Dynamo midfielder Geoff Cameron has left the remainder of his 2010 season in the hands of the MLS Disciplinary Committee.
In the waning minutes of Houston’s 2-1 loss to New England on Sunday, Cameron took out his frustration with a shove to Revs midfielder Pat Phelan and was ejected. He will miss the Dynamo’s trip to San Jose on Saturday for their penultimate game this season, and his year may end prematurely if further disciplinary action is taken.
“It was stupid on my part, especially with two minutes left in the game,” said Cameron. “I usually keep my cool, but it happens, and people make mistakes. I will learn my lesson, and that’s pretty much it.”
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While Cameron admits that he reacted poorly, the midfielder also believed that Phelan should have been sent off earlier in the match for his tackle on Cameron. When that challenge occurred, more than one media member in the Robertson Stadium press box commented that it looked as if Cameron might have just broken his leg.
“He wasn’t going for the ball, he was trying to break my leg, and luckily I pulled out a little bit,” said Cameron of Phelan’s tackle.
Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear was disappointed that the red card undermined the team’s chance to equalize. However, he believes Cameron’s track record speaks for itself – the 25-year-old has only one red card in 93 total games in his time with Houston.
“Emotions got the best of him, and it’s probably the first time we’ve seen him do that in the three years he’s been here,” explained Kinnear. “It got to a point where the tackle in the first half was weighing on his mind a lot, and he couldn’t shake it enough to finish the game on the field.”
Cameron took ownership of the mistake and apologized to his teammates immediately following the game. The young midfielder knows he let the team down not only in the game against the Revs with the ejection, but also as he sits out at least one additional game. He remains hopeful the disciplinary committee does not tack on additional punishment.
“It’s disappointing mentally that I let [Phelan] get to me a little too much," said Cameron.
Dwain Capodice is a contributor to MLSsoccer.com. Questions or Comments can be sent via email to dwaincapodice@gmail.com.
