The first shots of the Texas Revolution were fired in October 1835 when Mexican soldiers demanded that a small cannon held by colonists be relinquished. Six months later, Sam Houston led his Texian Army to victory and independence for the Lone Star State at San Jacinto. Flags honouring the brief 18 minute battle depicted the cannon with the words “Come and Get It”. Houston Dynamo’s Texian Army supporters’ organisation unveiled a new banner last weekend taunting their rivals with a cute twist to that celebrated flag, replacing the cannon with MLS Cup.
The penultimate weekend’s action saw the back-to-back champions eliminate two Western Conference opponents from play-off contention in four days while securing home advantage in the process. The signs look ominous for the rest of the league.
San Jose travelled to Robertson Stadium in midweek for a fixture initially postponed by the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Houston’s dramatic 2-1 win boasted all the fighting qualities that have set them apart during the last two seasons.
Stuart Holden put Dynamo ahead on six minutes with a goal illustrating the valuable commodity of timing runs from midfield. Kei Kamara steered Geoff Cameron’s cross against a post, but goalkeeper Joe Cannon was left helpless as Holden arrived to pounce on the loose ball and finish coolly.
Kamara’s involvement against his former team was brief as he was dismissed following a seemingly innocuous collision five minutes later. Quakes defender Nick Garcia pressurised the Sierra Leone striker near the touchline before collapsing to the turf holding his throat. Kamara appeared to raise an arm to fend off Garcia’s challenge as he controlled a long ball from defence, but any contact seemed purely accidental. Not so in the eyes of referee Jair Marrufo, who brandished his red card to the disbelief of the home fans.
Nonetheless, Houston continued to dominate despite their numerical disadvantage. Stand-in wide players Cameron and Corey Ashe menaced the visiting full-backs while striker Brian Ching turned in one of his best performances this year with a bullish display to keep San Jose’s back line occupied. Ashe danced around Jason Hernandez on 30 minutes to create another chance for Holden but his attempt trundled agonisingly wide.
Containment was Houston’s aim after the interval as they strived to conserve energy and force San Jose to break them down. It was a task they seemed likely to complete until defender Eddie Robinson blindly passed the ball back to Pat Onstad on 68 minutes. The goalkeeper raced to the edge of his penalty area to prevent Darren Huckerby from taking advantage, but his tackle landed at the feet of Scott Sealy who stroked home into an empty net to resuscitate the Earthquakes’ post-season hopes. Robinson’s error was an unfortunate black mark on an otherwise excellent performance.
With Chivas breathing down their necks for the West’s top seeding, Houston were forced back onto the offense in the latter stages. Head coach Dominic Kinnear reinvigorated his attack by introducing Brad Davis, Brian Mullan and Nate Jaqua for Ashe, Cameron and Ching. Ninety minutes had elapsed when Mullan sent Jaqua clean through on Cannon’s goal, but the towering frontman stumbled at the vital moment.
With San Jose also going for a late winner, Mullan carved out one final chance as his cross again found Jaqua unmarked in the penalty box with mere seconds remaining. Jaqua controlled on his chest before firing his close-range effort off Cannon’s right post. It looked like another chance had been wasted until Holden popped up again to knock the rebound over the line and save his team-mate’s blushes.
L.A. Galaxy hoped to take advantage of Houston’s punishing exertions on Saturday despite the absence of the suspended David Beckham. In truth, they have performed far better without the Englishman since he made his debut last August. Entering the weekend, Galaxy had claimed 33% of points available from 29 matches featuring their extortionate passenger. That figure rises significantly to 48% in 16 games without him.
As it turned out, Galaxy provided as much resistance as General Santa Anna’s Mexican troops at San Jacinto.
Beckham’s replacement Bryan Jordan contrived to back-heel Jaqua’s cross into his own net on 14 minutes, before the striker supplied another ball into the box on 20 minutes that was bundled into the net by Dwayne De Rosario. As Galaxy’s porous defence continued to be dominated by Houston’s aerial threat, Jaqua flicked Bobby Boswell’s clearance into the path of strike partner Ching on 23 minutes. The Hawaiian native raced clear before drilling his shot beyond goalkeeper Josh Saunders to complete a 3-0 rout.
Dynamo could easily have been six ahead by half-time before they eased off before this week’s CONCACAF Champions’ League tie with Mexico City’s UNAM Pumas.
Elsewhere in the West, Real Salt Lake eliminated Dallas from contention with a 3-1 win at Rio Tinto Stadium. Marcelo Saragosa gave Dallas an early lead before his 30th minute dismissal for a second caution allowed the hosts to take charge.
Conor Casey’s late penalty in Colorado’s 2-1 win at Chivas leaves the Rapids needing to beat RSL in Denver this Saturday to overtake their Rocky Mountain rivals in the race for what looks to be the final play-off place for the Western Conference.
Toronto’s brave efforts in defeating Chicago 3-2 at BMO Field proved to be in vain as wins for D.C. United, New York and Kansas City knocked The Reds from contention. All three remaining hopefuls face tough road trips in their final games against Columbus, Chicago and New England respectively.
With three teams level on 39 points and two others on 37, the chance of head-to-head match-ups deciding who will progress to the play-offs looks likely as this dramatic regular season reaches its nail-biting finale.
Week 30 Results
Houston 2 San Jose 1
D.C. United 2 New England 1
Toronto 3 Chicago 2
New York 3 Columbus 1
Kansas City 3 San Jose 2
Houston 3 L.A. Galaxy 0
Salt Lake 3 Dallas 1
Chivas 1 Colorado 2
Standings
Eastern Conference
1) Columbus 54 points (played 29)
2) Chicago 43 (29)
3) New England 43 (29)
4) Kansas City 39 (29)
5) *New York 39 (29)
6) D.C. United 37 (29)
7) Toronto 35 (29)
Western Conference
1) Houston 50 (29)
2) Chivas 42 (29)
3) *Salt Lake 39 (29)
4) Colorado 37 (29)
5) Dallas 35 (29)
6) L.A. Galaxy 32 (29)
7) San Jose 30 (29)
*Lines show teams occupying play-off positions.
The penultimate weekend’s action saw the back-to-back champions eliminate two Western Conference opponents from play-off contention in four days while securing home advantage in the process. The signs look ominous for the rest of the league.
San Jose travelled to Robertson Stadium in midweek for a fixture initially postponed by the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Houston’s dramatic 2-1 win boasted all the fighting qualities that have set them apart during the last two seasons.
Stuart Holden put Dynamo ahead on six minutes with a goal illustrating the valuable commodity of timing runs from midfield. Kei Kamara steered Geoff Cameron’s cross against a post, but goalkeeper Joe Cannon was left helpless as Holden arrived to pounce on the loose ball and finish coolly.
Kamara’s involvement against his former team was brief as he was dismissed following a seemingly innocuous collision five minutes later. Quakes defender Nick Garcia pressurised the Sierra Leone striker near the touchline before collapsing to the turf holding his throat. Kamara appeared to raise an arm to fend off Garcia’s challenge as he controlled a long ball from defence, but any contact seemed purely accidental. Not so in the eyes of referee Jair Marrufo, who brandished his red card to the disbelief of the home fans.
Nonetheless, Houston continued to dominate despite their numerical disadvantage. Stand-in wide players Cameron and Corey Ashe menaced the visiting full-backs while striker Brian Ching turned in one of his best performances this year with a bullish display to keep San Jose’s back line occupied. Ashe danced around Jason Hernandez on 30 minutes to create another chance for Holden but his attempt trundled agonisingly wide.
Containment was Houston’s aim after the interval as they strived to conserve energy and force San Jose to break them down. It was a task they seemed likely to complete until defender Eddie Robinson blindly passed the ball back to Pat Onstad on 68 minutes. The goalkeeper raced to the edge of his penalty area to prevent Darren Huckerby from taking advantage, but his tackle landed at the feet of Scott Sealy who stroked home into an empty net to resuscitate the Earthquakes’ post-season hopes. Robinson’s error was an unfortunate black mark on an otherwise excellent performance.
With Chivas breathing down their necks for the West’s top seeding, Houston were forced back onto the offense in the latter stages. Head coach Dominic Kinnear reinvigorated his attack by introducing Brad Davis, Brian Mullan and Nate Jaqua for Ashe, Cameron and Ching. Ninety minutes had elapsed when Mullan sent Jaqua clean through on Cannon’s goal, but the towering frontman stumbled at the vital moment.
With San Jose also going for a late winner, Mullan carved out one final chance as his cross again found Jaqua unmarked in the penalty box with mere seconds remaining. Jaqua controlled on his chest before firing his close-range effort off Cannon’s right post. It looked like another chance had been wasted until Holden popped up again to knock the rebound over the line and save his team-mate’s blushes.
L.A. Galaxy hoped to take advantage of Houston’s punishing exertions on Saturday despite the absence of the suspended David Beckham. In truth, they have performed far better without the Englishman since he made his debut last August. Entering the weekend, Galaxy had claimed 33% of points available from 29 matches featuring their extortionate passenger. That figure rises significantly to 48% in 16 games without him.
As it turned out, Galaxy provided as much resistance as General Santa Anna’s Mexican troops at San Jacinto.
Beckham’s replacement Bryan Jordan contrived to back-heel Jaqua’s cross into his own net on 14 minutes, before the striker supplied another ball into the box on 20 minutes that was bundled into the net by Dwayne De Rosario. As Galaxy’s porous defence continued to be dominated by Houston’s aerial threat, Jaqua flicked Bobby Boswell’s clearance into the path of strike partner Ching on 23 minutes. The Hawaiian native raced clear before drilling his shot beyond goalkeeper Josh Saunders to complete a 3-0 rout.
Dynamo could easily have been six ahead by half-time before they eased off before this week’s CONCACAF Champions’ League tie with Mexico City’s UNAM Pumas.
Elsewhere in the West, Real Salt Lake eliminated Dallas from contention with a 3-1 win at Rio Tinto Stadium. Marcelo Saragosa gave Dallas an early lead before his 30th minute dismissal for a second caution allowed the hosts to take charge.
Conor Casey’s late penalty in Colorado’s 2-1 win at Chivas leaves the Rapids needing to beat RSL in Denver this Saturday to overtake their Rocky Mountain rivals in the race for what looks to be the final play-off place for the Western Conference.
Toronto’s brave efforts in defeating Chicago 3-2 at BMO Field proved to be in vain as wins for D.C. United, New York and Kansas City knocked The Reds from contention. All three remaining hopefuls face tough road trips in their final games against Columbus, Chicago and New England respectively.
With three teams level on 39 points and two others on 37, the chance of head-to-head match-ups deciding who will progress to the play-offs looks likely as this dramatic regular season reaches its nail-biting finale.
Week 30 Results
Houston 2 San Jose 1
D.C. United 2 New England 1
Toronto 3 Chicago 2
New York 3 Columbus 1
Kansas City 3 San Jose 2
Houston 3 L.A. Galaxy 0
Salt Lake 3 Dallas 1
Chivas 1 Colorado 2
Standings
Eastern Conference
1) Columbus 54 points (played 29)
2) Chicago 43 (29)
3) New England 43 (29)
4) Kansas City 39 (29)
5) *New York 39 (29)
6) D.C. United 37 (29)
7) Toronto 35 (29)
Western Conference
1) Houston 50 (29)
2) Chivas 42 (29)
3) *Salt Lake 39 (29)
4) Colorado 37 (29)
5) Dallas 35 (29)
6) L.A. Galaxy 32 (29)
7) San Jose 30 (29)
*Lines show teams occupying play-off positions.
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