Revs top United, take back East lead

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Revolution returned to the Eastern Conference summit with a 2-1 victory Wednesday against D.C. United at Gillette Stadium.

Taylor Twellman opened the scoring in the 24th minute after a fortuitous bounce presented him with a chance inside of six yards. Jeff Larentowicz doubled the Revolution's lead four minutes after halftime when his swerving drive caught United 'keeper Louis Crayton by surprise. Jaime Moreno drew one back for United in the 69th minute, but United couldn't push on to find the equalizer.

With the win, the Revs returned to first place in the Eastern Conference while United remain tied for fourth place with the New York Red Bulls.

Matt Reis failed to start for the first time in 90 regular season games after picking up an adductor strain in Saturday's 4-0 loss at San Jose. Doug Warren made his first MLS start since Aug. 21, 2005 in Reis' place. Taylor Twellman and Adam Cristman were charged with staking Warren to a much-needed lead.

Without starters Gonzalo Martinez and Gonzalo Peralta, United went with Marc Burch and Devon McTavish in central defense and Mike Zaher on the left hand side of the back four. Marcelo Gallardo remained out with a hernia injury; the more defensive central pairing of Clyde Simms and Joe Vide played instead.

The visitors started the better of the two sides as United attempted to grab an early goal. Despite the early pressure, there wasn't much to show for any of it aside from Vide's long-distance drive past the near post.

From nothing, the Revs claimed the lead on 24 minutes. All it took was a quick outlet pass from Steve Ralston and a surging run from Khano Smith down the left side to unlock United's defense. Smith's low driven cross was driven into the goalmouth, where Cristman slid between Burch's legs as they came across the front of goal. The ball deflected away, but fell to Twellman at the near post, and he didn't miss from inside six yards to give New England the lead.

The Revs pushed onward after the breakthrough. Most of the pressure came down inside United's defensive end, whether through Sainey Nyassi giving Zaher the runaround down the right side or Smith tormenting Namoff on the right.

Cristman went close from his glancing header from a driven Jay Heaps cross that nearly caught Louis Crayton off his line. Then Cristman likely would have liked a better finish to cap a comprehensive move with Ralston again at the hub.

United tried to respond before the break with a long-distance drive from Fred, but the shot ducked just wide around the far post.

Things turned worse for United soon after the second half commenced after New England scored its second. Twellman laid the ball back to Larentowicz for a swerving shot straight down the pipe from 25 yards. Crayton dived right when the ball stayed left and the Revs had their second goal.

United perked up after the second goal with Emilio looking more involved. Fred tried to draw a penalty on the byeline after juking around Heaps, but the referee waved away his arguments as he tumbled to the ground.

Twellman went looking for his second after he pushed through the United back line, but Crayton came out alertly to block at his feet.

The block became even more important minutes later after Moreno chipped Warren to close the deficit. Shalrie Joseph coughed up the ball in his own end and Moreno played Fred through the Revs defense. Heaps slid over to block Fred's shot, but the ball deflected to Moreno. Warren had wandered off his line to cut out Fred's shot and Moreno took advantage and chipped over him.

United continued into the ascendancy through Moreno's persistent prodding. Another diagonal ball opened up space for Quaranta. But the resulting left-footed shot rolled tamely to Warren.

The goal United wanted never arrived, and but for Bryan Namoff's goal line intervention minutes before the end, the scoreline could have been worse.


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United to see different Revs this time

WASHINGTON -- Last Tuesday, D.C. United dispatched a second-string New England Revolution squad 3-1 in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal match at RFK Stadium, but afterwards United's joy was balanced by their recognition of Steve Nicol's pragmatism. With a SuperLiga title already won and CONCACAF Champions League action ahead, the Revs coach clearly prioritized his team's need for rest ahead of its Open Cup ambitions, and D.C. knew it.

"They have bigger fish to fry, I guess," said Devon McTavish. "Kind of a different lineup than we expected to see against them -- and I'm sure we'll see that next week when we play them."

Indeed, McTavish and his mates can expect something much closer to a full-strength Revs side in Wednesday night's crucial league clash at Gillette Stadium, another occasion where three precious points will be ferociously contended by two teams in the midst of the scrum that the Eastern Conference standings have become this season.

But the weekend's results have contributed to a dramatically different outlook for both teams. With a shocking 4-0 road trouncing at the hands of heretofore cellar-dwelling San Jose on Saturday, New England has suddenly lost three consecutive matches in all competitions, allowing Columbus to retake the top spot in the East. Stung by the absence of Kheli Dube, Abdoulie Mansally and Michael Parkhurst plus a suspended Shalrie Joseph, the Revolution endured a horror show at Buck Shaw Stadium that was further aggravated by an adductor injury to veteran goalkeeper Matt Reis.

For his part, United boss Tom Soehn downplays the events of the past eight days. He'd certainly prefer to pile more pressure on New England's psyche with a strong start on Wednesday night, however.

"Different team, different situations," he said on Tuesday afternoon, shortly before D.C. flew north in advance of the Revs match. "You're not going to draw many conclusions from last week. I think the only thing you're going to draw is that they've conceded a lot of goals in their last three games, but having Shalrie back, and whatever their situation is, it's important to get up early there. You tend to bring back memories of their last three."

In contrast to the Revs' West Coast travails, United traveled to Chicago and returned with an important victory that offered a number of positives for Soehn and his men -- namely some stingy defending which, alongside new signing Louis Crayton's MLS debut in goal, resulted in the Black-and-Red's first road shutout of the season.

"I don't think we created a ton of opportunities. I don't think it was our forwards' best day in general," said Soehn. "But we still created enough quality opportunities, and we put one away and we learned how to defend and win a game 1-0 on the road, and I think that's a huge learning experience."

Crayton's learning experiences with his new club are continuing as well, with goalkeeper coach Mark Simpson guiding the Liberian international through detailed film sessions to compress his MLS adjustment period. Last week the duo spent hours looking at the habits of the Fire's attacking mainstays, and more such preparation is now being conducted on Revs weapons like Joseph, Steve Ralston and Taylor Twellman. Crayton looks like a lock to start at Gillette on Wednesday, where he will also have to contend with his first competitive match on artificial turf.

"Obviously all those factors are new to him, the surface and just different guys in the league. But we have pretty good resources [for] match analysis," said Simpson. "I'm going to go and show him people that are dangerous on New England, their touches, their tendencies, so he can start reading those players an opponents when we face them."

Soehn and Simpson took a bit of a gamble in starting Crayton so soon after his arrival in Washington, but feel vindicated by Saturday's performance. Now United are challenging themselves to make life as easy as possible for their new netminder, and knit together more such results with the consistency required for meaningful late-season and playoff success. That task has surely been helped by the memory of the 4-1 mauling they suffered in New York just over a week ago.

"We want ... to play, on the road or at home, the same way," said captain Jaime Moreno. "Unfortunately we haven't been able to do that: after New York, having that performance and then going to Chicago and winning -- that's what we don't want. We don't want these up and downs, we want to maintain the same level and now we've got to continue working the same way. We know what we have to do. If we create less mistakes, then we have less chance to lose the game."

Soehn has reminded his players that for all their struggles this season, they can vault right back into Supporters' Shield contention with a sustained run of success, starting in Chicago and continuing in Foxborough on Wednesday.

"We talked about these two games being the path to get there," he said, "so we've finished the first piece off, but the second piece is as, or if not more, important."


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United break out convincingly against Rapids

WASHINGTON -- Following a difficult loss to New England in midweek, D.C. United got their season back on track with a dominating 3-0 victory against the Colorado Rapids at RFK Stadium. Joe Vide got his first goal of the season shortly before halftime, and insurance goals were added by Santino Quaranta and Quavas Kirk as Louis Crayton kept the Rapids off the scoresheet.

With a side decimated by injuries, D.C. United switched to a 3-5-2 formation, with Devon McTavish as the lone central defender, and Craig Thompson getting a rare start on the right side of midfield. In his first game as interim head coach of the Rapids, following the departure of Fernando Clavijo, Gary Smith kept the same team that recorded a 2-1 win against Kansas City last weekend.

The game got off to a promising start as both teams traded half-chances in the opening minutes. Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni was twice called upon in the third minute, first to clear a Santino Quaranta cross out of play, and then to block Bryan Namoff's shot off the ensuing corner kick. Two minutes later, Conor Casey shot wide right from 25 yards out for Colorado.

United goalkeeper Crayton, making his home debut, prevented the Rapids from getting an early lead. In the 13th minute, he quickly came off his line to claim a through ball by Mehdi Ballouchy. Two minutes later, he stood out amid a sea of light blue jerseys to grab a Terry Cooke free kick.

But for much of the half, neither team looked capable of mounting a successful attack. United had good possession, but with Jaime Moreno frequently dropping back into the midfield, Colorado's central defense partnership of Mike Petke and Cory Gibbs were able to devote their full attention to denying service to Luciano Emilio.

Colorado, for their part, were content to absorb pressure and counterattack, as Terry Cooke's crosses and set pieces kept United honest and Conor Casey's size proved to be more than a handful for central defender Devon McTavish.

As the first half came to a close, United enjoyed a good spell of possession that had the Rapids on their heels, but they were unable to capitalize until Emilio, holding off Jose Burciaga, Jr. and Gibbs in the box, was able to find Vide charging forward unmarked from his central midfield position. The third-year player rifled it past Preston Burpo from 20 yards for his first professional goal.

But Colorado did not go into the locker room quietly. In stoppage time, Crayton was called on again to save United when another fine cross by Cooke was powerfully headed by Peterson. But Crayton pushed it over the bar for a corner. On the ensuing corner, Crayton showed good command of his box to collect the ball to keep United in front as the first half came to a close.

Colorado used up two of its substitutes to start the second half. Colin Clark came in for Peterson, and Greg Dalby replaced Ballouchy, who took a clearance in the face late in the first half.

Vide and Dalby collided for a 50-50 ball. Dalby was unable to continue, ending his day after just ten minutes on the field. Christian Gomez replaced him and received a nice ovation from the crowd for his four seasons as United's playmaker.

United nearly doubled its lead in the 63rd minute, as Vide, with plenty of space in front of him, led the counter and found Emilio streaking to his right. Emilio's shot from 10 yards was met by a charging Burpo. The rebound fell to Quaranta at the top of the box, but the Baltimore native shot wide.

United continued to apply pressure. In the 69th minute, an otherwise harmless ball was handled by Mike Petke 25 yards out. Guerrero's free kick was deflected out for a corner. United played the corner short to Quaranta, whose cross to the far post was headed wide by an open Devon McTavish.

Three minutes later, United fans were reminded of Gomez's talents, as he charged through the center to lead the attack and Bryan Namoff was forced to take him down, earning himself a yellow card.

With 15 minutes remaining, United moved to a 4-4-2 by bringing in Mike Zaher for Craig Thompson. Although the move was meant to preserve the lead, United's offense dominated the rest of the game.

In the 76th minute, Moreno showed his old teammate some playmaking moves of his own, leading the break and finding Emilio, whose shot from the top of the box was almost spilled by Burpo. Three minutes later, Moreno nearly put the game away with a shot from outside the box that went inches wide of the Colorado net.

But Colorado came dangerously close in the 81st minute. Casey split two defenders on the right, and sent in a low, hard cross that Crayton deflected to Gibbs. Although the U.S. international had an open net in front of him, his shot went high.

Almost immediately, United put the game away. Emilio dished the ball off to a wide-open Quaranta, who ran unimpeded into the box and placed a beautiful curling shot inside the far post for his third goal of the season.

Gomez was fouled by Martinez 24 yards out in a central position. Although United fans were dreading the prospect of their former hero placing one of his trademark free kicks into the goal, they were soon relieved to see "Gomito's" shot fly harmlessly over the bar.

United added a third in the 87th minute when Namoff headed a Zaher cross towards the goal. Burpo spilled the ball, and Kirk, who had entered the game only seconds earlier for Clyde Simms, pounced on the rebound and put it under the helpless goalkeeper to close out the game.


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United search for consistency, injury relief

WASHINGTON -- Some things have simply not gone according to plan for D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn this month. The second-year boss can certainly feel pleased to have secured a berth in the U.S. Open Cup final and a quality new goalkeeper in Louis Crayton, who will make his home debut against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night.

But relief from United's injury epidemic remains elusive -- and it's no coincidence that the squad's long-standing search for consistency continues as well.

Star playmaker Marcelo Gallardo's road back from sports hernia surgery has proved much longer than anticipated, while fellow Argentinean Gonzalo Peralta lasted just one game in his return from the same procedure before sustaining a hamstring strain. A designated player intended to be the fulcrum of the D.C. attack, Gallardo's absence has been particularly frustrating for all involved and while he has declined to discuss his situation with the media, his teammates recognize the predicament.

"You know, when you're injured and you don't get better after the surgery, it's very disappointing and I'm sure he is feeling that way," said team captain Jaime Moreno. "He is very disappointed, but you've got to do what you've got to do and for his part, I'm sure he is doing his best to try and recover as quickly as possible."

Striker Francis Doe would offer Soehn a valuable option up front, but his foot infection -- thought to have been tamed a month ago -- refuses to heal. The same goes for utility man Dominic Mediate, who continues to grapple with troubling after-effects from his concussion. The situation recently began to border on absurdity when goalkeeper Zach Wells added a particularly obscure condition to the list of ailments facing team trainer Brian Goodstein: sesmoiditis, an inflammation of small bones at the base of the big toe.

"It's always frustrating when you're missing guys, because you know you're not at top strength," said Soehn. "But unfortunately that's part of sports, so we have to deal with it."

Matters got worse in New England on Wednesday when midfielder Fred, lately showing promising signs of a return to top form, became the latest to fall prey to the hamstring bug. The new responsibilities of fatherhood -- a "change of life," as Soehn called it -- hampered his play earlier this summer. But the Brazilian has lately been one of United's more dynamic attacking forces and the team has been rocked by the latest prognosis on his injury -- he faces up to a month on the sidelines.

So this weekend's tilt with Colorado is likely to bring a return to a more defensive-minded lineup like the one Soehn used to good effect against Kansas City on August 2, with Joe Vide joining Clyde Simms as anchors in the middle of the park while Santino Quaranta and Ivan Guerrero work as two-way players along the flanks. The back line will have to be reconfigured again thanks to Marc Burch's suspension for yellow-card accumulation, though Gonzalo Martinez will return after missing the New England clash for the same reason.

All of this adds up to a pivotal role, and added pressure, for the club's newest face. Crayton might still be acclimating to life in the nation's capital, but he's already jumped straight into a starter's role in his first two matches and he'll need to be in top form as D.C. try to progress in the crowded Eastern Conference despite their shorthandedness. It's the reason United's search for a veteran netminder took months, and the 30-year-old's background in the Swiss league suggests that he's well-equipped for the challenge.

"As a professional you always have to be prepared, that is your job," said Crayton, discussing his immediate insertion in the D.C. first XI. "Being with Basel for three seasons as a backup 'keeper, this was something that I always had to deal with, being prepared mentally and physically, so it was nothing strange for me."

Crayton began his pro career as a teenager with a small Liberian outfit, then moved on to Switzerland's biggest clubs and with a bevy of international caps for his homeland's national team, he's performed in plenty of pressure-packed situations. His work in goal was a key element of Liberia's Cinderella run in 2002 World Cup qualifying, which saw the Lone Stars come agonizingly close to reaching soccer's biggest stage only to fall a point short of regional power Nigeria on the final day of group play.

The leader and financial underwriter of that effort was George Weah, one of the world's greatest players of the past two decades, and Crayton shares many fond memories with his legendary teammate, including a 2001 appearance at Giants Stadium against Colombia.

But despite the fact that he's just been selected for Liberia's latest squad, Crayton says his international career is done for now, and after years as a backup with Basel, he's eager to take a central role in United's playoff push.

"I was fed up with that condition," he said of his role with his previous club," and I felt that there was another step forward in my career, and I was willing to take the opportunity."

He's also well aware that the Black-and-Red have little margin for error in the weeks to come.

"Right now we cannot afford to lose any more games," he said.


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Ever-positive attitude key for Zayner

COLUMBUS -- Keep the faith. That's what Jed Zayner did during the depressing moments when injuries kept him from playing for the Columbus Crew.

After suffering a serious left knee injury in training the week following the 2006 opener as a rookie, Zayner had another setback the following year and managed just two first-team matches totaling 20 minutes in 2007. "This offseason I took time to pray and meditate to just be strengthened internally, spiritually, mentally and physically and come out and be a good pro every day and be tough and be strong and be consistent," he said.

The defender used the power of prayer, a strong support group of family and friends and the Crew's training staff to make a full recovery this season.

The nine minutes he had off the bench last week vs. FC Dallas upped his total to 199 minutes in five appearances, including two starts. He has also started six reserve matches.

"There's ACLs and there's ACLs," coach Sigi Schmid said. "He had a pretty bad ACL and it took him a little longer to recover. He didn't have the best recovery from it so it delayed everything.

"My theory has always been however long you've been out -- and he was out pretty much 12 months -- then it takes six months to recover. It takes half that time to get back in the rhythm. So by the time he got back in the rhythm that season (2007) ended."

"If you watch now, he's back to 100 percent and playing well," said Crew defender Danny O'Rourke, a teammate of Zayner's for two NCAA championships at Indiana. "He's a tough guy. He pushed through. Jed's a talented defender. He's good with his feet. He's a good one-on-one defender."

Zayner made his first MLS start June 7 vs. San Jose and was also in the first XI Aug. 2 at Houston. He also had starts in two U.S. Open Cup qualifiers and friendlies against Independiente and West Ham United.

"He's helpful because he can play a number of different positions," Schmid said. "Actually, his left foot is pretty decent and he's been able to play outside back for us and in the middle. It's a matter of, with all young players, consistency day in and day out."

This season has been rewarding for Zayner because he admits to being apprehensive about staging a comeback.

"There's ton of doubts, tons and tons," he said. "It was tough coming back. Not only did I come back from my knee tear I also tore something else at the beginning of the year (2007) so I was coming back halfway through the season. I struggled into that with the speed of play and mentally trying to be strong."

The breakthrough came prior to this season.

"This past preseason was the defining moment. I felt like I was back to full fitness. I was one of the fittest guys on the team," he said. "It was a good feeling being able to go in strong and tackle guys really hard and be really, really aggressive without thinking about it.

"That was my main goal, to make the coach's job tough and come out and give it my all -- do everything I could and hope and pray for the best."

Zayner adds quickness to the team and is becoming better at distributing the ball under pressure.

"He's taken advantage of the chances he got and he's done well. He provides us with some pace in the back and is a guy willing to work hard," midfielder Brian Carroll said.P If you ask O'Rourke, he'll tell you that's a typical trait of the Indiana players. Of course, he's got the numbers now to back him. With the addition of midfielder Pat Noonan two weeks ago and former Chicago Fire defender Brian Plotkin training with the team, there are four Hoosiers in Columbus to continue the IU-Crew pipeline.

"It's so fun. We always joke around about it in practice with other guys, 'How many rings have you got? How many national championships?' " Zayner said.

Signing Plotkin to a developmental contract would give the Crew 10 former Indiana players in its history, one more than UCLA has provided.

Among the Hoosiers are Mike Clark, Todd Yeagley, Brandon Ward and Brian Maisonneuve from the inaugural Crew season in 1996, as well as Juergen Sommer and Ned Grabavoy.

"It's a nice little feeding system," said Zayner. "There's a huge connection. There were a couple of years when Mais was the only one and then he retired. Then we got Danny, myself and Ned and now Noonan and Plot."

Added O'Rourke, with just a touch of IU arrogance: "We should bring in the whole (Indiana) team, even recruits."


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Tale of two halves for Hoops vs. Crew

FRISCO, Texas -- For at least 45 minutes on Saturday night, it looked like FC Dallas might leave Crew Stadium with a win for the second consecutive year.

The Hoops had taken a 1-0 edge into the break and were carrying the advantage in play. But the game changed in the space of four minutes when Brian Carroll and Brad Evans scored, and the Crew eased to a 2-1 victory.

For FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman, the game could best be characterized by the distinctly different halves.

"I would call our first half excellent," he said. "Probably our mistake was not scoring more. I think if we had scored another goal, then it would have ended the game. In the second half, they were playing a little bit more aggressive.

"Both goals were stoppable but on the good side, I thought our players played all the way to the last second. They were trying to come away with a result and salvage a point. It was disappointing because you score a goal against the No. 1 team in the league and probably could have won the game if we can reproduce the same type of half we had in the first half. I thought we deserved at least one point."

For the second consecutive game, Hyndman pulled right-sided midfielder Andre Rocha midway through the second half. He leads the team with six assists but hasn't had one in seven games.

"I don't know if he's a true flank player," Hyndman said of Rocha. "I think he's doing better and is getting forward. He had two scoring chances. I think he's being more productive as far as getting forward and keeping the ball but he seems to tire out with the demands that I'm asking for him in this position. We've got some good players here. If he's slowing down and is giving 70 percent, then it's time to bring a player on that will give us 100 percent." Rocha came off for rookie Bruno Guarda in the 69th minute, partly because of fatigue. Guarda was making his second professional appearance.

"I think Bruno is going to be a good player for us but you can tell that he's not match fit and adjusting to the speed of the game and the physical play of the game," he said. "Some of his choices have let him down. I think that he needs to get fitter so that he can make more decisions. He definitely has a wonderful work ethic but he's got a ways to go."

Saturday's match marked the FCD debut for newly-acquired striker Jeff Cunningham, who put the Hoops ahead with the 100th goal of his MLS career in the 35th minute, and midfielder Victor Sikora, who made his league debut.

"I thought Victor (Sikora) was outstanding in the first half," Hyndman said. "I thought he was very good, was laying some great balls off and was defending. In the second half, he started disappearing about 10 minutes in with more of a fatigue level."

The FCD coach also liked how well Cunningham combined with FCD leading scorer Kenny Cooper for much of the opening half.

"In the first half, he and Jeff (Cunningham) combined very well and that was very positive," Hyndman said. "Jeff tore them apart with his diagonal runs and ability to beat people not only scoring but laying balls off. I thought he had a really good game.

"One of the things that I don't think Kenny (Cooper), Abe (Thompson) or Dominic (Oduro) ever really did do was combine. They were pretty much straight runners and Jeff brings a different game because he can hold up and lay balls off," Hyndman continued. "I thought the two of them looked good in the first half. I didn't think Kenny had an especially good game but he was always dangerous."

Hyndman admits that he didn't see the same level of play from his central midfield duo of rookie Eric Avila and Pablo Ricchetti that had come in their previous two wins.

"I thought that Pablo and Eric, neither of them had a great game," he said. "That is what affected us in our midfield. In the second half, when we were getting beat, it was in our midfield. That's something that we need to address."

That led Hyndman to take Avila out in the 63rd for Marcelo Saragosa, a move he says was pretty straightforward.

"I thought (Avila) played his best soccer the first 10 minutes of the second half," he said. "But my mind was already looking at that (a change) because he didn't have a good first half. He didn't understand his role and didn't have the work ethic that we needed. When he doesn't do his work, then Pablo can't do his work. I expect more from Eric because he wasn't playing when I got here and now he's playing. He needs to appreciate that and hold onto that as hard as he can."

For Hyndman's third and final sub, he brought on speedy Dominic Oduro for Sikora. Hyndman said the Ghanaian striker, who is second on FCD with five goals but lost his starting spot once Cunningham was acquired, is a little down. After training on Tuesday, Hyndman was seen giving the 23-year-old forward a pep talk.

"Sure (he's frustrated)," Hyndman said of Oduro. "It's all mental. He's frustrated because he thought he was playing well. He thought he had a really good game against LA, which he did. He didn't have a good game against Toronto and he's inconsistent. To be the player that he wants to be, we've got to be able to count on him getting to first touches, making good passes, holding the ball and scoring when he's five yards out, all things that he needs to work on."

The Columbus game was the Hoops' second in a row without starting center back and captain Duilio Davino, who continues to be sidelined with an avulsion fracture in his toe. The Mexican international did not train on Tuesday, making his status for a trip to Kansas City this weekend highly uncertain.

"I don't know (when he could be back)," Hyndman said. "It's a goofy injury but at the same time, it's an injury. Like I tell the players, I'm not going to be a guy who will put you back out here before you're ready. Hopefully, he comes around. We were hoping that he will be able to play this weekend. But if he's not training, then he won't be playing."

Last week, Hyndman said that the club was looking at possibly signing another defender, either a right or left back that could get forward. He admits there is still an outside chance of that happening, but those chances are slim.

"(There's) no progress on that," he said. "Something may still happen but it's more likely that it won't. I think what we're looking at is this team being pretty much intact for the last 10 games. I think we've made some good improvements. All we've got to do now is get players match fit and get the team to play more soccer like we did in the first half against Columbus. We've got to be able to stretch that 45 minutes into 75 minutes and then maybe into 90."


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Dynamo pleased with dominant show

HOUSTON -- The Houston Dynamo were well aware that Chivas USA had a depleted squad coming into Wednesday night's midweek match at Robertson Stadium.

They were also quite ready to quash the memory of allowing a season-high tying three goals, despite a 4-3 win against Real Salt Lake last Saturday at home.

That victory got the Dynamo into first place, but it was harder to enjoy. They scored four goals in the first half, but they had to come back and stave off a desperate Real team that wanted nothing to do with giving up their lead in the Western Conference standings.

So they zeroed in on Chivas USA, a team missing many key players including Ante Razov, who has always been the proverbial thorn in the Dynamo's side when the two teams meet.

And the result was a masterful first-half performance that resulted in four goals in the first 45 minutes for a second consecutive match. That hadn't happened in MLS in 10 years, since the L.A. Galaxy turned that trick in the 1998 season.

Brad Davis, who assisted on Stuart Holden's goal in the 11th minute, said the team was more than happy to take advantage of the Chivas lineup troubles.

After all, Houston was missing three key players of its own to international duty (Brian Ching, USA; Dwayne De Rosario and Pat Onstad, Canada).

"There is no question they are going to hurt when (Razov) and a guy like Maykel Galindo are out of the lineup," Davis said. "Seeing those guys out, there is no question we were happy. You are never going to complain when you not having to play against those guys."

In his post-game comments, Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear praised his team for a dominant first half and preserving the shutout in the second 45 minutes. Kinnear found nothing to complain about, even though his team has failed to score in the second half in two consecutive games.

"I thought the play, the movement in the first half especially, was just fantastic," Kinnear said. "The finishing and the defense were very good too. The attitude to win the ball back as soon as we lost it was impressive, and all around the finishing was there in all forms. There is not much more we could ask for tonight and we kept the shutout."

Kinnear said last weekend's performance wasn't necessarily the reason for keying in on the shutout. His team, he said, is good for a goal a game for the most part and getting a shutout should be good enough for three points.

"Anytime you want to keep it at zeros you give yourself a chance," Kinnear said. "The first thing we mentioned at halftime was that we have done enough to win the game, let's not do anything silly to let them back in it. I thought we were pretty disciplined in that aspect and we did what we needed to do."

Richard Mulrooney, playing for the first time since June 12 against New England said it was still important for the team to recover from the three goals allowed performance against Salt Lake.

"It was just one of those games the other night," said Mulrooney, who played in the team's reserve match last Sunday. "I can't really describe it, but we did make a few mental errors that we haven't made in awhile. But having said that I think we made up for it."

The Dynamo blew the game open with arguably the most dominant 24-minute span in team history.

Holden got things started in the 11th when he chipped the ball past Zach Thornton. Kei Kamara scored the first of his two goals 11 minutes later when he spun around a defender at the top of the area and slotted home after taking a pass from Richard Mulrooney.

Nate Jaqua cleaned up a rebound in the 28th minute and Kamara rounded out the scoring in the 35th minute when he took a perfect cross from Jaqua and headed past a helpless Thornton.

Kamara now has three goals overall since joining the team in a trade from San Jose last month. He also scored in the SuperLiga final at New England on Aug. 5.

"I am really just glad to be here right now," Kamara said. "I am playing with -- every game now -- the best players in the league. This is my third year now and I have been around a lot of good players, but now, being around these guys, they are making me better every time I step on the field."

Kamara nearly upped his Wednesday output to his first career hat trick, but he hit the post in the second half. He didn't need to be reminded after the game, and he actually looked sad when it was brought up.

"It was just meant to be that I was only going to score two goals tonight," he said. "But it was a good game overall by the team. Right now winning is all that matters and we got a really good victory tonight."


Emphatic win for Wolfsburg
Luck doesn’t bounce Dynamo’s way