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Kamara Scores A Thriller; Houston Shutout Wizards
In a battle of two squads who were depleted due to Gold Cup call-ups, the Dynamo were able to hold of the Wizards 1-0.
Jul 5, 2009 12:54:35 AM
Going into the match, both Houston and Kansas City were minus some key players due to the on-going CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Absent for Kansas City, the home side, was captain Jimmy Conrad, Davy Arnaud and Roger Espinoza who were with the U.S. and Honduras teams, respectively.
As for the visiting Dynamo, they were missing American players Brian Ching, who is leading scorer and Stuart Holden. Defender André Hainault was also not part of the match as he’s with the Canadian team.
Despite the absences, the sides played to an entertaining 1-0 match, with Houston’s first half goal really setting the tone for a thrilling second stanza.
First Half
The match started out a bit slow as the sides were feeling each other out. As for the atmosphere at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, it didn’t wait to be created as Wizards fans were out in force to support their team.
In the early-going the Wizards had the better possession and used it to put pressure on Dynamo goalie Pat Onstad, and they had the best chance of the opening stages
Josh Wolff saw the ball played into him from Herculez Gomez and was right in front of goal but shot it wide from point blank range. Testy start for the usually lethal striker.
Houston fought their way back into the match though and started taking the possession from the Wizards in small bunches. It resulted in the Western Conference leaders scoring against the run of play.
Full-back Mike Chabala was able to streak down the left side and got in a great cross to Kei Kamara who fired home the header to give the Dynamo the lead. Then in one of the best goal celebrations of the year, Kamara whipped out a white glove from his shorts and struck his best Michael Jackson pose. The goal came in the 19th minute.
It would be all the Dynamo needed as they took control of the match from that point and rounded out the first half with a strong offensive showing, despite still lacking in the overall possession.
Second Half
The second 45 started out well for the Dynamo as Dominic Oduro completed a scampering run down the right with a strong shot on net that Kevin Hartman was able to cast aside.
Realizing the situation they were in, Kansas City kept up the intensity from the first half and were able to put a plethora of balls on net. The style of the match changed for both sides as well as they began to open things up a bit more and play more direct soccer.
Playing towards their main support, the Wizards had shot after shot on Pat Onstad, but the veteran Canadian held strong. In the 70th minute, Abe Thompson knocked a ball into the middle which was arguably handled, but no call was given. At that point, an equalizer looked a certainty as the ball was perpetually in the Dynamo end.
Thompson was at it again around seven minutes later. Taking a nice shot from the right side, Thompson looked sure to tie the match, but the ball went just wide, much to the chagrin of the home side.
Kansas City’s best chance to pull level came in the 84th minute when Josh Wolff saw a perfectly placed header from a Jack Jewsbury cross hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced wide. That would be as close as the Wizards would get to tie things up in the remaining minutes.
Some frantic defending and a agonizingly-close Claudio Lopez free kick later, the final whistle blew and the Houston Dynamo had the three points. Add those three to the 28 they had before, Houston has extended their lead atop the entire league.
Up next for the two-time MLS Champs is trip to the Emerald City to play the Seattle Sounders on July 11th. Kansas are also away for their next league match as they’ll take on the New England Revolution on the same day.
Shane Evans, Goal.com
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page
Absent for Kansas City, the home side, was captain Jimmy Conrad, Davy Arnaud and Roger Espinoza who were with the U.S. and Honduras teams, respectively.
As for the visiting Dynamo, they were missing American players Brian Ching, who is leading scorer and Stuart Holden. Defender André Hainault was also not part of the match as he’s with the Canadian team.
Despite the absences, the sides played to an entertaining 1-0 match, with Houston’s first half goal really setting the tone for a thrilling second stanza.
First Half
The match started out a bit slow as the sides were feeling each other out. As for the atmosphere at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, it didn’t wait to be created as Wizards fans were out in force to support their team.
In the early-going the Wizards had the better possession and used it to put pressure on Dynamo goalie Pat Onstad, and they had the best chance of the opening stages
Josh Wolff saw the ball played into him from Herculez Gomez and was right in front of goal but shot it wide from point blank range. Testy start for the usually lethal striker.
Houston fought their way back into the match though and started taking the possession from the Wizards in small bunches. It resulted in the Western Conference leaders scoring against the run of play.
Full-back Mike Chabala was able to streak down the left side and got in a great cross to Kei Kamara who fired home the header to give the Dynamo the lead. Then in one of the best goal celebrations of the year, Kamara whipped out a white glove from his shorts and struck his best Michael Jackson pose. The goal came in the 19th minute.
It would be all the Dynamo needed as they took control of the match from that point and rounded out the first half with a strong offensive showing, despite still lacking in the overall possession.
Second Half
The second 45 started out well for the Dynamo as Dominic Oduro completed a scampering run down the right with a strong shot on net that Kevin Hartman was able to cast aside.
Realizing the situation they were in, Kansas City kept up the intensity from the first half and were able to put a plethora of balls on net. The style of the match changed for both sides as well as they began to open things up a bit more and play more direct soccer.
Playing towards their main support, the Wizards had shot after shot on Pat Onstad, but the veteran Canadian held strong. In the 70th minute, Abe Thompson knocked a ball into the middle which was arguably handled, but no call was given. At that point, an equalizer looked a certainty as the ball was perpetually in the Dynamo end.
Thompson was at it again around seven minutes later. Taking a nice shot from the right side, Thompson looked sure to tie the match, but the ball went just wide, much to the chagrin of the home side.
Kansas City’s best chance to pull level came in the 84th minute when Josh Wolff saw a perfectly placed header from a Jack Jewsbury cross hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced wide. That would be as close as the Wizards would get to tie things up in the remaining minutes.
Some frantic defending and a agonizingly-close Claudio Lopez free kick later, the final whistle blew and the Houston Dynamo had the three points. Add those three to the 28 they had before, Houston has extended their lead atop the entire league.
Up next for the two-time MLS Champs is trip to the Emerald City to play the Seattle Sounders on July 11th. Kansas are also away for their next league match as they’ll take on the New England Revolution on the same day.
Shane Evans, Goal.com
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page
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