Dynamo beat United in heavy rain
Houston gets goals from Mullan, Ching in win
Highlights: HOU 2, DC 0Houston got a goal from Brian Mullan before the delay and one from Brian Ching after to end a long stay for the Dynamo in the nation's capital that concluded with two wins.
Play was halted in the 54th minute due to heavy rains and a power outage at the venerable old stadium. The match was originally scheduled for June 4 but postponed after 16 minutes due to a torrential rain storm that rendered the field unplayable. It was then rescheduled for Tuesday, but was pushed back yet another day after another driving rainstorm caused another power outage.
The lights went out at 8:47 p.m., came back on at 9:03 pm, then went out again at 9:30 p.m. Regardless, the rains left the field nearly flooded, sans the outline of the Washington Nationals old infield baseball diamond.
After multiple inspections by the officiating crew along with Dynamo and United coaches and assorted others, the field was deemed playable at 11:22 p.m. and after a 20-minute warmup for the players, play commenced at 11:41 p.m.
The Dynamo have been in Washington since last Friday, arriving a day before their SuperLiga match the following day, which Houston won easily 3-1. The Dynamo attack and sturdy defense was too much for the injury-ravaged and inexperienced United side to handle in both matches.
The Dynamo siege on the United goal began early and never stopped before and after the delay. They fired 11 at United goalkeeper Zach Wells, who made six saves, many of them superb, in keeping his team in the match.
United was able to direct just one shot at goal during those first 54 minutes. Luciano Emilio's soft header to the far post that goalkeeper Pat Onstad extended to his right to smother in the 18th minute was all the home side could muster.
After Wells overthrew Jaime Moreno with a quick outlet pass on the left side in the fourth minute, Craig Waibel nearly caught his former teammate a bit too far off his line, immediately controlling the errant throw and floating a shot from more than 40 yards that forced Wells to backtrack quickly and push over the crossbar with both hands.
The ensuing corner kick bounced dangerously inside the six-yard box before Wells weaved around multiple players to knock it away, keeping Dwayne De Rosario from getting the final touch on the ball at the far post.
The Dynamo continued to attack relentlessly in the early going but Wells was equal to the task, diving low to knock away quality shots from distance by Ching and Mullan in the 10th and 11th minutes respectively.
De Rosario followed that up, cutting inside from the left flank before unleashing a heavy shot from 35 yards out that dipped and curved just wide of the left post.
The starting nod was Mullan's 100th appearance and 95th start in the 107 competitive games of the Houston club. Captain Wade Barrett reached the century mark in starts, the most in club history.
The dam finally broke in the 20th minute when Mullan scored his first MLS league goal of the season from inside the penalty area. United's Gonzalo Martinez drifted away from Mullan, leaving the 30-year-old veteran alone in the right side. Geoff Cameron played a simple ball through to the open Mullan, who cut the ball back against Martinez before his left-footed bender easily beat the helpless Wells inside the upper far corner.
Houston effectively bracketed the clever Moreno, denying United's best player the time and space to create anything with the ball in critical positions, which in turn took Emilio, their leading scorer, virtually out of the match.
Perhaps a sign of early concern, United coach Tom Soehn immediately pulled rookie defender Pat Carroll, inserting midfielder Rod Dyachenko, dropping Devon McTavish to the central defender role and returning Bryan Namoff to his customary right back position, after starting the veteran in middle of the park.
The change made nary an impact, as Wells continued to keep United in the match denying De Rosario again in the 27th minute. The sleek Canadian striker slipped through the heart of the United defense before Wells charged out quickly to repel the bending shot from just inside the penalty spot.
De Rosario and others had more chances on the ensuing corner, drilling a right-footed shot from close range that hit Fred hard on the goal line, sending the Brazilian to the turf. That was preceded by Ching's side volley from near the top of the penalty area that that deflected off a United player.
Perhaps the only negative for the Dynamo in the half was when defender Eddie Robinson suffered a left hamstring strain and was removed in favor of U.S. Olympian Patrick Ianni in the 41st minute.
As the rain began cascading down from the sky to start the second half, the Dynamo continued where they left off despite the deteriorating conditions. Mullan outworked a United a defender to the ball at the top corner of the penalty area, reaching out a toe to flick the ball to a running Stuart Holden, whose low shot tapped for the near post was corralled by a diving Wells which turned out to be the last play before the stoppage.
The conditions prohibited either side from any sort of elegant soccer after the long delay, as they splashed around while trying to put enough pace on the ball to complete passes with regularity.
A scramble directly in front of the goal off a Holden corner kick in the 67th minute nearly extended the lead for the Dynamo. Former United star Bobby Boswell had the first crack with a side-volley that had very little on it which was followed by Cameron's redirect that hit the inside of the left post before Wells jumped on the ball.
The tide turned slightly as a minor leak in the Dynamo defense allowed United two quality chances in the span of a minute.
A Simms laser from 25 yards out was knocked away with a sharp diving save by Onstad to his left. Second-half substitute Francis Doe set Fred away on the right flank, but the Brazilian's cross was cleared away. Then Onstad came out hard to deny Doe on a breakaway just moments later at the top of the penalty area.
United's hopes were snuffed out in the 79th minute on a goal from Ching that proved to be Wells' only mistake of the night, coupled with poor marking from United. After Namoff took down Ching on the left side, the burly Hawaiian finished Davis' free kick from seven yards out to make the score 2-0 and ice the game for the Dynamo. Wells took a step to attack the ball, then hesitated, leaving himself out of position to make any sort of play on Ching's header, who slipped his mark easily.
Martinez was ejected for his second yellow card following a reckless tackle on De Rosario near the United penalty area in the 83rd minute.
Chris Snear is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
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