The New York Red Bulls pulled off a breathtakingly dramatic 2-1 win over the Houston Dynamo Wednesday night at Red Bull Arena, as forward Juan Pablo Angel scored on a 35-yard free kick in the fourth minute of stoppage time to condemn the Dynamo to their second consecutive loss.
Houston drops below the .500 mark for the first time all season and will have to immediately travel across the country to face the unbeaten, league-leading Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night at The Home Depot Center, Houston’s third game in eight days.
On Wednesday night, New York controlled the first half and took the lead in the 15th minute while playing with 10 men due to an injury. Juan Pablo Angel’s free kick was blocked, and defender Chris Albright quickly played the ball back into the box before the Dynamo could clear out, with Sinisa Ubiparipovic trapping the ball and finishing calmly to give New York the lead.
The Dynamo adjusted and picked up their play in the second half, tying the game in the 65th minute when defender Bobby Boswell stepped forward and chipped a pass into the box, where Brian Ching – making his first start since April 1 due to injury – chested the ball down and finished coolly inside the right post, his second goal in as many games.
Houston carried play in the second half and appeared to have earned a tie, but New York’s Juan Pablo Angel stepped up to a free kick deep in stoppage time and curved a 35-yard free kick that hit the left post, hit the back of a diving Pat Onstad and caromed into the goal. It was Angel’s sixth goal of the year, second in MLS.
For the game, the Dynamo’s Pat Onstad made three saves, including a save on Juan Pablo Angel from point-blank range in the 36th minute and another stop on Angel in the 58th minute.
The game included eight yellow cards and 25 fouls between the two teams.
The loss broke Houston’s streak of 11 consecutive games without recording the same result in any consecutive games; they had followed each of their five losses with a win.
Houston forward Cam Weaver made his first start of the season and only his second appearance of the year due to a knee strain suffered in the preseason. It was Weaver’s first start since October 4, 2008, when he was ejected in the first half.
Forward Joseph Ngwenya came on as a second-half substitute, making his first appearance for the Dynamo since the 2007 MLS Cup final against the New England Revolution.
Midfielder Brian Mullan played in the 240th and defender Bobby Boswell the 150th game of their respective MLS careers. Defender Richard Mulrooney played in his 95th career contest with the Dynamo in all competitions.
The Dynamo played without midfielder Geoff Cameron (PCL surgery) and defenders Mike Chabala (hamstring) and Adrian Serioux (personal).
Next Game: Saturday, June 5, 7 p.m. CT, Dynamo at Los Angeles Galaxy, The Home Depot Center, Carson CA
Next Home Game: Saturday, June 19, 8 p.m. CT, Dynamo vs. Águila (Dynamo Charities Cup), Robertson Stadium
Next Home MLS Game: Saturday, June 26, 7:30 p.m. CT, Dynamo vs. Colorado Rapids, Robertson Stadium
POSTGAME QUOTES
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
On the match:
“We worked our way back in it in the second half. Pat [Onstad] made some good saves to keep us close. Then we
created a silly foul, and we don’t have the smarts enough to realize
that one guy is shooting. So we’re disappointed with the result, and
sometimes the way you lose makes it even worse.”
On if the result felt unfair:
“Pat made some great saves at 1-0, and then
we get a goal. I think that was fairly even. We had a great chance with
Dominic [Oduro] at 1-1, and I think we were kind of riding our luck a tiny
bit there. They had chances, we had chances, and they scored on the
last chance they had.”
On the match’s physicality and roughness:
“I didn’t think it was so bad, to be
honest. I think the referee had it under control and gave yellows when
necessary. There were no mass confrontations between the two teams. I
think the way the fouls were going, there was some debating and maybe a
little bit of talking back, but it wasn’t terrible.”
On the importance of Houston’s next match:
“It’s Wednesday, we just lost a tough game
here. I think we’ll let this one sink in, and then we’ll start thinking
about Los Angeles. The next game after something like this is
important.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO FORWARD BRIAN CHING
On the team suffering late goals two matches in a row:
“Just a lack of concentration, a lack of
confidence, I think. I think as a team, we’re kind of unsure about
ourselves right now, and you saw that at the end of the game. I think
two years ago, we close that game out pretty easily. You look at the
way this year is going, we’re making mistakes because of a lack of
confidence. I think after we scored our goal, we took our foot off the
gas and were unsure. They’re the home team, and they took it to us.
Disappointing, extremely. But hats off to Juan Pablo [Angel] for
putting a great ball into the back of the net.”
On if the 2-1 result felt fair:
“I think in the first half, we really didn’t
come out and perform, but in the second half we turned things around. [It felt] a little unfair, but you make your own luck, and right now
we’re not helping ourselves. We have an extremely difficult game coming
up, pretty much our third game of this week against a team in the
league that’s only given up two goals. If we go into the game the same
way, we’re in for a rude awakening. So it’s our job to step up and be
men and start taking accountability for our actions and start playing
like men.”
