Dynamo 1, United 0
By Steven Thomson
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, October 1, 2006
HOUSTON, Sept. 30 -- One remarkable series late in the game broke a defensive stalemate and gave the Houston Dynamo a 1-0 victory over D.C. United in front of 20,029 fans at Robertson Stadium on Saturday night.
As the game reached the 85th minute, the teams appeared ready to play out the string. United had already clinched the MLS Supporters Shield -- for best regular season record -- by virtue of Dallas's 3-1 loss at Columbus.
That lull ended when Houston took control just inside midfield.
Brad Davis headed a pass in the direction of teammate Paul Dalglish, who sailed the ball toward Brian Ching. The Dynamo forward took to the air and scored on a spectacular bicycle kick that sailed past United goalkeeper Troy Perkins.
"I think that [series] caught our defenders by surprise," Perkins said. "It looked like [Dalglish] wasn't going to be able to get to it. They flicked it on and got lucky with a good finish by Ching."
Perkins had denied Ching at point-blank range in the 55th minute. After taking a nice pass from Dalglish, Ching had a good angle for a shot, only to see Perkins manage to get a hand on the ball to deflect it wide.
Ching came through with his 11th goal of the season when it counted with five minutes left to play.
For almost 30 minutes following Perkins's save against Ching, the game was played primarily in the midfield. Both teams were cautious, not wanting to make a mistake.
"I don't think we pushed hard enough . . . a few minutes in there," Perkins said. "We did sit back a bit. We didn't want to lose and they didn't want to lose.
"That's the way it ends. We still got the Supporters Shield out of the night. We didn't take it with a win, but we'll take it home and play the last two games at home."
Ching finally got a highlight reel goal, after watching teammate Dwayne DeRosario put them in regularly during the 2006 campaign.
"It just went in," Ching said. "It's probably going to be the only chance I get to show off to Wayne."
United Coach Peter Nowak was not particularly upset with the setback. He noted that both United and Houston achieved their objectives going into the contest.
The Dynamo clinched a playoff spot in its first season in Houston after moving from San Jose.
"I think both games we have played against them have been really competitive and pretty open," Nowak said. "I think we played pretty smart.
"We are looking forward to the last two weeks and getting ready for the playoffs."
United appeared content to allow Houston to put on the offensive pressure for much of the contest. The Dynamo made some good runs, but was unable to get through United's tough back line.
"Our pressure was very good, from the top to the bottom," Nowak said. "We still need to create more chances. I thought our defense played very well.
"I don't think we made a mistake [at the end]. I think we were unlucky. That was a great shot by Brian Ching."
Defense figured most prominently into the opening 45 minutes as neither team came close to scoring.
Jaime Moreno, Freddy Adu and Christian Gomez tested the Dynamo defense early. Tough marking by defenders Craig Waibel and Eddie Robinson kept United from getting off a shot.
Houston controlled much of the final 20 minutes, putting together several runs on the United end.
Two Dynamo shots in the 28th minute were blocked by United defender Brandon Prideaux.
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