Whether on the road or at home, in a Knockout Round game one team is going to have to deliver a final blow.
If Houston Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear has his way, it will be his squad that does the scoring to advance out of Wednesday's Eastern Conference elimination match against the Chicago Fire (8 pm CT; ESPN2, live chat on MLSsoccer.com).
Despite the Fire playing a stingy brand of defense - their 41 goals conceded is tied with the Dynamo for second fewest in the East - Chicago have given up more than their share of possession, third worst in MLS with 53 percent conceded.
With the ball likely to spend a lot of time in Houston's hands, the match could come down to how the visitors play with their foot on the gas.
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"Possession is going to be key for us in this game," Kinnear said on a conference call Tuesday. "What we do in advanced areas is going to determine whether we win the game or not."
Turning that possession into production will start with Houston's servicemen.
Back in the 4-4-2 formation, Houston has two wide midfielders in Boniek Garcia and Brad Davis who have the ability to put pressure on teams by providing quality service while also presenting a scoring threat of their own.
"It creates a good balance for us," Kinnear said. "Both guys can work both sides. They can hang wide or tuck in the middle. If you can get good possession, and you can get Brad [Davis] wide in good positions, it's a positive for us ... Boniek is more of a slasher than Brad, but he does cross a good ball as well."
That service can be dangerous with a group of scorers coming off their best season in goals scored, including recent first choice strikers Will Bruin (12), Calen Carr (4) and Mac Kandji (4) and super sub Brian Ching contributing five on the season.
"It's also important for the forwards to make good runs, because you have two big guys back there in Austin Berry and Arne Friedrich who, if you do stand still, it's not going to get you very far," Kinnear said. "If Will [Bruin] and Calen [Carr] can use their mobility, and try to be one step ahead of the defenders, they can produce some good things for you."
In a game with win or go home stakes, the pairing of the right run and right service could be the difference between advancement and an early offseason.
"For us, whenever we have been dangerous is because we have gotten good numbers around the box and the service has been good," Kinnear said. "Any forward will tell you, he is only as good as his service and hopefully we do have good service and good runs tomorrow night."
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.
