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Houston Thump Toronto FC In 3-0 Win
Houston Dynamo move to second in the Western table with 18 points in a 3-0 drubbing of Toronto.
May 31, 2009 1:04:27 AM
Houston hosted Toronto FC in Dwayne De Rosario’s
return to his former club and the Dynamo throttled TFC in a 3-0 win.
Toronto entered this match with the hopes of winning a second in a row, going 2-1-2 in their last five, after defeating Eastern rivals New England at home last Saturday.
Houston, on the other hand, were on a six-match unbeaten streak (4-0-2) and have allowed only two goals at home.
First Half
Houston dominated play from the opening. In the 14th minute Brad Davis had a great opportunity on the right side off a free-kick which troubled Toronto’s keeper Stefan Frei, but he managed to tip the ball over the bar.
In the19th minute, Corey Ashe was taken down at the edge of the box by Adrian Serioux, leading to Brad Davis striking the ball on the freekick through the wall and past Frei for a1-0 Dynamo lead.
Toronto came right back, with De Rosario streaking through the right side of the box, but his weak shot was easy for Canadian counterpart Pat Onstad to handle.
Houston increased their lead moments later, as Kei Kamara deflected a cross from the right side off his thigh, then off the far post and into the goal. 2-0.
Two minutes later in the 24th, midfielder Stuart Holden, from 25 yards out off another freekick drove yet another ball through the wall, off the post and in for a 3-0 Houston scoreline.
Toronto, at this point, were feeling the pressure of making a match of this in the 83° Texan heat after giving up three goals in four minutes.
In the 38th minute Frei came up with a massive stop to somewhat keep Toronto in the match. Kamara took a hard shot from 16 yards straight to the middle of the goal and the Swiss keeper’s reflexes did not disappoint batting the ball down.
Frei had another massive stop in the 44th minute as Brian Ching had a free-header eight yards out, but the Toronto keeper came up big again with a kick-save.
Toronto thought they finally got some ink on the score sheet in added time on a free-kick.
It was sent in from 44 yards out, deflected off Brian Ching’s head and Serioux went up for it in the box and headed it in, but the goal was ruled back for apparent obstruction on the keeper.
Two yellow cards were shown in the half, both to Canadians - Adrian Serioux (Toronto FC) and Andrew Hainault (Houston).
Second Half
Toronto made substitutions at the half, bringing in Rohan Ricketts for Marco Velez, and Pablo Vitti for Chad Barrett, moving Marvell Wynne to right back, and pushing Nana Attakora-Gyan to central defender.
The changes did not prove to be too effective for Toronto as Houston came out flying again, almost scoring a fourth early in the half. Davis crossed the ball along the ground in front of goal, picking out Ching alone on the opposite side, but he struck the ball into the side netting.
From then on, the half elapsed with few exciting moments and the Dynamo simply played out the final forty-five defensively to secure the win.
Frei escaped a booking in the 78th after elbowing Waibel in the stomach while setting-up for a corner kick. The official apparently witnessed the incident, but did not give a yellow for the intentional blow by the keeper.
The visitors’ play improved slightly as the half progressed, generating a few chances, which could also be attributed to the Dynamo’s letting up in attack with a three-goal lead.
Toronto’s passing and possession games became more fluid as they were able to string passes together and move up the field, but were not able to generate any real threats until late in the half.
Substitute Pablo Vitti barreled in on the left, then cut into the middle but his shot was blocked well by defender Bobby Boswell and deflected over the goal.
Minutes later, Vitti had another chance, striking a volley from 10 yards out, but Onstad caught the ball easily.
Houston’s goalscoring outburst in the first half decisively awarded the Dynamo three points in this lopsided encounter.
Toronto FC did not impress and can only hope to put in a better showing at home next Saturday against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Houston increased their unbeaten streak to seven and continue to play solidly at home. They will look to build on this victory next Friday in Chicago where they will match-up against the Fire.
Rashed Abuodeh is a contributor to Goal.com
Toronto entered this match with the hopes of winning a second in a row, going 2-1-2 in their last five, after defeating Eastern rivals New England at home last Saturday.
Houston, on the other hand, were on a six-match unbeaten streak (4-0-2) and have allowed only two goals at home.
First Half
Houston dominated play from the opening. In the 14th minute Brad Davis had a great opportunity on the right side off a free-kick which troubled Toronto’s keeper Stefan Frei, but he managed to tip the ball over the bar.
In the19th minute, Corey Ashe was taken down at the edge of the box by Adrian Serioux, leading to Brad Davis striking the ball on the freekick through the wall and past Frei for a1-0 Dynamo lead.
Toronto came right back, with De Rosario streaking through the right side of the box, but his weak shot was easy for Canadian counterpart Pat Onstad to handle.
Houston increased their lead moments later, as Kei Kamara deflected a cross from the right side off his thigh, then off the far post and into the goal. 2-0.
Two minutes later in the 24th, midfielder Stuart Holden, from 25 yards out off another freekick drove yet another ball through the wall, off the post and in for a 3-0 Houston scoreline.
Toronto, at this point, were feeling the pressure of making a match of this in the 83° Texan heat after giving up three goals in four minutes.
In the 38th minute Frei came up with a massive stop to somewhat keep Toronto in the match. Kamara took a hard shot from 16 yards straight to the middle of the goal and the Swiss keeper’s reflexes did not disappoint batting the ball down.
Frei had another massive stop in the 44th minute as Brian Ching had a free-header eight yards out, but the Toronto keeper came up big again with a kick-save.
Toronto thought they finally got some ink on the score sheet in added time on a free-kick.
It was sent in from 44 yards out, deflected off Brian Ching’s head and Serioux went up for it in the box and headed it in, but the goal was ruled back for apparent obstruction on the keeper.
Two yellow cards were shown in the half, both to Canadians - Adrian Serioux (Toronto FC) and Andrew Hainault (Houston).
Second Half
Toronto made substitutions at the half, bringing in Rohan Ricketts for Marco Velez, and Pablo Vitti for Chad Barrett, moving Marvell Wynne to right back, and pushing Nana Attakora-Gyan to central defender.
The changes did not prove to be too effective for Toronto as Houston came out flying again, almost scoring a fourth early in the half. Davis crossed the ball along the ground in front of goal, picking out Ching alone on the opposite side, but he struck the ball into the side netting.
From then on, the half elapsed with few exciting moments and the Dynamo simply played out the final forty-five defensively to secure the win.
Frei escaped a booking in the 78th after elbowing Waibel in the stomach while setting-up for a corner kick. The official apparently witnessed the incident, but did not give a yellow for the intentional blow by the keeper.
The visitors’ play improved slightly as the half progressed, generating a few chances, which could also be attributed to the Dynamo’s letting up in attack with a three-goal lead.
Toronto’s passing and possession games became more fluid as they were able to string passes together and move up the field, but were not able to generate any real threats until late in the half.
Substitute Pablo Vitti barreled in on the left, then cut into the middle but his shot was blocked well by defender Bobby Boswell and deflected over the goal.
Minutes later, Vitti had another chance, striking a volley from 10 yards out, but Onstad caught the ball easily.
Houston’s goalscoring outburst in the first half decisively awarded the Dynamo three points in this lopsided encounter.
Toronto FC did not impress and can only hope to put in a better showing at home next Saturday against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Houston increased their unbeaten streak to seven and continue to play solidly at home. They will look to build on this victory next Friday in Chicago where they will match-up against the Fire.
Rashed Abuodeh is a contributor to Goal.com
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