Coming into Saturday’s match against the Seattle Sounders, Dynamo fans across the city and the blogosphere saw this as a must win. With the playoffs approaching closer and Houston right in the thick of the wild card race, three points at home are very important. When a young team needs a lift they look to their veteran leader. A leader can vocally get his teammates ready, but taking over a game on the pitch is ultimately what gets results. Enter Brian Ching, returning from a suspension and ready to lead the Dynamo.
Colin Clark got the Dynamo off to a flying start by putting Houston on the board early with a goal in the 7th minute. Will Bruin sent in a cross towards Brian Ching. The Hawaiian forward could only chest the ball down at the six yard box and Seattle defender Tyson Wahl could not clear it. Clark was there to smash the ball home although Kasey Keller got a good piece of the shot but couldn’t keep it out of the net. The 18,000 plus at Robertson Stadium got the start they wanted.
Houston doubled their lead in the 23rd minute after some nice play on the left side. Brad Davis laid a ball back to Geoff Cameron and the midfielder looked up to find Ching at the six yard box. The Dynamo captain powered his header in, leaving Keller with no chance and giving Houston a surprising two goal lead in the first half.
Seattle got on the board in the 38th thanks to a penalty kick from Alvaro Fernandez. Corey Ashe took down Fredy Montero to the right of the penalty spot and the PK was awarded. Fernandez coolly sent Houston keeper Tally Hall the wrong way and made it a 2-1 game.
Houston took the 2-1 lead to halftime. The Dynamo had six shots with five of them on goal while the Sounders managed three shots with the penalty kick goal as the only one on goal.
Brian Ching scored his second goal of the match in the 71st minute to seal the three points for the Dynamo. Hunter Freeman sent a long ball into the box and found Colin Clark onside. Clark’s first touch put him into the 18 and with his next touch he picked out Ching wide open in front of the goal. Ching easily slotted the ball home past Keller and sealed the victory.
The Dynamo travel to PPL Park on Saturday to take on the Union in a rematch of the opening game of the season. Philadelphia beat the Dynamo 1-0 at Robertson Stadium in March and Houston will look to pay the Union back. In a tight Eastern Conference, points will be vital in each game for the remainder of the season. As we saw on Saturday night, don’t count Brian Ching and the Dynamo out.
Game Notes:
- Brad Davis appeared in his 185th match for the Dynamo in all competitions breaking Brian Mullan’s club record.
- The 3 goals scored by Houston were the most they’ve scored in a match since April 29th in a 4-1 win over DC United.
(image courtesy of Wilf Thorne/Houston Dynamo)
