Houston Dynamo

With two top-of-the-table clashes—one of which is a regional rivalry—and the always-entertaining Super Classico, this Saturday will be a MLS showpiece.

Oh, and just in case you care, some English guy is coming back to the Galaxy the following Thursday.

Headlining this momentous week is a big match at the top of the Western Conference: Houston Dynamo (31 pts) at Seattle Sounders FC (25 pts).

This game may very well tip the power balance in the Western Conference.

Houston are looking to make the Conference title a two-horse race: a win would extend their lead to an insurmountable nine points over third-place Seattle. On the other hand, a Seattle win can move the Sounders to second place in the conference and bring the top spot in the West within striking distance—three points.

This match pits Seattle’s potent offense (24 GF, second in MLS) against Houston’s rock-solid defense (10 GA, first in MLS).

But Gold Cup duty has robbed both teams of key players: Stu Holden and Brian Ching for Dynamo, Brad Evans and Tyrone Marshall for Sounders FC.

Houston has lost two key playmakers in attack, and Seattle loses an impact player and an anchor in defense.

Houston also reclaim Ricardo Clark from national team duty.  He and Brad Davis should have an intriguing midfield battle with Seattle’s Freddie Ljungberg and Osvaldo Alonso.

Add the Steve Zakuani vs. Cameron Weaver rookie battle, and this clash looks like it may be the game of the MLS regular season.

With so much talent on either side, intangibles will decide this battle.  This is Houston’s first trip to Qwest Field.  The raucous environment has affected the attitude most every team that has played against Seattle, and should play a huge factor in what is perceived to be a very important match. Houston’s poor recent form, with a loss to the Galaxy and a scrappy road win against KC, may be amplified by entering the hostile environment without their two veteran leaders.

But Seattle’s inconsistent form against top clubs in this league should not be ignored.  The Sounders convincingly lost two games at Chivas USA while dominating possession.  They drew against DC United after leading 3-1 at 70 minutes.

But they also forced draws against Columbus at home and Colorado at Toyota Park, and they recently showed maturation in a rout of Colorado at home.

Result: Dynamo 1-2 Sounders. Houston Dynamo are missing too many important players to give them the nod outright. The Sounders have what it takes to pull off the upset, but only if they keep up their scintillating recent form.

As for the other matches:

Columbus Crew (23 pts) at Chicago Fire (24 pts) – The plot thickens with another 1-3 matchup in the East. Schelotto and the Crew are looking to continue their positive momentum with a big road win, but losing Chad Marshall and Robbie Rogers to Gold Cup duty could prove to be the difference against a potent, experienced Fire attack.

While they miss Logan Pause, Gonzalo Segares, and Jon Busch, Chicago has proven that when they find their form, they are the most dangerous team in the league.

Result: Fire 2-2 Crew. Chicago snatch a tie from the jaws of victory once again.

Chivas USA (27 pts) at LA Galaxy (21 pts) – El Super Clasico will not disappoint. Chivas has been on a run of poor form in SuperLiga and MLS, while the Galaxy will be looking to rally after convincingly beating the Dynamo at home without Landon Donovan.

A big X-factor in this match will be Alecko Eskandarian, who was traded to the Galaxy from Chivas USA and has been a huge factor in both teams’ offense. Captain Donovan returns to amplify his team’s offensive kick.

Result: Chivas 1-2 Galaxy, with four yellow cards, three red cards, and Eskandarian being punched in the face more than once.

Kansas City Wizards (19 points) at New England Revolution (16 points) – Don’t let the Revs’ low point total fool you; they have at least two games in hand. Both teams need this game to stay relevant in the East.

The Wizards don’t have Davy Arnaud or captain Jimmy Conrad, but the Revs are without Shalrie Joseph, whose absence leaves the “Steven Gerrard” effect.

Result: Revs 1-1 Wizards. Without Joseph, the Revs just look sloppy, but the Wizards are sloppy already.

FC Dallas (17 pts) at Colorado Rapids (21 pts) – The Hoops have lost Kenny Cooper to Gold Cup duty, and therefore have also lost any hope of scoring a goal in this match. It doesn’t help that the Rapids just got Conor Casey back. Result: Rapids 3-0 FCD.

Toronto FC (22 pts) at San Jose Earthquakes (13 pts) – TFC kept Dwayne DeRosario from the Gold Cup, and he will most likely lead the steamrolling of the lowly-but-lovable Earthquakes. Result: TFC 2-0 Quakes.

And to think this is the warm-up to David Beckham’s return next Thursday.  Amazing.

For the first time since week six, somebody other than Chivas USA will be occupying the top slot in our power rankings.

Thanks to their victory over Chivas, the Houston Dynamo have taken over as the team to beat in MLS.

At the opposite end of the table, New York continues to act like they're Derby County struggling through the Premiership.

How does Juan Carlos Osorio still have a job?

He may be on his way out soon, but that move will come several weeks too late whenever it happens.

Last week's rankings in parentheses

1. Houston Dynamo (two)

Houston has now taken over the top spot in all MLS thanks to their pair of victories this past week.

One of those victories was in a key match against Chivas.

That's a five-match winning streak and a 10-match unbeaten streak for MLS' hottest team and best defense. They're returning to the form that won them back-to-back MLS Cups.

2. DC United (three)

DC took over top spot in the Eastern Conference this past week thanks to a head-to-head victory over Chicago.

United scored twice in the first half and hung on for dear life as they watched Brian McBride miss a second half penalty.

3. Chivas USA (one)

Chivas stumbled quite a bit this past week, losing both of their games.

Despite not taking a single point, they still remain near the top of the standings thanks to the massive lead they took into this week.

Chivas has a great chance to right the ship with the upcoming Superclasico.

4. Seattle Sounders FC (seven)

Seattle picked up their first win since Apr. 25 with a victory over San Jose.  Sounders fans should be encouraged by Fredy Montero's return to the score sheet.

We'll see if they can continue to build momentum this Wednesday when DC United comes to visit.

5. Chicago Fire (four)

Chicago continues to slide with their third loss in a row.

The streak of poor form has seen DC take over the top spot in the East. Now Kansas City, Columbus, and Toronto are all nipping at Chicago's heels in the standings.

They need to pick up a win soon or risk sliding out of the playoff spots.

6. Colorado Rapids (six)

Colorado was idle this week.

7. Kansas City Wizards (nine)

Kansas City picked up a big 3-1 victory over New England this week.

The Wizards took advantage of an early New England red card and rode the man advantage to three first half goals. After a slow start, KC suddenly finds themselves in a three-way tie for third place in the East, good enough for a playoff spot.

8. Columbus Crew (10)

Guillermo Barros Schelotto moved into the lead for the Golden Boot after bagging his ninth and 10th goals against Chivas.

He still hasn't registered an assist though, which is disappointing for a guy who, prior to this season, had registered 45 assists in 50 career MLS matches.

9. New England Revolution (five)

One week after a huge 4-0 win over New York, New England was embarrassed 3-1 by Kansas City thanks in part to an early red card.

No Taylor Twellman meant a return to the poor form that we witnessed from the Revs earlier this season.

10. Toronto FC (11)

Victory this past week was huge for Toronto, even if it was over New York.

Sam Cronin tapped in a penalty miss in the third minute to set the tone for TFC as they rolled to a 2-1 win.

Despite the win, I still refuse to move TFC farther through the rankings until they show even the slightest bit of consistency.

11. Los Angeles (eight)

Los Angeles may have been exposed without the services of Landon Donovan in this one.

Minus Donovan, LA allowed the Salt Lake midfield to dominate the match. Even worse, an Eddie Lewis red card crushed all hope Los Angeles had of a comeback.

12. Real Salt Lake (14)

Salt Lake picked up their first win in nearly two months with a 2-0 victory over Los Angeles.

They needed that win badly, but they're still far away from the playoff spots.

13. FC Dallas (12)

Dallas was blown away by a superior Houston squad, not much else to say.

The 3-1 scoreline was actually pretty flattering for Dallas, who were down 3-0 before Drew Moor clawed one back.

14. San Jose Earthquakes (13)

San Jose is back where they belong, fighting with New York for position in the cellar of MLS after a 2-1 loss at the hands of Seattle.

The Sheriff of Nottingham chipped in with a goal, though.

15. New York Red Bulls (15)

Thanks to Juan Carlos Osorio, New York now has a 19-match road winless streak.

Their overall winless streak stands at six, and Osorio has to be on his way out shortly.

On the 10th of June 2009, Houston Dynamos played against Chivas USA. It was expected that Chivas USA would defeat Houston given its first place in the Western Conference and being one of the best teams during the current season.

Houston Dynamos started the MLS Season with 0-1-2 and it appeared that they would not go anywhere in the Western Conference. During the season, Houston started to surprise people.

The game took place at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas. Houston and Chivas USA started an intense battle for possession of the ball and the game. Both teams attempted to score without success.

It appeared that the game was going to be without a goal until Stuart Holden surprised the goal keeper and made a direct kick into the center of the net to score the first and only goal of the game. This ocurred almost at the end of the first half.

Holden with this only goal is close to or may have reached the same level of goals for 2009 as Brian Ching. Regardless, the game was intense as Chivas USA tried to score an equalizer and Houston was blocking every attempt.

It appeared that both teams were going forward with the intensity of a World Cup game. In the end, both teams were exhausted but Houston won the day. At the present time, Houston is now 7-2-3 with an unbeaten streak of 7-0-2.

What happened in this game is the proof that nothing in sports especially football [soccer] is written in stone.

Most Valued Player: Stuart Holden

Stuart Holden was also declared the Houston Dynamo Man of the Match in a poll conducted at their webpage.

Houston Dynamos 1-0 Chivas USA

France 1 - Turkey 0 (International Friendly, June 5, 2009) A Karim Benzema penalty gave France the lead at home against Turkey, Anelka had been brought down by Uzulmez who received a red card. (First half highlights here.) The second half (highlights here) was dominated by the French, who were denied a second goal by a string of great saves from Turkey goalkeeper Volkan Demirel. Sidney Govou hit the post from inside the area in the closing stages.

Czech Republic 1 - Malta 0 (International Friendly, June 5, 2009) Highly-rated 19-year-old CSKA Moscow striker Tomas Necid scored the only goal on 77 minutes.

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Argentina 3 - Egypt 2 (U20 Toulon Tournament, June 5, 2009) The North Africans took a 37th minute lead thanks to Mohamed, only for Ever Banega to net his second of the games from the spot two minutes later. Alejandro Gomez fired the South Americans ahead after the break, but Egypt refused to lie down as Rashad equalised form the spot. Diego Buonanotte wrapped up the match for the Argies chesting down a cross and firing into the bottom corner in the 72nd minute.

Elsewhere on Friday, Holland U20 narrowly overcame the UAE 1-nil thanks to Ricky Van Wolfswinkel’s solitary header.

All the goals from Friday’s action at the Toulon Tournament can be seen here.

***

Sweden U21 2 - Poland U21 1 (Friendly, June 5, 2009) Patryk Malecki fired Poland into the lead on five minutes, Ola Toivonen equalised and Labinot Harbuzi scored the winner two minutes from time after a jinking run.

***

Chicago Fire 0 - Houston Dynamo 1 (MLS, June 5, 2009) Houston raced into a third minute lead after Stuart Holden scored at the near post from a Kei Kamara cross.

The historically inconsistent New York Red Bulls came out Saturday night against the Houston Dynamo at Giants Stadium looking to maintain some uniformity and to win two consecutive games for the first time this season. However, the roller coaster that is the New York franchise was in full swing, staving off a man-down situation to tie the game 1-1.

One week after a resounding 4-1 victory against the San Jose Earthquake, head coach Juan Carlos Osorio kept the starting lineup almost exactly the same as the previous game, with the lone exception of John Conway starting in net in place of Danny Cepero, who was out with a hand injury. It would not stay that way for long.

Right fullback Carlos Johnson was subbed off the field in the 26th minute with what was said to be a sprained ankle. Then in the 35th minute, in a moment of inexplicable behavior, veteran midfielder Jorge Rojas was given a red card and ejected, after elbowing and attempting to kick Houston midfielder Brian Mullen.

The veteran mistakes continued to come. A ball came out of the air down to the normally dependable defender Mike Petke, but instead of heading the ball forward and clearing it out of danger, Petke headed the ball up and backwards, allowing Dynamo forward Ade Akinbiyi to get behind him and put the ball in the back of the net for what seemed to be the first goal of the night. The officials saved New York, however, and ruled that Akinbiyi had pushed Petke before shooting, resulting in no goal.

Even though they were shorthanded, the Red Bulls were more aggressive in the second half than they were when they had 11 players. Yet the Dynamo counter-attack was even more impressive.

In the 79th minute, substitute Dynamo midfielder Corey Ashe broke loose on the left flank and sent in a ball to the unmarked Chris Wondolowski, who put the cross home for the lead.

It seemed as if it would be another New York loss but the Red Bulls came back from the dead to play a spirited final five minutes. In the 88th minute, Dane Richards corralled in a stray corner kick and looped it back into the box where sub John Wolyniec chested the ball in traffic, dropped it to his feet, and turned and fired at the net, scoring the equalizer.

The Red Bulls had a chance in the 90th minute to score the game winner, but shots by Macoumba Kandji and Wolyniec were both blocked.

While some thought the win against San Jose would be a turning point for New York’s season, tonight’s game left the team with more unanswered questions.

Should one plaudit the team for coming from behind and down a man to tie the match? Or should fans be discouraged that the Red Bulls were forced to play short-handed again, hurting the chances of taking home three points?

Who plays in place of Jorge Rojas next week?

How many changes will the never-happy Osorio make to the lineup?

It will be another week before anyone knows the answer to those questions, when the Red Bulls take on the Chicago Fire next Sunday. For now, New York will take the point and try to continue an unbeaten streak.

The MLS [Major League Soccer] game for the date of the 3rd of May 2009 was between the Houston Dynamos and the New England Revolution in the latter’s home turf. If there is a lesson that needs to be learned is that no team should ever be underestimated even if they are in bottom half of their regional conference.

While the Houston Dynamos and the New England Revolution are in the bottom half of their classifications, they played an unforgettable game. While New England had the home advantage, Houston surprised them, 2-0

The game started with Houston dominating from the beginning to the end of the game. Houston had the speed, discipline, and consistency needed to win the game. Holden surprised the goalkeeper by scoring the first goal with a direct kick within 22 minutes of the first half.

It appeared that the goal galvanized Houston further even though Clark and Mullan were booked for anti sports behavior. Clark received a yellow card at 43 minutes while Mullan received his at 62 minutes.

Brian Ching was the biggest surprise in this important game for Houston with his second goal in 58 minutes. The goal was the third for Mr. Ching in the year 2009. While Houston was doing its version of a victory dance even before the game was over, New England was having trouble.

It appeared that the Revolution could not get started and sputtered. Mansally received a yellow card in 51 minutes of the game and many mistakes were made. Houston was able to use the mistakes of New England to their advantage.

In the end, it was all over.

Brian Ching deserves to be named the most valued player of the game for his part in the second goal for Houston. It was the second goal that consolidated the victory for the Houston Dynamos in this all important game.

It appears that Houston maybe ready for the latest battle over Texas with the FC Dallas. It is hoped that Houston could draw some valuable lessons from this victory for their future games. Houston could classify for the MLS Championship if it were to win all of its game.

The down side is that maybe Chicago will have a big chance of winning the MLS for 2009 secondary to its yet undefeated record and a fired up team brimming with discipline and tenacity.

Most valued player: Brian Ching.

http://alvarezgalloso.wordpress.com/2009/05/03/houston-defeats-new-england-in-the-mls/

Spartak Moscow 0 - Dynamo Moscow 3 (Russian Cup, April 15, 2009) The Russian Cup represented Spartak’s last possible entry into the Europa Cup next season but, having begun the new season with just one win in four games, and then being swept aside at home by Dinamo in their quarter-final, coach Michael Laudrup was given the boot.

***

Hacken 4 - IFK Gothenburg 1 (Allsvenskan, April 15, 2009) Paulinho, Josef Karlsson, and a Mathias Ranegie double gave Hacken the win.

Halmstad 0 - Brommapojkarna 1 (Allsvenskan, April 15, 2009) Joakim Runnemo struck the winner in the 65th minute to send Brommapojkarna to the top of the table.

Djurgarden 0 - Gefle 0 (Allsvenskan, April 15, 2009)

***

Brondby 3 - Aalborg BK 3 (Elkstra Bladet Cup, April 15, 2009) Anders Randrup headed in at the back post to give Brondby the lead on 10 minutes, 12 minutes later Kasper Risgard fired in an equaliser. Eight minutes before the break Randrup gave Brondby the lead again, showing some fine attacking instincts again for a right back.

Just after the hour mark Luton Shelton levelled things up with a fine turn and flick only for the home side to claim a third through Jan Kristiansen three minutes later. Former Wigan midfielder Andreas Johansson had the last word with Aalborg’s third equaliser of the match.

***

Dinamo Bucharest 4 - Rapid Bucharest 2 (Romanian Cup, April 15, 2009)

***

Red Star Belgrade 4 - Sartid Smederevo 1 (Serbian Cup, April 15, 2009) Cleo and Milijas both struck braces for Red Star.

Shandong Luneng 5 - Sriwijaya 0 (Asian Champions League, March 17, 2009) Braces from Li Jinyu and Mrdakovic Miljan helped the Chinese outfit collect their first win in the ACL, Han Peng also finding the back of the net as Shandong completely outclassed the visitors.

Newcastle Jets 2 - Ulsan Hyundai 0 (Asian Champions League, March 17, 2009) Sasho Petrovski gave Newcastle the lead after just 15 minutes when he latched onto Ljubo Milicevic’s ball into the penalty area before sweeping home a left-footed effort from eight yards out. Petrovski then notched a header just before to break, and the South Koreans were unable to respond.

FC Seoul 2 - Gamba Osaka 4 (Asian Champions League, March 17, 2009) Gamba took the lead after just 13 minutes when Masato Yamazaki scored with a fine effort from the edge of the box. Jung Jo-gook equalised nine minutes after the break before Brazilian striker Leandro scored a hat-trick to put the match to bed. Lee Sang-hyub’s 90th minute goal was nothing more than scant consolation.

Pakhtakor Tashkent 1 - Al-Hilal 1 (Asian Champions League, March 17, 2009) Radoi’s 56th minute penalty for Al-Hilil was cancelled out 60 seconds later by Tadzhiev’s header for the Uzebkis.

Al Sharjah 0 - Al Gharrafa 2 (Asian Champions League, March 17, 2009) The Qataris won with goals in each half from Kamil and Clemerson.

Saba Battery 0 - Al-Ahli 0 (Asian Champions League, March 17, 2009) Saba enjoyed the majority of possession in Iran but failed to capitalise on their few chances.

Nagoya 0 - Beijing Guoan 0 (Asian Champions League, March 17, 2009)

***

Puerto Rico Islanders 2 - Cruz Azul 0 (CONCACAF Champions League, March 17, 2009) The Islanders got an early goal by Sandi Gbandi after a great service by Josh Hansen, which was doubled by Nicholas Addlery’s well taken free-kick.

***

Chivas USA 2 - Houston Dynamo 2 (Pre-season Friendly, March 13, 2009) Shavar Thomas and Atiba Harris scored for Chivas, who also had Ricardo Clark sent off with the referee taking hands-on control of the situation pushing the offender out of the way before the Houston side could take reprisals.

Austin Aztex, the newest professional team in the U.S., continued their preparations for their inaugural season in the United Soccer Leagues First Division—North America’s second tier behind Major League Soccer—with a spirited 2-2 draw against Texas rivals Houston Dynamo last weekend.

Formed in 2008, the Aztex organisation has quickly assembled a squad which stands every chance of being competitive when the 11-team USL-1 season kicks off on April 18.

The club is owned by Stoke City board member Phil Rawlins, an Englishman based in the Texas state capital, and the two teams have a formal partnership which will see the Aztex acting as a potential source for future Potters players.

Further links between the teams run deeper than Austin’s adoption of red-and-white jerseys. Manager Adrian Heath is best remembered for his trophy-laden Everton days in the mid-1980’s but he was born in the Stoke area and started his career at the old Victoria Ground.

Heath has bolstered his fledgling squad of young American talent with four players from England’s lower leagues, the most notable being another former Stoke man Gifton Noel-Williams.

The Aztex will play their home games at Nelson Field; a humble 8,800 seated high school stadium that promises to unsettle visiting teams.

The two-sided ground lies adjacent to the main highway running eastbound to Houston and its open ends create a wind tunnel which, compounded by the artificial surface and dominating presence of American football lines, adds complexity to the simplest of tasks.

As with any new business, attracting customers in the opening months and retaining their loyalty thereafter is paramount to building future success. Rawlins will be pleased that the 4,177 fans in attendance last week—albeit a sizeable chunk making the 160-mile trip from Houston—were treated to an entertaining game.

The travelling El Batallón and Texian Army supporter groups did their part to create a lively atmosphere while Austin’s stadium announcer enlightened the novices among the home crowd with frequent updates on the action.

Hopefully he won’t be required to trumpet every “Corner to Austin” for too long.

The enthusiasm in Heath’s side was evident from the first whistle as the two-time MLS champions struggled for time on the ball.

Despite some slick play by Dynamo midfielders Brad Davis and Stuart Holden, the Aztex struck first on 21 minutes when Noel-Williams released Sullivan Silva down the right to score the club’s first ever goal.

An exuberant Silva sprinted to the West Stand to be embraced by fans and team-mates alike while our trusty announcer did his best to sour the historic moment by blasting DJ Ötzi over the tannoy.

An amusing indicator of the highly-professionalised approach ingrained in American fitness methods was provided when Silva emerged from the ruck. There was no card-happy referee laying in wait to punish his over-elaborate celebrations; rather the team physio demanding that he sup from a water bottle to replenish lost fluids.

Sadly for Silva he was to become better acquainted with the physio minutes later after limping out of the game.

Brian Mullan restored parity for the visitors on 34 minutes before Noel-Williams’ ebullience saw him dismissed following a second caution for a hard challenge on Holden. In truth, it was a harsh decision and one of many abysmal calls made by the match officials.

Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear came to the aid of his opponents by asking the referee to allow Heath to introduce a substitute in place of his fallen captain.

Kinnear said afterwards: “We wanted to play against eleven. It’s an exhibition so it doesn’t do either team any good to play with a man down.”

Austin received further assistance in first half stoppage time courtesy of a unique officiating gaffe.

Former Dynamo reserve Kyle Brown’s effort was thwarted on the goal-line by young goalkeeper Tally Hall.

Dynamo captain Wade Barrett reached the rebound ahead of Eddie Johnson, but his attempts to clear were derailed when the former Manchester United trainee clearly bundled him and the ball into the net.

As the referee ran to the six-yard line signalling a direct free kick, the opportunistic Johnson wheeled away in delight towards the same section of the crowd while Austin’s players again joined the melee.

Still our esteemed officials waited before realising nobody was paying attention to them. With “Pump up the Volume” by M/A/R/R/S now filling the night sky, the referee simply cut his losses and trekked back to the halfway line.

Kinnear made wholesale changes at the interval with only one outfield player reappearing, but his reserves drew level on 47 minutes when trialist Eric Quill completed the scoring.

Kei Kamara looked to have won the game for Houston when he rounded goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo and found the net, only to be denied by another bizarre refereeing decision.

Gallardo was adjudged to have deliberately handled the ball outside his penalty area as he failed to deny the Sierra Leone international. Play was pulled back in any case—Houston were rewarded with a free kick; Gallardo went unpunished.

From then on the Aztex backroom staff became the busiest people in the ground. Waiting substitutes received thorough muscle rubs to prepare them for action while those being replaced were diligently checked by the physio before being put through their warm-down paces by the fitness guru.

At first glance, the rigorously attentive preparation off the field allied with a combative, enthusiastic spirit from his players suggests that Heath can look forward to a promising opening campaign.

Whether the team’s successes or failures are debated in the city’s famed Sixth Street bars or not...well, that may have to wait another few years.