Revenge was the talk of the day for Houston coming into the Saturday’s match against the Montreal Impact. With the aid of some well-executed soccer and stellar defense, the Dynamo were able to exact just that in a 3-0 victory.
Led by Saturday’s captain Bobby Boswell, the Dynamo were adamant about their feelings about what happened on and off the field at Stade Saputo on June 23 when the Impact beat them 4-2.
“[Bobby] said there were some things he took personal and he wanted to take it on the field,” head coach Dominic Kinnear said. “We talked before the game and said, ‘If that’s the way you want to bring some anger on the field for whatever reason, be my guest, but make sure you keep your head in doing so. On the soccer side, we took care of things and kept our emotions in check.”
Full Highlights: HOU 3, MTL 0
Boswell made sure to make his point known before the match and his teammates responded with a good performance. With his teammates up to the task — Macoumba Kandji notched a brace — the defender punctuated his assignment as captain by nodding home a Brad Davis corner kick to make a stingy defensive performance stand.
“There wasn’t a game I wanted to win more this year than that one tonight and I’m really happy our guys went out felt the same way and took care of business,” Boswell told the media. “For the people who believe in karma, you say we went up there and didn’t get treated well and wanted to make sure we didn’t treat them well when they came down here. I think 3-0 is a good way to send them home.”
While the talk of last month’s outcome was the focus coming into the match, it was Houston’s ability to put together a well-crafted defensive performance and to push through fatigue late that backed it up against a more-than-game Impact.
OPTA CHALKBOARD: Dynamo controlled Impact in rout
And although Saturday’s result will not bring June 23’s back or erase it, what the win does is keep the Dynamo on an upward trajectory. The victory caps a nine-point week and moved Houston into third place in the East, and it comes with the added bonus of returning the favor to a team that put it on them a month ago.
“I don’t think he needs to mention it, all the guys remember that night and it’s in the back of your mind but you’re not playing fully for that,” defender Andre Hainault said. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel good, but there’s a lot of other stuff around it.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on twitter at @DarrellLovell.
