The score of the New England-Houston match may say that the Dynamo fell 1-0, but the Houston players will gladly argue the point.
“I don’t think they are a particularly good team, and I don’t think they played particularly well,” said Dynamo forward Brian Ching. “I thought we should have at least got a point out of that, but they get a little bit lucky on that with a guy shooting and it going right to another guy and a good finish.”
HIGHLIGHTS: New England 1, Houston 0
The Revolution’s lone goal was scored in the 62nd by newcomer Ilija Stolica, who struck his first MLS goal on a volley from just outside the Houston area.
While the Dynamo certainly outplayed the Revolution for stretches, they struggled to finish their chances. They had 11 corners and failed to convert a single one despite Brian Ching and Joseph Ngwenya both having good looks. After two consecutive games without even a shot on goal, the offensive production was a step in the right direction. However, two shots on goal and the quantity of chances created by Houston on the night is still nothing to write home about.
“We didn’t create a whole lot on goal either,” Ching said. “I don’t think we lacked effort. I just think we lacked quality and cohesion in the final third.”
“We’re just not scoring right now,” coach Dominic Kinnear said. “The defensive performance was good. A little bit of luck, there wasn’t a lot of action in the goalmouth that we had to deal with seriously, but the one thing that fell their way, they put it away.”
Defensively, Houston returned to a formula that worked successfully last year with Richard Mulrooney at right back and Geoff Cameron in the center of the Dynamo defense. Their distribution out of the back contributed to Houston’s improved offensive performance. With midfielder Anthony Obodai putting in his best performance in a Dynamo uniform, the Dynamo defense didn’t have much to deal with on the night other than the deflection and ultimate game-winner.
“It’s just the luck: the lucky bounces aren’t going our way right now, and that is tough to overcome,” Cameron said. “Hopefully we get one goal and then they start coming in bunches. We’ll have to wait and see what happens."
