
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS: HOU 1, SKC 1
“I thought Tally was excellent tonight,” Dynamo manager Dominic Kinnear said. “He commanded his box well and came out and got some good [saves].”
Hall, who is in his first year as a regular starter for Houston, was credited with eight saves – which duplicates his season high against New York in Week 3. But it was his command of the box and the back line that stood out during a stretch when the Dynamo were under extreme duress with 24 shots fired by Sporting in the match.
“Tally started the season strong but he had a mistake in the Colorado game and maybe lost a little confidence,” Ching said. “Over the past four or five games there have been nights where he’s stood on his head for us.”
Despite the overwhelming feeling that the club dropped two points, the Dynamo are still looking at the positives of their performance.
“It was a tough situation that we walked away with a result from but I feel we let two points get away which is unlucky” Hall said. “To get a result tonight is a credit to how hard the guys worked and how they wanted it which was good.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on twitter at @Dynamoexaminer.
