There are many things that the 2011 Houston Dynamo does well, yet the team’s Achilles’ heel was as exposed as ever entering PPL Park to take on the Philadelphia Union in the first leg of the Eastern Conference semifinal round.
Instead of adding salt to the squad’s open wound, however, the Dynamo’s 2-1 victory over the Union merely added fuel to its already blazing fire.
After clinching the second seed in the Eastern Conference with its 3-1 triumph over the Los Angeles Galaxy last weekend, Houston made the trek to Philadelphia as the higher-ranked club, an advantage moderated by a sea of snags. First off, the Dynamo had never beaten its Union nemesis. Secondly, Houston managed to muster just two road wins all season, while Philadelphia stumbled in just one home loss. Thirdly, and surely this would drive the nail in the coffin, the Dynamo had never won a road playoff match in its five-year existence prior to the 2011 campaign.
Normally, this would be enough to freeze a team in its tracks and chill the Dynamo into doubt and disbelief. However, it is definitely not freezer burn that Houston has been feeling lately. Instead, the club has been on fire, ending the MLS regular season on a six-game unbeaten streak. Sunday’s match against the Union cautioned the host that it is dangerous to mess with a lineup so hot.
Philadelphia came out aggressive on its mission to delight the 18,539 fans in attendance for the franchise’s first playoff match. The Union’s Gabriel Farfan picked up a yellow card in just the fourth minute for what could have been a red-card offense against Houston’s Danny Cruz. This set up Brad Davis to deliver upon his free kick expertise. Davis bent a low lofted ball into the Philadelphia box from the right side of the field, which connected perfectly with the head of defender Andre Hainault. Hainault directed the delivery past a frozen Faryd Mondragón in the Union goal for his second converted header in the last three games.
The quick 1-0 advantage for the visitors surprised everyone including the Dynamo players, whom were too busy reveling in the ensuing ecstasy to spoil Philadelphia’s immediate attack. Sébastien Le Toux added a playoff goal to his highlight reel when he caught a lucky deflection from Union teammate Michael Farfan and one-timed his chance past Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall from well-inside the box.
The seventh-minute equalizer would only serve to foreshadow the drama and tension that became the mood of a match that saw six yellow cards, five of those before halftime. The Union played with five defenders in the first half in an attempt to squelch the scorching Dynamo attack. Nevertheless, Houston generated numerous chances and maintained 70% of the possession in the first half an hour. This spell was capped off by forward Calen Carr’s collected finish past Mondragón inside the right near post. Brian Ching delivered a deft ball that sent Carr into space past the Union backline, where he tucked away his second goal since being traded from Chicago earlier this season.
Houston held the 2-1 advantage heading into halftime, and the visitors clung on for dear life to that narrow lead for what felt like an eternity-long second half. In contrary to its first-half style, the Union employed an offensive blitz out of the locker room that contributed to the team’s 23 attempts on goal and forced Hall into a career-high 10 saves. Houston may have dodged a ‘no-call’ handball in its box early in the half before nearly sealing a critical third goal against the run of play in the 86th minute; however, Mondragón made a strong save as Davis looked to capitalized. In see-saw fashion, Philadelphia’s Jack McInerney almost tied the game two minutes later when his header nicked off the crossbar.
Try as they might, the discouraged Philadelphia players never salvaged the elusive game-tying goal, which leaves the Dynamo with a one-goal aggregate advantage heading into the second leg of the conference semifinal series. Houston will play host to Philadelphia at Robertson Stadium on Nov. 3 with the winner slated to face the victor of the Sporting KC and Colorado Rapids series.
