The Houston Dynamo were held to a 1-1 tie by the Chicago Fire at Robertson Stadium on Saturday afternoon, moving into a tie for second place in the Eastern Conference pending the results of Saturday’s night games. Houston has two regular-season games remaining but does not play again until Friday, October 14.
With the tie, Houston is unbeaten in its last four games (2-0-2) and in its last seven home games (5-0-2). The Dynamo and Fire also tied 1-1 in their first meeting on April 23.
Houston took a deserved lead in the 34th minute after a sustained period of possession, capitalizing on a corner kick. Brad Davis swung in a left-footed delivery, and after the ball was not cleared, midfielder Colin Clark reacted first to a loose ball and scored from close range. It was Clark’s fourth goal of the year, the second-highest total of his six-year MLS career.
Against the run of play, Chicago tied the game in the 43rd minute. Baggio Husidic fed former Houston forward Dominic Oduro at the top of the penalty area, and Oduro took a touch into the box before deftly using the outside of his right foot to poke the ball underneath Tally Hall.
Houston had several good scoring chances late in the second half and out-shot Chicago for the game, but both Brad Davis and Calen Carr pushed their chances wide.
Midfielder Brad Davis played 90 minutes to run his career total for Houston in MLS play to 12,208, a club record. Davis passed Pat Onstad (12,166) to set the mark.
Defender Bobby Boswell made the 190th appearance of his MLS career. Defender Geoff Cameron played in his 125th career game for the Dynamo in all competitions. Goalkeeper Tally Hall made his 50th career start for the Dynamo in all competitions.
Reserve League Match: in progress
Next Match: Friday, October 14, 9:30 p.m., Dynamo at Portland Timbers, JELD-WEN Field, Portland, OR
Next Home Match: Sunday, October 23, 6 p.m., Dynamo vs. LA Galaxy, Robertson Stadium
POSTGAME QUOTES
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
On the match ...
"It was a frustrating afternoon to be 1-0 up and have a good chance to go 2-0 up and possibly put the game away. Then you give them a goal. In the second half we put ourselves in great spots in the final third. It’s just one of those days where our crosses were off enough, our shots were off enough and it leads to a frustrating afternoon. The guys’ effort was excellent. Especially at the end when we were searching for that last goal. ... If you keep it 1-0, teams are always still in the game. At the end we had some good movement, some great opportunities to hit the target and we didn’t do so."
On pushing for the second goal ...
"If we went up 2-0 at halftime it would have been a different feel in the lockerroom. In the second half they were sitting in just trying to defend as much as they could and we were trying to attack as much as we could. I don’t think their goalkeeper had any spectacular saves, and that is possibly down to us missing the target. I think in the last 20-30 yards today we were off. We put them under pressure but not enough to get that second goal. I think if we score the second, the possibility of us winning this game is good. As everyone knows, the hardest thing to do is to score, especially when a team is sitting in the box pretty well."
HOUSTON DYNAMO DEFENDER GEOFF CAMERON
Thoughts on the match ...
"We defended pretty well. We didn’t put away our chances. I thought we had the better of the chances tonight. It was a tough one. At the end of the day, we know we missed our chances and it is going to come down to the last two games of the season."
On the team’s defense ...
"Our defense was fine. We were a little bit flat today compared to past games we have played. We thought we came out a little flat. We need to take the positives out of this, put them into Portland and then hopefully get a home victory [against LA]."
HOUSTON DYNAMO DEFENDER ANDRE HAINAULT
Thoughts on the match ...
"In the second half we got control of the game and kept them under pressure. Defensively, there is still a lot to learn. We were a little too high up in the first half on the goal and we paid for it. It’s nice when you have a guy like Geoff Cameron back there who has that kind of speed to cover that kind of ground. Defensively there were some positives but it’s hard to look at positives when you have that sour taste in your mouth. You feel as if you should have come away with three points."
Thoughts on the playoff race ...
"We knew it would come down to the last two games. It is always going to be tough when the things are tight. We just need to be strong, be ready for it and take care of ourselves. We have a weekend off, so we need to lick our wounds, figure some things out and come ready for Portland."
