Dynamo wary of Galaxy threat

Houston ready for Western Conference Championship clash

The teams will meet on Friday at The Home Depot Center since the Galaxy got the better of the Dynamo in head-to-head results. In the regular season game at The Home Depot Center, the Galaxy snapped Houston's 11-game unbeaten streak, winning 1-0 on a goal from defender Todd Dunivant. In the return match at Robertson Stadium, both teams were aware of the potential implications the game would have on both playoff seeding and home-field advantage and the Galaxy held the Dynamo to a scoreless draw.

"I think LA has gotten the better of us over the course of the season and over our two-game series," said Dynamo forward Brian Ching. "We tied them on points and lost on the head-to-head. We were a little disappointed to lose the head-to-head tiebreaker."

For Friday, Houston will be without starting left back Mike Chabala, who will be suspended due to yellow card accumulation. Chabala received a yellow in both legs of the Western Conference Semifinal Series against Seattle.

Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear has a couple of options to replace Chabala, with the most likely being veteran left back Wade Barrett. It was only a couple of months ago when Chabala gained control over the starting spot from Barrett and the team should be able to transition back to Barrett fairly easily.

However, Kinnear could also move Andrew Hainault to left back and bring either Ryan Cochrane or Craig Waibel in to replace Hainault on the right. When Barrett was injured earlier in the year, Hainault filled in well on the left and both Waibel and Cochrane have played games recently on the right.

For Kinnear, one of the strengths of his team this entire year has been his team's ability to deal with a congested schedule, national team call-ups and injuries. As a result, he doesn't expect his team to miss a beat regardless of which way he goes in replacing Chabala.

"We play the same style, and the expectations don't really change," Kinnear said. "We have made some changes throughout the season as we try to put out the best team on that day to help us win that game. The locker room that we have, with some players getting moved around and sometimes not playing, has been fantastic, and that's one of the reasons we've made it so far this year."

Regardless of who starts in the back, to be successful the Dynamo defense will have to keep an eye on perennial MVP candidate Landon Donovan. Donovan played several years in San Jose with a number of current Dynamo players, including forward Brian Ching. In addition, Donovan and Ching have linked up well for the U.S. national team since that time. Ching has seen the growth in Donovan's game as he has taken his game to a higher level.

"He's taken over that leadership role in LA and flourished in it," said Ching. "He's more confident. He's always been a confident guy, but I think this year he realizes that he can change the game, and he goes out there with that mentality, and he's carrying that confidence in the forefront.

"He's definitely going to be a threat for us on the field and probably the guy that is the most dangerous in the MLS as far as stepping up when it matters," Ching continued. "We're going to be consciously aware of where he is on the field and hopefully make things difficult for him."

If Houston can slow down Donovan and limit the dangerous opportunities from David Beckham's service, they will be one step closer to reaching the MLS Cup Final.

"We feel confident as we head there," said Kinnear. "Hopefully we can do this the third time in four years."

Dwain Capodice is a contributor to MLSnet.com.

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