Put a circle around the three points earned by the Houston Dynamo last night at BBVA Compass Stadium. At the end of the season they just might be vital.
On a night where both teams where missed players due to international call ups the Dynamo in the end earned a full three points over the course of a final few minutes whether either team could have won , lost or drawn.
Dynamo Colin Clark would produce the game winning goal from the penalty spot beating RSL gk Nick Rimando in stoppage time after Rimando had come off his line and clattered into Mac Kandji.
In minutes prior Brad Davis had been denied from the spot by Rimando on an earlier pk call while Tally Hall robbed Nat Borchers on a header and stood up to Ned Grabavoy who had gotten behind the Dynamo defense. Hall’s two saves positioned the Dynamo to win the game as both goalkeepers shined down the stretch.
The final minutes brought more drama than the entire evening which was measured and at times tentative.
Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear had orginally planned to revert back to a 4-4-2 but when arriving to the stadium found both Brian Ching and Nathan Sturgis ill. Sturgis in fact went home and Ching did not play though did suit up.
Kinnear would say with the 4-3-3 which for much of the night was a 4-5-1 with Will Bruin much of the night as a lone striker.
Many will still speak to the fact that MLS should not be playing games when World Cup qualifiers come due to the amount of starting players missing.
The drama at BBVA played out in front of what had to be the smallest crowd of the year.
Next up for the Dynamo is Sporting KC and it sure is nice going to Livestrong Sporting Park with a full three points off RSL who still have not won an MLS game in the state of Texas.
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Glenn- Caught game on MLS Direct Kick last night. What’s with Dunseth? the guy is everywhere! MLS, CONCACAF,International friendlies, etc. Seems like there’s 2 of him.
What was Rimando thinking?? blunder clearly cost RSL point they may really need down stretch.
Can’t see him coming out and clobbering Kandji, when replay clearly showed both Borcher’s and Siriboe between Kandji and goal. Type of mistake a rookie might make, not vet like Rimando.
Announced crowd of 18,000 + Looked like loads of empty seats on the tube to me, disappointment for a club like Dynamo having solid year and playing one of MLS better sides in RSL.
See where tonight’s USMNT Qualifier on a network called beInsport. What is that??
Disgrace that game not on a readily available network- ESPN,FSC,NBC Sports.!
Well, THAT was a weird game but we’ll TAKE the 3 points, thank you! Sluggish pace often, poor reffing frequently, some to our favor, some not. Our coach sent off the field for pointing out the OBVIOUS missed call(s), illness, injuries, call-ups.. Just strange. Rimando is amazing but Tally matched him!! It really was a goalkeeping showcase. I hope the team can get this illness out of the locker room ASAP. I am adamant against MLS and its scheduling interferring with International call ups. It is a huge problem for many teams at a critical time of the season. Totally unacceptable. Of course, I am MLS centric in my views. I want the best my team can field all the time, Illness and injuries, etc I understand but to lose them to other games while in the hunt for a play off spot is ridiculous, in my opinion. I know others disagree. I hope there is a solution to this. We MLS fans and players deserve BETTER. Good Job, Dynamo and Coach K, in a very tough situation. Congrats to Collin CLark on his goal!! William, there were more people than you think! The place was very loud and vocal (think boos!). We were IN the game esp second half!!
Nice team victory but this is going to be a real horse race. This is the stretch run and the guys need to step up and finish strong if we are going to stay in the top three.
Go Dynamo