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Pachuca Down Ten Man Houston 2-0
The Dynamo couldn't end MLS' long streak of poor results on Mexican soil.
Sep 17, 2009 1:01:02 AM
The Houston Dynamo got their Champions League campaign back underway on
Wednesday night with a match in Mexico against Jose Francisco Torres and his
Pachuca side.
Missing Stuart Holden, Corey Ashe, and Ricardo Clark, the Dynamo had their work cut out for them. Pachuca fielded a fairly strong side that boasted Christian Gimenez, Jaun Carlos Cacho, and Jaime Correa along with Torres.
With the Dynamo sitting one point ahead of the Mexican side coming in it was a big match for both sides and one the hosts surely felt confident about given Houston's poor track record on the road in international play.
Pachuca would dominate most of the match with Houston receiving a red card near the end of the first half and eventually falling 2-0 to their Mexican hosts.
First Half
Both teams came out of the gates well with Pachuca going close from a corner and Houston's Brad Davis putting a left footed effort on frame inside the opening five minutes. But the home side opened up the first really good scoring chance in the 8th through Edgar Benitez. The striker slashed into the Houston defense and cut past his defender before pushing a shot just wide of the back post.
Geoff Cameron put on a dribbling display of his own in the 10th with a nice move to ghost past a defender, but his shot from outside the box was well high of the mark.
The match stayed at a fairly frantic pace through much of the first half. Davis rolled a left footer past the post in the 18th when he found himself in plenty of space to have a go from outside the box and moments later Correa struck a powerful effort that tested Houston 'keeper Tally Hall. But in the 21st Pachuca should've been a goal ahead.
A ball curled in behind the Houston defense found the head of Marco Perez who pounded a header on frame. Hall had to be quick to get a hand on it and push it over the bar, but the visitors were living dangerously.
Pachuca did get their opener in the 25th. Benitez did very well to bring down a ball over the top and hold off defender Bobby Boswell before placing his shot to Hall's left. The goal was deserved as the home side had taken over much of the run of play, but the MLS side seemed to be caught off balance on the play.
The home side should've made it two in the 35th. Gimenez supplied a wonderful ball from the right flank that found Javier Munoz streaking into the box, but the defender couldn't direct his shot around Hall and the 'keeper once again came up big to keep his side in the match.
Just before the halftime whistle the match took another bad turn for the visitors. Forward Dominic Oduro was chasing back and made a rash challenge from behind which got him in the book for the second time on the night and the Dynamo would have to play the second 45 down a man.
Second Half
The plot didn't get much better in for Houston early in the second half as Pachuca came out looking to extend their lead. Hall was forced into another save in the 48th when Gimenez again set a teammate free with a well placed cross-field drive.
Pachuca continued to dominate the match, but the second goal was elusive despite Gimenez again setting up a lovely chance in the 60th. The second wouldn't come until the 74th when Paul Aguilar received a pass at the top of the box and turned to face goal. With the Houston defense failing to close him down, Aguilar hit a left footed shot that found the corner and doubled the home side's lead.
The home side was not content with just the two goals and continued to press the point, bringing on Damien Alvarez to replace Torres in hopes that the Argentine would spark another goal. But Hall, who should be commended for having kept the scoreline respectable, was able to keep the home side from tacking on a third.
The loss kept Major League Soccer win-less on Mexican soil in 18 competitive matches and dropped Houston to third in Group A behind Pachuca and Arabe Unido with four points from three games.
Allen Ramsey, Goal.com
For more Major League Soccer news visit Goal.com's MLS page.
Missing Stuart Holden, Corey Ashe, and Ricardo Clark, the Dynamo had their work cut out for them. Pachuca fielded a fairly strong side that boasted Christian Gimenez, Jaun Carlos Cacho, and Jaime Correa along with Torres.
With the Dynamo sitting one point ahead of the Mexican side coming in it was a big match for both sides and one the hosts surely felt confident about given Houston's poor track record on the road in international play.
Pachuca would dominate most of the match with Houston receiving a red card near the end of the first half and eventually falling 2-0 to their Mexican hosts.
First Half
Both teams came out of the gates well with Pachuca going close from a corner and Houston's Brad Davis putting a left footed effort on frame inside the opening five minutes. But the home side opened up the first really good scoring chance in the 8th through Edgar Benitez. The striker slashed into the Houston defense and cut past his defender before pushing a shot just wide of the back post.
Geoff Cameron put on a dribbling display of his own in the 10th with a nice move to ghost past a defender, but his shot from outside the box was well high of the mark.
The match stayed at a fairly frantic pace through much of the first half. Davis rolled a left footer past the post in the 18th when he found himself in plenty of space to have a go from outside the box and moments later Correa struck a powerful effort that tested Houston 'keeper Tally Hall. But in the 21st Pachuca should've been a goal ahead.
A ball curled in behind the Houston defense found the head of Marco Perez who pounded a header on frame. Hall had to be quick to get a hand on it and push it over the bar, but the visitors were living dangerously.
Pachuca did get their opener in the 25th. Benitez did very well to bring down a ball over the top and hold off defender Bobby Boswell before placing his shot to Hall's left. The goal was deserved as the home side had taken over much of the run of play, but the MLS side seemed to be caught off balance on the play.
The home side should've made it two in the 35th. Gimenez supplied a wonderful ball from the right flank that found Javier Munoz streaking into the box, but the defender couldn't direct his shot around Hall and the 'keeper once again came up big to keep his side in the match.
Just before the halftime whistle the match took another bad turn for the visitors. Forward Dominic Oduro was chasing back and made a rash challenge from behind which got him in the book for the second time on the night and the Dynamo would have to play the second 45 down a man.
Second Half
The plot didn't get much better in for Houston early in the second half as Pachuca came out looking to extend their lead. Hall was forced into another save in the 48th when Gimenez again set a teammate free with a well placed cross-field drive.
Pachuca continued to dominate the match, but the second goal was elusive despite Gimenez again setting up a lovely chance in the 60th. The second wouldn't come until the 74th when Paul Aguilar received a pass at the top of the box and turned to face goal. With the Houston defense failing to close him down, Aguilar hit a left footed shot that found the corner and doubled the home side's lead.
The home side was not content with just the two goals and continued to press the point, bringing on Damien Alvarez to replace Torres in hopes that the Argentine would spark another goal. But Hall, who should be commended for having kept the scoreline respectable, was able to keep the home side from tacking on a third.
The loss kept Major League Soccer win-less on Mexican soil in 18 competitive matches and dropped Houston to third in Group A behind Pachuca and Arabe Unido with four points from three games.
Allen Ramsey, Goal.com
For more Major League Soccer news visit Goal.com's MLS page.
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