Surging Dynamo host Real Salt Lake
Houston is unbeaten in 10; RSL snapped seven-game winless skid last week
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ROBERTSON STADIUM, Houston, Texas
June 20, 2009 (WEEK 14) / MLS Game #103
7:30 p.m. CT (KHOU/Informa; KUTV-2.2)
Still the hottest team in Major League Soccer, the Houston Dynamo return home to take on Real Salt Lake. The Dynamo have moved into a tie for the league's best record on the strength of their five-game winning streak and 10 games undefeated, after their victory at FC Dallas last weekend that capped a busy week. RSL finally put an end to a couple of long spirals last weekend, getting their first road victory of the season and putting the brakes on a seven-game winless run in a 2-0 victory at the LA Galaxy.
REFEREE: Jair Marrufo. SAR (bench): Kermit Quisenberry; JAR (opposite): C.J. Morgante; 4th: Jasen Anno MLS Career: 86 games; FC/gm: 26.5; Y/gm: 3.4; R: 18; pens: 30
INJURY REPORT: HOUSTON DYNAMO - OUT: DF Eddie Robinson (L knee surgery); PROBABLE: FW Brian Ching (L hamstring strain) ... REAL SALT LAKE - QUESTIONABLE: FW Robbie Findley (R ankle sprain); PROBABLE: FW Fabian Espíndola (R patella tendonitis); DF Ian Joy (L hamstring strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: HOU: Ricardo Clark (USA; FIFA Confederations Cup)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: RSL: Robbie Russell
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: HOU: Brad Davis; Ricardo Clark; Geoff Cameron, Bobby Boswell ... RSL: Will Johnson, Clint Mathis
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (9 meetings): Dynamo 5 wins, 15 goals ... Real Salt Lake 2 wins, 13 goals ... Ties 2AT HOUSTON (4 meetings): Dynamo 4 wins, 12 goals ... Real Salt Lake 0 wins, 8 goals ... Ties 0
RETURN MATCHES: 8/15: Houston Dynamo at Real Salt Lake, 7 p.m. MT; 9/19: Real Salt Lake at Houston Dynamo, 7:30 p.m. CT
LAST YEAR (MLS):
7/3: RSL 0, HOU 0
8/16: HOU 4, RSL 3 (Mullan 16; Ching 29; Clark 35; Jaqua 42 - Movsisyan 3; Morales 25; Deuchar 80)
• The Dynamo have won the season series in each of the three years since the clubs have been together in the league.
• The Dynamo have won three of the last four meetings with one draw. The last Real victory came Aug. 4, 2007, a 1-0 win at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
• After the Dynamo won the first two meetings ever between the clubs, RSL won two of the next three with one draw. The Dynamo have won three of the four since.
• Coaches record: Dominic Kinnear v RSL: P12 W7 L2 D3 ... Jason Kreis vs. HOU: P4 W1 L3 D0
HOUSTON DYNAMO
The Houston Dynamo moved into a tie for the top spot in the Western Conference and the MLS overall table, extending both their league season-high winning streak and undefeated run with a 3-1 victory against FC Dallas on Saturday night at Pizza Hut Park to recapture El Capitán for another season. The Dynamo have 27 points from 13 matches, level with Chivas USA.LAST MATCH
• The Dynamo had won for the fourth consecutive game at midweek, Stuart Holden's goal from a flicked-on goal kick in first-half stoppage time the only marker in a 1-0 win against Chivas USA. FC Dallas had extended their unbeaten streak to five games the week before, claiming a late 2-2 draw with San Jose.
• The Dynamo showed no signs of wear, up two goals by halftime. In the 13th minute, Andrew Hainault kept the play alive by tracking down a loose ball and getting it to Brian Mullan, who hammered a low cross into the goalmouth. Cam Weaver stormed in to bang it into the back of the net for his first goal since coming to Houston the week before.
• In the 37th minute, Houston doubled the lead. A corner kick was headed clear, but only as far as Richard Mulrooney some 25 yards straight out from goal, and veteran ripped a low drive inside the left post past an unsighted Ray Burse for his first goal of the season.
• Weaver completed his brace in the 63rd minute to put the game away, taking a short pass from Corey Ashe wide open in the area and slotting it home. FCD pulled a goal back four minutes later when Eric Avila put the ball back into the mixer from a cleared corner and Drew Moor's flick header found the inside of the post.
• Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made two changes to the team that defeated Chivas USA 1-0 just three days earlier. Wade Barrett came back in at left back with Craig Waibel going to the substitutes' bench, and Corey Ashe came in for Brad Davis on the left of midfield.
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Andrew Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Wade Barrett - Brian Mullan (Brad Davis 84), Richard Mulrooney, Corey Ashe - Stuart Holden - Kei Kamara (Dominic Oduro 46), Cam Weaver (Ade Akinbiyi 81). Substitutes Not Used: Mike Chabala, Danny Cruz, Tally Hall, Craig Waibel
• "It was OK. We started out a little dead, about 10 minutes in, but the first goal helped to settle us down. We took advantage of the opportunities we had tonight and as the game went on we were a bit tired and fatigued so for us it was about team shape," Kinnear said.
TEAM NEWS
• After conceding five goals in their first three games, the Dynamo have allowed just three goals in the current 10-game unbeaten run. The Dynamo have had two lengthy streaks of not conceding a goal, 491 minutes from April 4-May 16 and a 373-minute streak snapped by Moor's goal in Dallas.
• "In these 10 games, we've been great," Kinnear said. "The attitude has been excellent. We try to manage the team as best as we can. Everyone is buying into making sure they work hard for the result for the team."
• Since arriving in Houston, Cam Weaver has been a part of three of the Dynamo's four goals,
• "His production has been great - two goals in two games and he's thrown in an assist," Kinnear said. "Overall, he's fit in well with the guys. He holds the ball up very well. He's always around the box and attacks the ball well. He's aggressive from 10-12 yards in. I think he takes some of the physical pressure away from Kei (Kamara) because he holds the ball up and puts balls on."
• With the absence of Ricardo Clark to U.S. national team duty, Richard Mulrooney has taken over the holding midfield role - and he scored his first goal in three seasons. His last goal had come Aug. 30, 2006 - ironically for FC Dallas.
• "It's always nice to score," Mulrooney said. "It's been a little while. Whether it's against Dallas, Columbus or whatever, I think it helped give our team a little break. Dallas had a lot of the play tonight but I thought our team did a good job considering it was our third game in eight days. You've got to make your opportunities count. I just one crack at it and fortunately, it found the back of the net."
• Wade Barrett returned to the team for the first time in six games after having to come off with a hamstring injury just before halftime May 3 vs. New England.
• "It feels great to be back on the field. To be honest you never want to miss time and I of course always want to play but guys have come in and done a fantastic job," Barrett said. "Andrew's (Hainault) come in and done a fantastic job in the back and Craig Waibel has played well and proven again that we can bring guys in and out of this team and if anything the level stays the same or gets better and its just one of the qualities of this team."
REAL SALT LAKE
Real Salt Lake ended their winless run at seven games, going to The Home Depot Center and coming away with a 2-0 victory against the LA Galaxy to end their long undefeated run. RSL have 15 points from 13 matches on the season, sitting in a tie for fifth place in the Western Conference with LA, 12 points off the pace of the Houston Dynamo and Chivas USA.LAST MATCH
• The Galaxy were riding a 10-game unbeaten streak, their lone loss of the year coming on April 4 vs. Colorado, while Real were in the throes of a seven-game winless run.
• It was RSL, though, that opened the scoring in the 13th minute. A long ball out of midfield from Clint Mathis caught Yura Movsisyan in stride. He raced into the area, juking past Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter before blasting the ball high over LA 'keeper Donovan Ricketts for his second goal in as many games.
• Real then doubled their lead seven minutes after the second half restart. A corner kick overflew everything, corralled by Mathis on the right. His cross back into the box took a deflection but landed right at the feet of Nat Borchers, who side-footed home inside the right post for his first goal since Sept. 4, 2004.
• The Galaxy finished the game a man down after Eddie Lewis was sent off in the 65th minute for tossing the ball at RSL midfielder Javier Morales after he was down on the ground following a hard challenge.
• Real coach Jason Kreis made three changes to the team that played to a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids the previous weekend. Chris Wingert came in at right back for Robbie Russell, while Kyle Beckerman and Javier Morales returned from suspension, replacing Ned Grabavoy and the injured Robbie Findley.
• Here's Kreis's team (4-2-3-1): Nick Rimando - Chris Wingert, Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave, Tony Beltran - Kyle Beckerman, Will Johnson - Clint Mathis (Ned Grabavoy 79), Javier Morales, Fabian Espindola (Tino Nunez 87) - Yura Movsisyan. Substitutes Not Used: Raphael Cox, Luis Miguel Escalada, David Horst, Ian Joy, Chris Seitz
TEAM NEWS
• Real finally put their long road drought behind them with the win. They finally scored for the first time on the road this season in their previous away game, at San Jose on May 30, then claimed the victory at The Home Depot Center, leaving just New York and San Jose as the only two teams still to win away from home this season.
• "I am very pleased. It's a big win. It is our first road victory in the season, and it's our first win after a long time. I am glad that we took a win after many disappointments. To see your players putting a lot of effort and dedication is great," Kreis said. "We put the effort together, we had the possession, and we took our chances. Everything came up together for us tonight, and that's a solid sign. I told my players in the locker room ... welcome back."
• After scoring seven goals in his last 11 appearances to conclude 2008, Movsisyan scored just once over the opening 11 games of the season. But he's now found the back of the net in back-to-back games.
• "I said during all the disappointment that it was just going to take just one special play for him. And then I think he would break out of it," Kreis said. "That special play happened last week, and I thought he was absolutely fantastic tonight. I'm looking forward to what he's like over the next couple of weeks." Said Movsisyan: "I hope so. For me it's confidence. It's a streak, and it's really big to get this process going."
• For Borchers, it was his first goal in 76 MLS games, dating back to Sept. 4, 2004, when he played for Colorado. "I kind of blacked out a little bit," Borchers said. "No, just kidding. I was just in the right spot at the right time. Clint put a good ball in there. I was fortunate enough to get it inside the post." Said Kreis: "I was thinking the same thing, because he's had a whole lot of opportunities on corner kicks. He told us when he came here that he was good for three goals a year on corner kicks. So now he owes us five more."
• Real have gone to a different system over the last two games and come away with a draw against Colorado and the win at LA. A key part of the move has been the installation of Will Johnson to a holding midfield role, a role Kreis says he has flourished in. "It's such an interesting concept," Kreis said. "You call it a 4-3-3 and people automatically think more attacking. I would say we're better defensively in it."
• Nick Rimando recorded his second shutout in four games after returning from a finger laceration that forced him out early of the May 2 loss to Colorado and then caused him to miss the next three games.
• "[Rimando] made some monster saves tonight. He had a fantastic save in the second half on [Jovan Kirovski's shot]," Kreis said. "He came up big for us. This is the situation where you need your players to make big plays, tonight a lot of our players made big plays."
