The Houston Dynamo exploded for three goals in five first-half minutes Saturday night at Robertson Stadium in a 3-0 win over Toronto FC. Dwayne DeRosario’s return to Houston was overshadowed by a second dominant performance in as many weeks by the Dynamo.
“The first half was fantastic. We came out with a great attitude – the goals were excellent,” Houston coach Dominic Kinnear said.
“We had a really poor, sloppy (five) minutes where they scored the three goals. I’m pretty disappointed. We didn’t play particularly well today, and I think Houston fairly deserved the three points,” Toronto FC interim coach Chris Cummins said.
DeRosario had received a warm welcome from the Houston crowd starting with the pregame warm-ups, and was also greeted by his former teammates before the game, but all the pleasantries were set aside once the game began.
“When the game is going on, you’re playing; you’re just trying to get three points, trying to get your team into the game. After the game, you have a little moment reflecting a little bit on the good memories that I had there. Watching them play in the second half sitting back was a pleasure to watch when a team plays like that. We got beat by a very good team,” DeRosario said.
“As soon as the whistle blows, you really don’t look at personalities or people that you’ve played with. I think you just look at opponents, and I think that’s the way the guys looked at it tonight,” Kinnear said.
Houston had to make an adjustment in midfield after Brian Mullan picked up a hamstring strain in training this week. Corey Ashe, usually a left-sided player, came into the lineup at Mullan’s spot on right wing.
Cummins made changes from last week as well, bringing in Nana Attakora at right back and pushing Marvell Wynne into midfield. DeRosario, who always professed his discomfort at playing forward during his time with Houston, played up top with Chad Barrett.
In two previous matches in Houston between these two sides, there had only been one goal overall. The question was whether Toronto would resort to the negative tactics of their previous visits.
After a slow first 10 minutes, the Dynamo began to impose their will on the game. Davis whipped in a vicious shot from right wing on a free kick in the 14th minute that Stefan Frei just managed to tip over the bar.
Then Adrian Serioux fouled Ashe just outside the box in the 20th minute, and Davis slipped the free kick under a jumping TFC wall into the open right side of goal.
“It’s a tough ball to get up and down on top of the box there. I just wanted to strike it hard and low. You know they’re most likely going to jump and turn a little bit. When you put it on target, good things happen,” Davis said.
In a rare dangerous moment for DeRosario, his shot from the right side of goal nearly crept under Pat Onstad to tie the game in the 21st minute. But Houston came right back down the field for a great goal by Kei Kamara to put the Reds in free fall. Brian Ching struck a cross from right wing that Kamara redirected to the left of Frei.
“It was a beautiful pass by Ching. We had eye contact, and I decided to run to the right post. I got the touch that I needed,” Kamara said.
The goal stampede was topped off in the 24th minute when Holden blasted in from 20 yards out on another set piece. Davis ran over a free kick, touching the ball into Holden’s path for a shot that glanced in off the left post.
“I just feel like I’ve been so close, it was a bit of a relief for that one to go in. I’ve been shooting well in practice, but the last touch in games hasn’t been going my way sometimes,” Holden said.
“I don’t think we’ve done that (play) yet this year. We’ve practiced it a lot. When I step up there, I think they figure I’m most likely to hit it. They bit on me running up to the ball. Stewie’s got a great shot, and all he needs to do is hit the target,” Davis said after picking up an assist for the sixth straight game.
Houston was running rampant at this point, and Frei was fortunate to get his foot on Ching’s unmarked header in the 44th minute. Serioux then headed in a deflected free kick in first half stoppage time, but was called by referee Yader Reyes for fouling Onstad.
“I’m not sure why he disallowed it, to be honest with you, but he’s made that decision.
Maybe if you’re in 3-1, you get a different game, but we can’t use the referee as an excuse and we didn’t play well enough today,” Cummins said.
Cummins replaced defender Marco Velez with Rohan Ricketts and pulled Barrett for Pablo Vitti at halftime, but the three-striker attack made little difference against an efficient Dynamo defense.
“The second half was just a professional attitude from us. The game’s won at halftime as long as you don’t mess it up, and we held it to zero and that makes the difference,” Houston defender Craig Waibel said.
Houston Player Ratings
Onstad 7 – nearly let DeRo’s shot squirt through
Waibel 7.5 – clearly more comfortable this week
Boswell 7.5 – typically strong in the middle
Cameron 7 – had a giveaway or two
Hainault 7.5 – fitting in well with Davis
Ashe 7 – so left-footed that it’s tough for him to provide service on the right (Wondolowski 67’ 6 – hasn’t played in midfield for a while, it showed)
Clark 7.5 – Guevara was neutralized all night
Holden 8 – was energetic from the opening whistle, a thumping finish on his goal
Davis 8 – on a great streak lately
Kamara 7.5 – nice finish on the goal, has had better overall showings (Oduro 89’ NR)
Ching 8 – unfortunate on Frei’s miracle save, tremendous assist (Akinbiyi 81’ 6 – no opportunities)
MATCH FACTS
Toronto FC at Houston Dynamo, May 30, 2009
Robertson Stadium, Attendance: 16,037
Scoring Summary:
HOU – Brad Davis (unassisted) 20
HOU – Kei Kamara (Brian Ching, Corey Ashe) 22
HOU – Stuart Holden (Brad Davis) 24
Misconduct Summary:
TOR – Adrian Serioux (caution; Dissent) 19
HOU – Andrew Hainault (caution; Dissent) 39
TOR – Amado Guevara (caution; Reckless Tackle) 92
Lineups:
Houston
G – Pat Onstad
D – Craig Waibel, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Andrew Hainault
M – Corey Ashe (Chris Wondolowski 67), Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden, Brad Davis
F – Kei Kamara (Dominic Oduro 89), Brian Ching (c) (Ade Akinbiyi 81)
Substitutes not used – Tally Hall, Wade Barrett, Mike Chabala, Richard Mulrooney
Toronto FC
G – Stefan Frei
D – Nana Attakora, Adrian Serioux, Marco Velez (Rohan Ricketts 46), Jim Brennan (c)
M – Marvell Wynne, Carl Robinson (Kevin Harmse 65), Amado Guevara, Sam Cronin
F- Dwayne DeRosario, Chad Barrett (Pablo Vitti 46)
Substitutes not used – Greg Sutton, Danny Dichio, Emmanuel Gomez, Johann Smith
Shots: Houston 11, Toronto FC 11. Shots on goal: Houston 6, Toronto FC 5. Fouls: Houston 12, Toronto FC 13. Offsides: Houston 2, Toronto FC 3. Corners: Houston 3, Toronto FC 4. Saves: Houston 5, Toronto FC 3.
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