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MLS Houston Dynamo FC

Dynamo make first trip to Red Bulls ring Saturday

June 9, 2006 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Houston Dynamo FC News Release


The draw specialists of Major League Soccer return home, as the New York Red Bulls take on Houston Dynamo for the first time ever in the Meadowlands. The Red Bulls have seen six of their nine games end in a draw, winning just once thus far on the campaign, but losing just twice. Dynamo come off another dramatic result that secured a result, a late goal giving them victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy last time out that put an end to a three-game winless run.

REFEREE: Baldomero Toledo. SAR (bench): Rob Fereday; JAR (opposite): Richard Eddy; 4th: Ken Heller

MLS Career: 22 games; FC/gm: 28.4; Y/gm: 3.8; R: 5; pens: 4

MLS 2006: 3 games; FC/gm: 29.0 (avg: 30.0); Y/gm: 4.0 (avg: 3.80); R: 0 (MLS: 9); pens: 0 (MLS: 15)

Games involving Red Bulls: P5 W0 L1 T4; FC/gm: 32.0; Y/gm: 3.6; R: 1; pens: 1

Games involving Dynamo: first game

INJURY REPORT: NEW YORK RED BULLS - NONE REPORTED ... HOUSTON DYNAMO - OUT: MF Aaron Lanes (R fifth metatarsal fracture); DF Adrian Serioux (L big toe fracture)

INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: HOU: Brian Ching (USA; World Cup 2006)

SUSPENDED: none

WARNINGS: none

HEAD-TO-HEAD

ALL-TIME: first meeting

This is the first of the two league meetings scheduled clubs, the only one set for the Meadowlands. Their lone Texas encounter is set for July 29 at Robertson Stadium.

Coaches record: Mo Johnston v HOU: first game ... Dominic Kinnear vs. NY: P5 W3 L1 D1

NEW YORK RED BULLS

The New York Red Bulls played to a sixth draw in nine games this season, scoring in the first half before seeing the Kansas City Wizards equalize in the second in a 1-1 draw at Arrowhead Stadium last Saturday. The Red Bulls are still in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with nine points from nine matches, a point behind fifth-place Chicago Fire and 15 points adrift of division leader D.C. United.

LAST MATCH

The Wizards came into the match having scored one goal, and only one, in each of their last seven games. The Red Bulls came into the game with just one win -- but five draws -- in their eight games on the year.

Both trends continued at Arrowhead Stadium, as the teams played to a 1-1 draw. Chris Henderson gave the Red Bulls a 30th-minute lead from a spectacularly finished free kick. Mark Lisi swung the ball outside the left side of the goal, where Steve Jolley dove to head it back across the goal. Henderson managed to pull his body back around and put the ball into the goal.

But the Wizards pulled even almost on the hour mark. Scott Sealy ran to claim a ball played into the corner of the New York penalty area, and as Jeff Parke retreated to track him down, he was adjudged to have tripped up the K.C. striker by referee Tim Weyland. Jose Burciaga Jr. converted from the spot to complete the draw.

Red Bulls head coach Mo Johnston made one change to the team that lost 2-1 late to FC Dallas the weekend before. Amado Guevara made his first start in three matches, coming into the center of midfield as Edson Buddle returned to the substitutes' bench, Youri Djorkaeff moving forward to partner Jean Philippe Peguero in attack.

Here's Johnston's team (3-1-4-2): Tony Meola - Jeff Parke, Carlos Mendes, Steve Jolley - Danny O'Rourke - Chris Henderson, Amado Guevara, Mark Lisi (Peter Canero 78), Seth Stammler - Jean Philippe Peguero, Youri Djorkaeff (Edson Buddle 67). [Substitutes Not Used: Jordan Cila, Jon Conway, Taylor Graham, Joe Vide, Marvell Wynne]

"It's almost becoming like a punch line, you tie six of nine games. The only positive I can see from it is that you used to be content with a tie on the road, and then you win the home games," defender Steve Jolley said. "Our problem is that we are not winning the home games. There were times when we played good soccer and created our chances but in the second half they came to us and it was the same thing that happened to us against Dallas. Dallas came up to us with a little more defensive fire that day and got the victory against us."

TEAM NEWS

Playing to a sixth draw in nine games, the Red Bulls once again felt like they let an opportunity get away. "It was a tough tie, not a good way to tie for us. A little bit unjust, we had a lot of chances," said goalkeeper Tony Meola. "We could have been up two-nothing at half and Youri goes in a breakaway and nine out of 10 times he is going to bury it and tonight it didn't go in. But we were resilient enough to get a goal and then the penalty kick, I just missed her."

It was also the second week in a row - after winning their lone game on the season - that the Red Bulls failed to hold a lead.

"The positive is that we have lost two games of nine, I would have taken that at the beginning of the season," Meola said. "The negative here is we have given points away in the end and hopefully we can fix that. I think tonight was a little bit unjust but that's how that game of soccer goes."

Following the match, Meola remained in his former home to complete a move back to his native New Jersey. Meola played for the Wizards from 1999-2004 until being dealt back to the MetroStars.

"Now we can finally wrap this chapter up and I'll still never be out of here because I have the business here and I will keep that, 'cause that is going great," he said. "Kansas City is a great place for me and came at a great time in my life a lot of great things and met a lot of great people. I am so happy with Red Bull and I think that the future for me is someplace in the organization."

The addition of Guevara to the starting lineup changed the midfield dynamic a bit, and Johnston felt his team started to lose control in the engine room.

"The second balls are always going to give you trouble. Mark (Lisi) has been struggling a little bit with that and he has been struggling from a groin injury - we are going to take care of that this week," he said. "Obviously Danny (O'Rourke) tucking in allowed us to win some second balls and get some clear-cut chances. We needed one in the first half when we should have scored."

HOUSTON DYNAMO

Houston Dynamo put an end to the club's three-game winless run, getting a late goal to dramatically snatch a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday evening at Robertson Stadium. Dynamo moved back into sole possession of second place in the Western Conference with 17 points from 10 matches, three ahead of the Los Angeles Galaxy and four behind FC Dallas.

LAST MATCH

The Galaxy limped into Houston with the longest losing streak and scoreless streak in club history, their last win and goal having come April 29 against Real Salt Lake, though home-standing Dynamo had also gone three games without a victory.

But it was still the home side that struck first. Brad Davis drove a long ball from his own half that was flicked on by Alejandro Moreno, sending Dwayne De Rosario racing toward goal. He fended off a retreating Marcelo Saragosa and drove the ball low past Kevin Hartman inside the far post for his fourth goal of the campaign.

The Galaxy's epic scoreless run came to end in first-half stoppage time. Kyle Martino wriggled out of a jam in the corner, laid the ball back to Todd Dunivant, and he whipped in a cross that John Wolyniec rose up to powerfully head home. It was the Galaxy's first goal in 525 minutes, just 32 minutes shy of the all-time league record set last year by Real Salt Lake.

Yet Dynamo had the final answer. Another dangerous service from Davis -- this time from a corner kick -- provided the set-up, Eddie Robinson thumping a header home to hand the Galaxy their sixth consecutive defeat.

Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made one change to the team that draw 1-1 away to the New England Revolution the weekend before. Brad Davis returned to the lineup after missing a match to injury, Wade Barrett returning to the back four as Kevin Goldthwaite was the odd man out.

Here's Kinnear's lineup (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Craig Waibel, Ryan Cochrane, Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett - Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis - Dwayne De Rosario - Ronald Cerritos (Julian Nash 77), Alejandro Moreno. [Substitutes Not Used: Kevin Goldthwaite, Kelly Gray, Stuart Holden, Patrick Ianni, Zach Wells, Chris Wondolowski]

TEAM NEWS

Just as the week before in New England, a defender stepped forward to secure a result for Dynamo. In Foxborough, it was Ryan Cochrane who scored the 86th-minute equalizer; Robinson's goal five minutes from time gave Dynamo the win at home.

"This game was a lot like last week's game," Robinson said. "For most of the first half, we were the best team. Again, the second half was really good."

Kinnear got into his team at the halftime break, and it turned things around. "Oh, Kinnear let us know," forward Ronald Cerritos said. "We weren't playing our best soccer, and we all knew it. But he definitely reminded us." Said Kinnear: "Am I frustrated with the way we're not holding on to leads and defending with the lead? 100 percent. Hopefully that's something we can work on."

The Robertson Stadium field was a quagmire for the game, having been re-sodded before heavy rains struck the Houston area for a few days in a row. "It's hard to play through the middle," Kinnear said. "It's a risky situation to play balls in there, because you don't know what bounce you're going to get." Said winger Brian Mullan: "That means I get the ball more," right wing Brian Mullan said. "We always try to play it down the sides. We have many facets to our game, but that's pretty much our big one."

The strike pair of Alejandro Moreno and Ronald Cerritos haven't scored in four games, since Brian Ching left to join the U.S. national team for the World Cup. "We haven't been doing so well ourselves, so it's important for us to get back on the winning track," said Moreno. "We've playing OK, and obviously we've gotten some results away from home."

The match against the Galaxy was the first since Dynamo's arrival in Houston, and when the Earthquakes were in San Jose, the "California Clasíco" was one of the most heated rivalries in MLS. "We're playing a good rival, but most importantly it's a conference opponent, and you want to play to win," Kinnear said. "You can get emotionally geared up for the game, but don't let it take you over." Dynamo have won all four games this season against Western opposition.

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