Battle for El Capitan heats up again
Houston enters on four-game win streak; Dallas is unbeaten in five
PIZZA HUT PARK, Frisco, Texas
June 13, 2009 (WEEK 13) / MLS Game #96
7:30 p.m. CT (FSC/FSE)
The second contest for El Capitán is certain to be a heated affair as FC Dallas and the Houston Dynamo meet at Pizza Hut Park. The Dynamo are the hottest team in Major League Soccer, riding a four-game winning streak and nine-game unbeaten run into the contest. FC Dallas is now unbeaten in five games after coming back for a 2-2 draw at home against San Jose last weekend. The Dynamo won the first meeting this season, a 1-0 victory at Robertson Stadium.
REFEREE: Mark Geiger. SAR (bench): Anthony Vasoli; JAR (opposite): Kyle Borne; 4th: Chris Penso MLS Career: 53 games; FC/gm: 29.0; Y/gm: 4.0; R: 9; pens: 21
INJURY REPORT: FC DALLAS - OUT: GK Dario Sala (L knee); DF Steve Purdy (R knee); MF Bruno Guarda (R ankle); DF George John (R hamstring); MF Alvaro Sanchez (R ankle); QUESTIONABLE: DF Daniel Torres (R hamstring) ... HOUSTON DYNAMO - OUT: DF Eddie Robinson (L knee surgery); FW Brian Ching (L hamstring strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: HOU: Ricardo Clark (USA; FIFA Confederations Cup)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: DAL: Andre Rocha, Marcelo Saragosa ... HOU: Brad Davis; Ricardo Clark; Geoff Cameron, Bobby Boswell
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (12 meetings): FC Dallas 1 win, 12 goals ... Dynamo 6 wins, 19 goals ... Ties 5AT DALLAS (5 meetings): FC Dallas 1 win, 4 goals ... Dynamo 1 win, 6 goals ... Ties 3
REMAINING MATCH: 8/6: Houston Dynamo at FC Dallas, 7 p.m. CT
• FC Dallas have defeated Houston just once in league play in the three-year history of the rivalry - a 1-0 victory at Pizza Hut Park in their final meeting in 2006. Houston has won four of the eight league meetings since, with four draws. FCD did win the first leg of their Western Conference Semifinal Series in 2007.
• The Dynamo have not lost to FC Dallas at Robertson Stadium. The Dynamo have won five of the seven league games there, winning the first meeting this season after playing to a pair of draws in 2008. In addition, Houston claimed a 4-1 victory in extra-time in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2007.
• As well, the Dynamo claimed a 3-0 victory in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals in 2006 at home; that match was played at the Carl Lewis Track & Field Stadium at the University of Houston.
• The Lone Star State rivals are meeting for "El Capitan," as was named the 18th-century Mountain Howitzer cannon to be awarded to the winner of the season series. The Dynamo won the trophy the first two years of its existence, with FC Dallas claiming it last year on away goals after the teams played to three draws in the season series. The rules have been altered for the 2009 competition.
• Coaches record: Schellas Hyndman v HOU: P2 W0 L1 D1 ... Dominic Kinnear vs. DAL: P12 W6 L1 D5
LAST MEETING (MLS):
5/9: HOU 1, DAL 0 (Kamara 58)
• A tense initial meeting for El Capitan saw its lone goal 12 minutes after the second-half restart. Stuart Holden was freed down the left flank and floated a high cross into the area where Kei Kamara soared over a defender to head home his first goal on the season.
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Richard Mulrooney, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Andrew Hainault - Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis (Corey Ashe 83) - Stuart Holden - Kei Kamara (Chris Wondolowski 94+), Brian Ching (Ade Akinbiyi 85). Substitutes Not Used: Mike Chabala, Tally Hall, Julius James, Craig Waibel
• Here's Hyndman's team (4-1-3-2): Ray Burse - Drew Moor, George John, Steve Purdy, Blake Wagner (Dax McCarty 73) - Marcelo Saragosa - Andre Rocha (Eric Avila 76), David Ferreira, Dave van den Bergh - Jeff Cunningham (Peri Marosevic 84), Kenny Cooper. Substitutes Not Used: Bruno Guarda, Josh Lambo, Daniel Torres, Anthony Wallace
FC DALLAS
FC Dallas extended their undefeated run to five games, coming back for a 2-2 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes at Pizza Hut Park on Sunday afternoon. FCD has 10 points from 12 matches, in seventh place in the Western Conference, still a point ahead of last-place San Jose and still 17 points in back of MLS overall leader Chivas USA.LAST MATCH
• FC Dallas had put an end to a six-game winless run in a 3-0 victory at the Chicago Fire the weekend before, while the Earthquakes halted a five-game losing skid and eight-game stretch without a win in a 2-1 home win against Real Salt Lake.
• The home side nosed in front on 29 minutes. Jeff Cunningham went haring down the right flank and put in a rolling cross that David Ferreira turned home from the top of the six for his first MLS goal.
• But the Quakes took the lead after the break. First, in the 60th minute, Shea Salinas put a free kick into the area from the left and FCD defender Pablo Ricchetti nodded it into his own goal. Then in the 82nd minute, Arturo Alvarez latched onto a loose ball, cut into the area and ripped a rasping drive over FCD 'keeper Ray Burse and into the upper right corner.
• Still FC Dallas had one more answer. Brek Shea touched a long ball into the path of Kenny Cooper, and the big striker skipped past one defender then rounded goalkeeper Joe Cannon before coolly slotting the ball into the goal for his sixth goal on the season and second in as many games.
• FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman made one change to the team that defeated the Chicago Fire 3-0 on the road the previous weekend. Marcelo Saragosa returned from suspension, coming into the back four in place of Daniel Torres.
• Here's Hyndman's team (4-1-4-1): Ray Burse - Marcelo Saragosa (Eric Avila 84), Drew Moor, Pablo Ricchetti, Anthony Wallace - Dax McCarty - Jeff Cunningham (Brek Shea 69), Alvaro Sanchez (Andre Rocha 62), David Ferreira, Dave van den Bergh - Kenny Cooper. Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Davies, Josh Lambo, Peri Marosevic, Blake Wagner
• "I am disappointed we didn't get the win. I think every coach should go into a home game thinking that we are better," Hyndman said. "We have been improving and we were going for the three points, and we had that in the first half. In the second half, we just didn't really connect a lot with the passes. Last week, we got an own goal and then this week we gave up an own goal. I think that really hurt the team's mentality and it seemed like we dropped a little bit. But, I am happy to come away with a point especially when you are losing 2-1 with six minutes left."
TEAM NEWS
• For Ferreira, his goal was his first in 11 games in MLS play. He's played every minute of every game for FC Dallas this season.
• "I thought it was really important," Hyndman said. "I had talked to David just goofing around with him the other day before the game and I said to him that he had scored goals in Colombia, Brazil and even Dubai. What's the problem here? He said 'this time, it's coming to me. It's time for me to score'. ... That's why we brought him, to be more of a difference-maker. I think with the structure we're using, he's getting a lot better touches and a lot better opportunities to set up teammates. We need to find more of that."
• It was a second game with a five-man midfield for FC Dallas, with both Ferreira and Alvaro Sanchez playing centrally in the midfield behind lone striker Kenny Cooper.
• "What we thought would happen with Tom (Sanchez) and David is they're both No. 10s and they're both the second striker," he said. "So let them coordinate where they go and the other one reads off them. I thought [Sunday], they were both a little too high and that was because San Jose was laying back. Because they were doing that, it was hard to break them down in that area. I think we needed to move the ball a little bit quicker. It's a little bit more difficult for one man to mark him. I think David and Tom both have those qualities that they can make something happen."
• However, Sanchez's availability for the Houston match is in question after he was forced from the field just after the hour mark with an ankle injury.
• It was another game with Jeff Cunningham as a wide midfielder on the right, and his cross led to the Ferreira goal. Ironically, Hyndman said Cunningham's addition to the team has caused some service to dry up from the other side, manned by Dave van den Bergh.
• "It seemed like we got more from Jeff and I think part of that reason is where Dave is getting the ball," Hyndman said. "He's on the edge of the attacking third where Jeff is getting a little bit further down the flanks. (Cunningham) is able to run more at people because he's a little more athletic. There wasn't a lot of space behind them and the reason why we were able to get behind them on Jeff's side was because of the diagonal ball that we've been working on, but we weren't getting enough crosses from Dave."
• On Wednesday, FC Dallas got goals from Andre Rocha in the 21st minute and another from guest player Alex Fichera in the 60th minute to take a 2-0 victory against Costa Rican Primera Division side CS Herediano in a friendly at Pizza Hut Park. Herediano finished the game with eight players after a trio of ejections, two in the first half.
• "When we set up these games, they were really designed for our reserve team, our second team and guys who don't play a lot to get them more games. But with all the injuries, now we've got to go back to some of our first-team players and that's not exactly what we want. If we have to put a couple of players out there that we don't want to get a full 11, then we have to do it," Hyndman said.
• Hyndman was forced to play three players who started in the draw with San Jose on Sunday -- midfielders David Ferreira and Dax McCarty plus defender Drew Moor.
HOUSTON DYNAMO
The Houston Dynamo won their fourth consecutive game and extended their undefeated streak to nine, posting a third consecutive shutout and the second by a 1-0 scoreline in a win Wednesday against Chivas USA at Robertson Stadium. The Dynamo have 24 points from 12 games on the season, now trailing MLS overall leader Chivas by just three points.LAST MATCH
• The Dynamo came into the high-profile Western Conference meeting off a 1-0 victory against Eastern Conference leaders Chicago Fire the Friday before, while Chivas USA had put an end to a brief three-game winless run with a 1-0 win against Seattle Sounders FC the weekend before.
• The teams came in having allowed just a combined 16 goals on the season, the top two defenses in the league, and it was never in doubt the game would be a tight defensive struggle.
• The game's lone goal came two minutes into first-half stoppage time. Pat Onstad hoofed a goal kick downfield, Cam Weaver flicked it on with a header inside the Chivas half, and that sprung Stuart Holden, who raced in alone on Zach Thornton before rounding him for his third goal in as many games and fourth on the year.
• The Dynamo put the clamps on the Chivas attack on a hot, steamy night in south Texas, as Onstad was forced to make just one save for his seventh shutout of the season, tying him with Thornton for the league lead.
• Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made two changes to the team that defeated Chicago 1-0 the Friday before on the road. Brian Mullan returned to the lineup for Corey Ashe on the right flank and Cam Weaver made his Dynamo debut, coming in for Ade Akinbiyi.
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Craig Waibel, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Andrew Hainault - Brian Mullan, Richard Mulrooney, Brad Davis (Corey Ashe 88) - Stuart Holden - Kei Kamara (Ade Akinbiyi 85), Cam Weaver (Dominic Oduro 74). Subs Not Used: Wade Barrett, Mike Chabala, Danny Cruz, Tally Hall
TEAM NEWS
• For the Dynamo, it was their second consecutive 1-0 victory and their fourth on the season. The Dynamo have limited to a goal or less in eight games this season, and are still 4-1-3 in those contests (including the 1-0 win against FC Dallas earlier this season.
• "They came out and sat back and made it difficult. We had a hard time getting going the first half, because there weren't a lot of passing lanes," said Kinnear. "You have to give them credit for taking away everything we were trying to do. At times we were a little bit unsure when we had the ball with what we wanted to do, and the goal relaxed us a little bit and made us play a little bit better."
• Cam Weaver was given a start in his first game with the Dynamo, after being acquired at midweek from the San Jose Earthquakes.
• "I just felt that his ability in the air would take a little physical pressure off Kei [Kamara]. Like I said, he was a handful when he played against us, especially in the air. It's a coincidence he flicked it for Stuart's goal," Kinnear said. "I thought he worked hard and made it difficult for their defenders to be comfortable. I thought we might get something off a set piece just like that."
• With three consecutive shutouts, the Dynamo have not allowed a goal in 307 minutes, their second-longest streak this year (491 minutes) and the fourth longest streak in Major League Soccer this season.
• "I try not to think about it too much. You can't sit there and think about it too much or rest on it because there's games coming fast. You turn around and on Saturday, boom, you've got another big one; a big rivalry against Dallas," said defender Andrew Hainault. "We've done well, we've been on a great run here, and we have to just keep doing what we are doing as long as possible."
• The goal was Holden's fourth of the year and his third consecutive game with a goal. Holden also scored the game-winner in last Friday's 1-0 win over Chicago. Holden celebrated by jumping into the stands and hugging his mother.
• The Dynamo have now not allowed a goal to Chivas USA in the last 555 minutes of league play and 645 minutes in all competitions. Chivas scored a goal in their first visit to Houston in 2006 and haven't scored since.
• "Not many teams have the upper hand against us here. I think we're good here. We weren't terribly successful [against Chivas USA] in L.A., but it's turning into a pretty good rivalry now," goalkeeper Pat Onstad said. "I think the success of the teams in the last three or four years is a good reason for that."
