Wizards, Kamara visit Houston
Kansas City needs points to remain in playoff race; Dynamo can clinch
ROBERTSON STADIUM, Houston, Texas
Oct. 4, 2009 (WEEK 29) / MLS Game #205
2 p.m. CT (TeleFutura; KHOU; MetroSports)
The Houston Dynamo will be aiming to secure their place in the MLS Cup Playoffs on Sunday afternoon at Robertson Stadium when they play host to the Kansas City Wizards. A victory will ensure the Dynamo will own one of the top eight records in MLS; they could even clinch a berth with a draw depending on the weekend's other results. The Wizards have taken 10 points from their last five games to keep their slim playoff dreams alive, still six points out of the final spot entering the weekend with four games remaining.
REFEREE:
MLS Career: 36 games; FC/gm: 25.8; Y/gm: 3.6; R: 10; pens: 13
INJURY REPORT: HOUSTON DYNAMO - OUT: DF Richard Mulrooney (R knee surgery) ... KANSAS CITY WIZARDS -
OUT: GK Eric Kronberg (shoulder surgery); MF Kevin Souter (sports hernia surgery); FW Adam Cristman (abdominal strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: HOU: Danny Cruz (USA; FIFA U-20 World Cup)
SUSPENDED: HOU: Brian Ching (through Oct. 4); John Spencer (assistant coach; through Oct. 18)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: HOU: Brad Davis ... KC: Santiago Hirsig, Claudio Lopez, Lance Watson
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: HOU: Wade Barrett, Bobby Boswell, Mike Chabala, Brian Ching, Ricardo Clark ... KC: Davy Arnaud, Roger Espinoza, Herculez Gomez, Michael Harrington, Kei Kamara
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (7 meetings): Dynamo 4 wins, 10 goals ... Wizards 1 win, 6 goals ... Ties 2
IN HOUSTON (3 meetings): Dynamo 1 win, 5 goals ... Wizards 1 win, 4 goals ... Ties 1
• The Dynamo have not lost to the Wizards in their last seven meetings in all competitions, since a 2-1 Kansas City victory on April 8, 2006 in the first meeting ever between the clubs.
• When the Dynamo won 3-1 at Robertson Stadium in the final meeting last year, it was the first league victory by the home team. The Dynamo won their two previous visits to Kansas City before a draw last season, while the Wizards had come away from the Bayou City with a victory and a draw in their first two trips.
• The teams also met in the 2007 Western Conference Championship, with the Dynamo taking a 2-0 victory (Jaqua 35, De Rosario 81) on their way to a second successive MLS Cup triumph.
• Coaches record: Dominic Kinnear vs. KC: P13 W6 L3 D4 ... Peter Vermes v HOU: first game
LAST MEETING (MLS):
7/4: KC 0, HOU 1 (Kamara 18)
• The Dynamo continued the trend of road team success in the series between the clubs, claiming a 1-0 win on July 4 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
• The game's lone goal came in the 18th minute. Mike Chabala was freed down the left flank and put in a fine cross that dropped just over Wizards center back Rauwshan McKenzie onto the head of Kei Kamara, and the Sierra Leonian striker powered it home.
• Kamara celebrated his third goal of the season with a tribute to the late Michael Jackson, putting a white glove out of his shorts and striking a pose familiar to the pop singer. It was the seventh time this season the Dynamo have played in a 1-0 game, winning five.
• Here's Onalfo's team (4-1-3-2): Kevin Hartman - Lance Watson, Aaron Hohlbein, Rauwshan McKenzie, Matt Besler - Santiago Hirsig - Michael Harrington (Abe Thompson 61), Jack Jewsbury, Herculez Gomez (Michael Kraus 74) - Josh Wolff, Claudio Lopez. Substitutes Not Used: Jonathan Leathers, Matt Marquess, Kurt Morsink, Boris Pardo, Graham Zusi
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Richard Mulrooney, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Mike Chabala - Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Corey Ashe (Danny Cruz 93+) - Brad Davis - Dominic Oduro (Ade Akinbiyi 67), Kei Kamara. Substitutes Not Used: Tally Hall, John Michael Hayden, Julius James, Erik Ustruck, Craig Waibel
HOUSTON DYNAMO
The Houston Dynamo return to league action after a weekend off, their last match a late 3-2 win against Real Salt Lake on Sept. 19 to end a two-game losing skid. The Dynamo still lead the Western Conference with 43 points from 27 matches, still two points ahead of the LA Galaxy, now three points behind the Columbus Crew in the race for the Supporters' Shield.
LAST MATCH
• The Dynamo were back home after back-to-back road losses to Colorado and Columbus, while Real Salt Lake were looking to keep their late-season three-game unbeaten streak alive.
• But it was the home side that exploded for an early two-goal advantage. In just the second minute, Brad Davis swung in a free kick from the left side and Brian Ching dove forward in front of an RSL defender to poke the ball home from close range for his eighth goal on the campaign.
• Then in the fifth minute, a Davis corner kick fell right to the feet of Geoff Cameron, who bundled it home from close range for his second of the year. It was the seventh time in league history two goals had been scored in the opening five minutes, the second time this season.
• But RSL began their fightback in the 27th minute. A neat backheel from Pablo Campos sent Kyle Beckerman skipping into the area, and he stroked home a shot from the spot. Yet Real's hopes seemed dashed barely five minutes later when they were left a man down after defender Jamison Olave received a straight red card.
• Yet Real pulled level in the 61st minute, when Yura Movsisyan gathered in a knock-on header, cut inside at the top of the area and rifling a blast inside the left-hand post for his seventh goal on the year.
• The Dynamo, however, had one final response -- and fittingly it came from Davis. Collecting a pass at the left corner of the box, he hammered a rising drive inside the far post past the despairing dive of goalkeeper Nick Rimando for the 81st-minute game-winner, his fifth goal on the campaign.
• Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made two changes to the team that lost 2-1 to the Columbus Crew the weekend before. Brad Davis and Ryan Cochrane came into the team, with Ricardo Clark suspended and Corey Ashe going to the substitutes' bench.
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Andrew Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Ryan Cochrane, Mike Chabala - Brian Mullan, Geoff Cameron, Brad Davis (Corey Ashe 83) - Stuart Holden - Brian Ching, Luis Angel Landin (Cam Weaver 64). Substitutes Not Used: Wade Barrett, Tally Hall, Dominic Oduro, Abe Thompson, Craig Waibel
TEAM NEWS
• After four games in league play without a win and just two victories in their previous 10 in MLS play, the late game-winner against Real was important for the Dynamo.
• "A must-win is if you lose and your season is over," said Kinnear. "It's a necessary win. For the momentum of the team since we were treading water and for confidence and the feeling in the locker room, it was a very necessary win." Said Davis: "To be totally honest we felt like we were letting the game slip away again. Credit to our guys that we didn't stop."
• The result, combined with the LA Galaxy's loss in Columbus last week, means the Dynamo are still atop the Western Conference with three games remaining, entering the weekend - important to maintain home-field advantage throughout the MLS Cup Playoffs.
• "We knew there was a good opportunity to get three points [with several other teams tying earlier]," said Onstad. "It gives us a little cushion on some of those other teams. It wasn't pretty, but it's three points."
• Since the league win, the Dynamo have ... in the CONCACAF Champions League.
• On Sept. 22, the Dynamo claimed a huge victory, defeating Panama's Arabe Unido 5-1 at Robertson Stadium. Eddie Robinson gave the Dynamo the lead in the 11th minute, and Cam Weaver doubled it (50), before Orlando Rodriguez pulled a goal back for DAU. Then Arabe Unido were reduced to 10 men when Omar Camargo was sent off, and Corey Ashe (69) scored and Stuart Holden netted twice (74, 92+) to put the game away.
• "If you look at it, it is really important for us to go out there and keep trying to score goals because it may come down to a tiebreaker and that is why we kept going forward," Kinnear said.
• Then on Wednesday, the Dynamo lost 1-0 to Mexico's CF Pachuca in the CONCACAF Champions League. The Dynamo now must defeat Isidro Metapan in El Salvador on Oct. 21, and have Pachuca defeat Panama's Arabe Unido, to advance to the quarterfinal stage.
• Here's Kinnear's team: Pat Onstad - Wade Barrett (Corey Ashe 46), Andrew Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Brian Mullan, Brad Davis (Eddie Robinson 70), Stuart Holden, Ricardo Clark, Geoff Cameron, Brian Ching, Dominic Oduro
• "If we get a goal, it might have put us over the top," said Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear. "I thought we were very good in the first half and chasing the game in the second. We played well, and spent a lot of time in their half, but the final pass in the last 25-30 yards was letting us down ... "Overall I was happy with the way the guys played. [The loss] puts us in a difficult position. We know what we have to do now, go to El Salvador and win and hope that Pachuca beat Arabe Unido."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
The Kansas City Wizards extended their late-season unbeaten run to three games, playing to a scoreless draw on Saturday evening at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. The Wizards have 31 points from 26 matches, sitting in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, 15 points behind first-place Columbus.
LAST MATCH
• The Wizards had followed up a six-point road trip with a 3-2 win against FC Dallas at home in their last game, while the Rapids were coming off back-to-back 1-1 draws against San Jose -- both games decided by stoppage-time penalty kick equalizers from Conor Casey.
• The Wizards narrowly missed hitting for the game-winner in the 77th minute, but Jimmy Conrad -- who went from goat to hero in the win against FCD -- saw his header from a corner kick come back off the post. Both goalkeepers, K.C.'s Kevin Hartman and Colorado's Preston Burpo, each made three saves.
• Wizards interim head coach Peter Vermes made two changes to the team that overcame an FC Dallas comeback for a 3-2 victory the Saturday before. Kei Kamara made his first K.C. start and Jack Jewsbury returned from suspension, coming into the team in place of Kurt Morsink and Herculez Gomez.
• Here's Vermes' team (4-4-2): Kevin Hartman - Jonathan Leathers, Matt Besler, Jimmy Conrad, Michael Harrington - Davy Arnaud, Santiago Hirsig, Jack Jewsbury, Claudio Lopez - Kei Kamara, Josh Wolff (Zoltan Hercegfalvi 65). Substitutes Not Used: Aaron Hohlbein, Matt Marquess, Kurt Morsink, Chance Myers, Boris Pardo, Graham Zusi
TEAM NEWS
• The Wizards have gone 3-1-1 in their last five games and are still alive for a place in the MLS Cup Playoffs, though they are six points behind the last spot with just 12 points remaining.
• "When it comes down to the end of the season like this, and games are what they are, both teams are fighting for everything," Vermes said. "I go back to it: If we had walked away [from the game] having not created chances, then I'd walk away saying we were a little tentative. We weren't aggressive. But, we had quite a few chances. And, set piece-wise, we were dominant."
• After last week's win against FC Dallas, Jimmy Conrad said he thought the team would need to win four of its last five to make the playoffs. The Wizards now have four games remaining (two on the road and then two at home) beginning with the trip to Houston.
• "Walking off the field, I heard a couple of our players talking about where we could be right now if we played like this the entire season. It's good to see that the team is confident with the way we are playing," Vermes said. "When I took over, we talked about changing the attitude of this team, and that definitely is happening."
• The Wizards have allowed three goals in their last four games and recorded shutouts in two; the clean sheet at New York on Sept. 12 the first in two months.
• "I thought that we had a good offensive performance and that makes it easy to play defense. Colorado didn't have a lot of good scoring chances, and I credit that to our solid performance on defense, but also because of how we controlled the game offensively," Conrad said. "Colorado is a good team, but I thought tonight we were the better team and put ourselves in a good position to get three points. It's just unfortunate we were not able to get the win, but overall it was still a good effort."
• Kei Kamara made his first start for the Wizards and was a handful for the Rapids, playing an unusual back three. In a strange twist of fate, he'll face his former club on Sunday, the one that dealt him away in a trade deadline deal.
• "I have to be honest about the situation," Kamara said. "I was surprised I was getting traded. I didn't want to leave Houston -- the position that we were in. I wanted to play with the team. For them to say that's what they wanted to do, that's saying they didn't want me on the team anymore. I was shocked, surprised. But, I just have to let that go, look forward."
