Quakes, Dynamo resume heated rivalry
Forever linked clubs battle Saturday at Robertson Stadium
ROBERTSON STADIUM, Houston, Texas
May 23, 2009 (WEEK 10) / MLS Game #72
7:30 p.m. CT (KHOU/FSN-Hou; CSN-CA+)
The Houston Dynamo and San Jose Earthquakes meet for the second time this season, this time at Robertson Stadium. On March 28, a wild stretch of five goals in a 14-minute span lifted the Earthquakes to a 3-2 victory in the always-spirited series between the forever linked clubs. The Dynamo come into the game on a five-game unbeaten run after last weekend's 1-1 draw with New York; the Quakes went into a bye weekend with their third consecutive loss the weekend before, falling 4-1 at New York.
REFEREE: Alex Prus. SAR (bench): Chris Strickland; JAR (opposite): Greg Boles; 4th: Oscar Ortiz MLS Career: 144 games; FC/gm: 29.1; Y/gm: 3.4; R: 33; pens: 41
INJURY REPORT: HOUSTON DYNAMO - OUT: DF Eddie Robinson (L knee surgery); DF Wade Barrett (L gastrocnemius strain); DF Richard Mulrooney (facial fracture); PROBABLE: FW Brian Ching (R hamstring tightness) ... SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES - OUT: DF Ryan Cochrane (L ankle surgery); MF Darren Huckerby (R quadriceps strain); PROBABLE: DF Jason Hernandez (L calf strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: SJ: Aaron Pitchkolan (through May 24)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: HOU: Ricardo Clark ... SJ: Quincy Amarikwa; Ramiro Corrales
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (4 meetings): Dynamo 1 win, 6 goals ... Earthquakes 2 wins, 7 goals ... Ties 1AT HOUSTON (1 meeting): Dynamo 1 win, 2 goals ... Earthquakes 0 wins, 1 goals ... Ties 0
• The teams meet for the second time this season, with the Earthquakes taking a 3-2 victory in March in Santa Clara.
• The teams that share a common history met for the first time last year in a series that often became fractious. Each team won once on their home ground, with the third meeting (at Buck Shaw) ending in a draw.
• Coaches record: Dominic Kinnear vs. SJ: P4 W1 L2 D1 ... Frank Yallop v HOU: P10 W4 L3 D3
LAST MEETING (MLS):
3/28: SJ 3, HOU 2 (Johnson 30; Alvarez 33; Weaver 44 - Wondolowski 34; Davis 36)
• The clubs resumed their burgeoning rivalry on March 28 at Buck Shaw Stadium with all five goals coming in the final quarter-hour of the first half.
• The game burst into life at the half-hour mark. First, Cam Weaver popped a through ball forward for Ryan Johnson to run onto, and he slotted home for the 30th-minute opener. Then Arturo Alvarez doubled the Quakes lead just three minutes later, cutting through the Dynamo defense on a mazy run from the right flank and lashing home a low shot inside the right post.
• But it took the Dynamo barely a minute to respond. Stuart Holden cut in a cross from the right corner and Chris Wondolowski nodded it home on the run for his first goal of the season. Then just two minutes later, the Dynamo had pulled level, Brad Davis curling home a wonderfully placed strike from outside the area.
• Yet just before the half, the Quakes took the lead for good. A Chris Leitch shot bobbled toward goal where Weaver ran onto it, bundling it home past Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad for his first MLS goal.
• Here's Yallop's team (4-1-3-2): Joe Cannon - Chris Leitch, Nick Garcia, Kelly Gray, Eric Denton - Ramiro Corrales - Arturo Alvarez, Bobby Convey, Darren Huckerby (Shea Salinas 70) - Ryan Johnson (Quincy Amarikwa 65), Cam Weaver (Pablo Campos 91+). Substitutes Not Used: Ryan Cochrane, Brandon McDonald, Andrew Weber, Michael Zaher
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Richard Mulrooney, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Wade Barrett (Danny Cruz 79) - Corey Ashe (Julius James 75), Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden - Brad Davis - Brian Mullan, Chris Wondolowski. Substitutes Not Used: Mike Chabala, Tally Hall, John Michael Hayden, Craig Waibel
HOUSTON DYNAMO
The Houston Dynamo extended their undefeated run to five matches, reaching a 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls on Saturday evening at Giants Stadium. The Dynamo now have 12 points from eight games on the year, still in a tie for third place in the Western Conference with the Colorado Rapids, 11 points in back of MLS overall leader Chivas USA.
LAST MATCH
• The Red Bulls and Dynamo were meeting for the second time after their Western Conference Semifinal Series a year ago, the first encounter a fractious scoreless draw. The Red Bulls were coming off an impressive 4-1 win against San Jose, their second win on the year, while the Dynamo were riding a three-game winning streak and four-game shutout streak.
• The Red Bulls went a man down for the fourth time this season -- and second time against Houston -- in the 35th minute, when Jorge Rojas was sent off with a straight red card by referee Baldomero Toledo after a clash with Dynamo midfielder Brian Mullan.
• The Dynamo finally were able to take advantage in the 78th minute. Corey Ashe was freed on the left flank and swung in a cross to the far post where Chris Wondolowski came in to knock home a volley. The goal, his second on the season, was the 7,000th scored in MLS regular season play.
• But the Red Bulls were able to grab the equalizer two minutes from the end. Dane Richards popped the ball back into the Houston penalty area, John Wolyniec brought down with his chest, turned in tight quarters and fired past Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad.
• Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made two changes to the team that defeated FC Dallas 1-0 at home the weekend before. Mike Chabala came in at right back for the injured Richard Mulrooney, and Ade Akinbiyi made his first MLS start, in place of Brian Ching.
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Mike Chabala (Corey Ashe 75), Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Andrew Hainault - Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis (Craig Waibel 91+) - Stuart Holden - Ade Akinbiyi (Chris Wondolowski 67), Kei Kamara. Substitutes Not Used: Brian Ching, Danny Cruz, Tally Hall, Julius James
• "I think we had the game well in hand and we were a bit irresponsible and immature, and we got punished for it," said Kinnear.
TEAM NEWS
• The late Wolyniec leveler snapped the Dynamo's shutout streak at 491 minutes, the longest in MLS this season, their first goal conceded since the April 4 visit to D.C. United.
• "In the end, we're unbeaten in five. It's a hard-earned point, and this isn't an easy place to come. And 10 men or not, you still gotta play the game," said Kinnear. "It was a physical game, the guys played very hard. I think the goal (we conceded) was avoidable, some mistakes were very avoidable, but we have two tough games coming up and we're looking forward to them."
• Two of Kinnear's substitutions led to the Dynamo goal. Corey Ashe, who came on with a quarter-hour left, put in a cross that 67th-minute sub Chris Wondolowski volleyed home - the 7,000th goal in MLS history.
• "We ended up making a couple of substitutions that worked well for the goal, I think we just got a little bit anxious to try and close out the game instead of trying to be a little more calm, and they got their goal out of it," said Kinnear. "It's one of those, I think you take a point, maybe when you're flying you would, but the way the point came about makes you a little bit frustrated."
• Ashe had come on for Mike Chabala, making his first start of the season at right back with the injury to Richard Mulrooney. Andrew Hainault was making his second MLS start at left back with Wade Barrett still injured.
• "There are opportunities for guys to come in and make an impact," Chabala said. "With the summer hitting and guys leaving for call-ups, it's a good opportunity for us to keep up the pressure and keep the wins coming. It will be a good test for us, but we are deep so it's good for us."
• Striker Brian Ching sat out the match with a hamstring strain, although he was listed as an available substitute. In his place, English Premier League veteran Ade Akinbiyi made his first start for the Dynamo since signing with the club last month.
• The Earthquakes game starts a run of three games out of the next four at Robertson Stadium, and the last two games in that stretch are against the current conference leaders, Chicago and Chivas USA. The Dynamo still have just eight goals on the season, one more than New England, which has scored the fewest in the league.
• "We finally got our goal, and on the road, and it's still very frustrating to not be able to close out a game, whether it was at home or on the road, up a guy and up a goal," Davis said. "The guys are upset, we feel like we lost two points, but it's over now and we have two home games next week."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
The San Jose Earthquakes return to action after a weekend off, after their winless streak reached six games last time out, a 4-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls on May 8 at Giants Stadium. The Quakes have five points from seven matches, sitting in a tie for seventh place in the Western Conference with FC Dallas, 18 points behind first-place Chivas USA.
LAST MATCH
• Both teams were looking for a morale-boosting win. The Red Bulls had lost three on the trot, while the Earthquakes were winless in their last four games.
• But it was the Red Bulls who exploded from the gate, and had a four-goal lead before the game reached halftime. Jorge Rojas scored twice in the opening 13 minutes, first swinging in a freekick that narrowly missed the head of Kevin Goldthwaite, yet froze the 'keeper as it slipped untouched inside the left post (7). Then Carlos Johnson sent in a throw-in from the right corner that was flicked on by Mac Kandji at the near post where Rojas nodded home from close range at the back stick.
• New York made it 3-0 in the 22nd minute when Albert Celades unleashed Kandji on the right flank and he sent a rolling cross to the back post where Juan Pablo Angel swept it home for his third goal. Then Kandji made it four in the 40th minute, stripping a San Jose defender of the ball and racing in alone before slotting it past Earthquakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon.
• The Earthquakes pulled a goal back five minutes later when the Red Bulls couldn't clear a bouncing ball and Ramiro Corrales headed a pass to Ryan Johnson, who nodded in his third marker on the campaign.
• Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop made three changes to the team that lost 1-0 at home to Chivas USA the weekend before. Aaron Pitchkolan made his first Earthquakes start, in the midfield in place of Simon Elliott, and Ryan Johnson and Cam Weaver again formed the strike pair, as Pablo Campos and Shea Salinas went to the substitutes' bench.
• Here's Yallop's team (4-4-2): Joe Cannon - Chris Leitch, Nick Garcia, Kelly Gray, Eric Denton - Arturo Alvarez, Ramiro Corrales, Aaron Pitchkolan (Shea Salinas 71), Bobby Convey - Ryan Johnson (Quincy Amarikwa 67), Cam Weaver (Pablo Campos 87). Substitutes Not Used: Simon Elliott, Brandon McDonald, Andrew Weber, Michael Zaher
• "The game was basically over in the first 20 minutes. Three-nil down and I don't know what the minute was, but especially away from home, it's tough to get anything out of the game," Yallop said. "... And when the game was sort of dead and buried, we started to push and do the things that we talked about before the match. But once the goals are in, it's all about scoring. We were poor first half and it showed in the scoring."
TEAM NEWS
• The four goals allowed were a season-high for San Jose, coming as the Quakes lost for the third game in a row.
• "You know, there's really not much to say. Week in week out, we're tired of trying to come up with excuses. I feel for our guys because I believe in them, we've got a good core," said goalkeeper Joe Cannon. "However, you can see that we kind of miss some players who are out right now. I feel bad for our staff. I feel as a group, we've left them down, we've let our fans down and our entire organization."
• As a result, the week off didn't see much rest and relaxation, but rather some physical training sessions with an emphasis on fitness usually reserved for preseason.
• "We need to make sure that we're not missing anything," said Yallop. "We want to make sure that our mentality is strong. When you work hard in practice, you get good mental strength, and we need that right now. And that's everyone. Players, coaches, we need to knuckle down and work hard, which we are doing."
• There was also additional work for the front office, as Quakes general manager John Doyle went to Costa Rica and said there were a couple of players he had identified as potential midseason pickups.
• "I'm all for it, because it will help the team," said Ramiro Corrales. "I want to be part of a winning team, you know? Obviously we haven't started the season like we wanted to, and some changes have to be made. If they can bring in some guys to help the team, that's great."
• There could some other good news ahead, with defender Jason Hernandez possibly available for the first time this season after taking part in full training during the bye week.
• "We all feed off Jason's athleticism and pace, and that's the thing we've missed," said Yallop. "I think Jason makes us all play a little higher because he covers a lot of guys. Right across the back he's good at tracking guys down. He's been missed."
• However, Darren Huckerby remains sidelined by a persistent quadriceps strain, and Yallop said his return was "about two to three weeks away."
