BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — Defense is the name of the game. And the Houston Dynamo figured things out on Friday night. The Dynamo held an explosive Chicago Fire squad scoreless with a 1-0 win.
“It was one of those games where we were under a lot of pressure,” Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad said. “We had to defend with our lives today. I thought we did a great job.”
Before Chicago could create a decent play, Houston already jumped up to a 1-0 lead. Receiving a long ball in the left corner, Kei Kamara challenged Fire defender C.J. Brown and won. He rounded Brown and sent a low pass into Stuart Holden, who knocked a first-time shot over goalkeeper Jon Busch in just the third minute.
After that, Houston turned up the defense. And the Fire turned up the offense for a classic battle at Toyota Park. The Fire had seven shots on the night, including three on goal. Onstad or the Dynamo backline handled each one.
Richard Mulrooney had one of the biggest saves of the night, aside from Onstad. In the 35th minute, Marco Pappa sent a corner into the box. Brian McBride headed a pass to Patrick Nyarko on the left side of the box. Nyarko headed a point-blank shot toward goal. The only thing standing between him and the goal was Mulrooney, who knocked it out of harm’s way.
“Our defenders have been really great this season,” Onstad said. “Our guys are all playing well.”
Houston may have found the winning combination. They struggled to create offensive opportunities, with just five shots total on the night. But they shut down the Fire. They had one shot on goal in the entire match and it proved to be lethal for the Fire.
“It was one play again,” Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch said. “That was it. Other than that, we played well. We let Stuart slip through and he scored a goal.”
The Dynamo have posted a 6-0-2 record in their last eight games. They’ve outscored opponents 8-2. And in that stretch, they’ve collected eight shutouts. It takes a goal to win a game, but a strong defense to shut down the opposing squad.
“I’m happy we won,” Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear said. “It was a tough win. It was a great start to the game. Chicago really gained some momentum, especially in the second half.”
Holden said Houston was prepared for Chicago, which leads the league in scoring with 20 goals, to come out firing shots in the second half. But instead, they held the home club to one shot over the final 45 minutes — a shot on goal by Nyarko in the 47th minute. Nyarko sent a short ball directly into Onstad’s arms.
“We knew they were going to give it a good go,” Holden said. “We neutralized that. We couldn’t be happier to leave here with a win. It wasn’t pretty. But by any means it’s three points. We’ll take it.”
Kathryn L. Knapp is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
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