The Houston Dynamo and San Jose Earthquakes will renew their rivalry on Saturday night when the clubs face off at Robertson Stadium. The Dynamo are coming off a 2-2 road draw at midweek against a 10-man Columbus Crew that ended a two-game losing slide. The Earthquakes put a halt to their club-record 13-game winless streak last weekend, a 2-0 win against Chicago at Buck Shaw Stadium.
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REFEREE: Silviu Petrescu. SAR (bench): Daniel Belleau; JAR (opposite): Eric Proctor; 4th: Armando Villarreal
MLS Career: 33 games; FC/gm: 28.3; Y/gm: 3.9; R: 6; pens: 4
INJURY REPORT: HOUSTON DYNAMO – OUT: MF Alex Dixon (L finger fracture); DF Eddie Robinson (R quad strain); QUESTIONABLE: FW Brian Ching (L adductor strain) …
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES – OUT: MF Andre Luiz (L knee injury); DF Ike Opara (L foot injury); FW Alan Gordon (surgery); FW Steven Lenhart (family leave); DOUBTFUL: DF Justin Morrow (R hamstring strain); DF Jason Hernandez (L quadriceps strain); FW Scott Sealy (L groin strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: SJ: Alan Gordon, Brad Ring, Sam Cronin
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: HOU: Danny Cruz,
Brad Davis, Hunter Freeman, Adam Moffat, Je-Vaughn Watson, Cam Weaver …
SJ: Bobby Burling, Ramiro Corrales, Jason Hernandez, Chris Leitch,
Steven Lenhart
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (8 meetings): Dynamo 3 wins, 11 goals … Earthquakes 4 wins, 12 goals … Ties 1
AT HOUSTON (3 meetings): Dynamo 2 wins, 6 goals … Earthquakes 1 win, 4 goals … Ties 0
• The teams renewed their rivalry on June 4 of this season in the
first meeting, Steven Lenhart and Simon Dawkins scoring in the second
half to lead the Quakes to a 2-0 victory June 4 at Buck Shaw Stadium.
• The Dynamo won for the first time in four visits to Buck Shaw
Stadium last year, after the Quakes won their first match at Robertson
Stadium in the first meeting, in what’s become a rivalry of clubs
sharing a common ancestry.
• Coaches record: Frank Yallop vs. HOU: P14 W6 L5 D3 … Dominic Kinnear v SJ: P8 W3 L4 D1
LAST MEETING (MLS)
6/4: SJ 2, HOU 0 (Lenhart 69; Dawkins 92+)
• The Quakes took the lead on 69 minutes. With plenty of time and
space, right back Steven Beitashour delivered a bending ball into the
box from deep on the right flank and Steven Lenhart split a pair of
Houston defenders to powerfully head the ball to the near post, leaving
Dynamo ‘keeper Tally Hall with no real chance.
• The home side put away the game in second-half stoppage time.
Simon Dawkins and Sam Cronin played a one-two in midfield, Dawkins
running onto the return pass all along behind the Dynamo back line and
easily slotting home past Hall.
• SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (4-4-1-1): Jon Busch - Steven Beitashour,
Jason Hernandez, Bobby Burling, Bobby Convey - Anthony Ampaipitakwong
(Simon Dawkins 75), Sam Cronin, Brad Ring, Ramiro Corrales - Khari
Stephenson (Brandon McDonald 82) - Steven Lenhart.
• HOUSTON DYNAMO (4-1-3-2): Tally Hall - Hunter Freeman, Geoff
Cameron, Bobby Boswell, Mike Chabala - Lovel Palmer - Danny Cruz (Corey
Ashe 71), Brad Davis, Colin Clark - Will Bruin (Jason Garey 87), Cam
Weaver.
HOUSTON DYNAMO
The Houston Dynamo put a stop to their two-game losing slide, coming
back for a 2-2 draw Wednesday with the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium.
The Dynamo have 35 points from 28 games on the season, now in a tie for
third place in the Eastern Conference.
LAST MATCH
• The Crew were down to 10 men after just 11 minutes when midfielder
Emmanuel Ekpo by referee Chris Penso. The Dynamo then took the lead in
the 34th minute, when Je-Vaughn got over Columbus defender Chad Marshall
to snap a header past goalkeeper William Hesmer from a pinpoint cross
from the right flank by Jermaine Taylor.
• But the Crew pulled ahead on a pair of penalty kicks, both
converted by Andres Mendoza. After Cam Weaver was ruled to have handled a
cross in the 64th minute, Mendoza converted his first, then Penso again
pointed to the spot 12 minutes later when Dilly Duka was fouled in a
challenge by Watson, and Mendoza gave the home side the lead.
• Yet the Dynamo had one final answer. Geoff Cameron ran out a
through ball slipped in by Danny Cruz and cut a low cross into the heart
of the area. Calen Carr turned onto it and lashed it first-time into
the roof of the goal for the leveler.
• Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made five changes to the team
that went down to a 3-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City at Livestrong
Sporting Park. Bobby Boswell returned from suspension and Je-Vaughn
Watson and Luiz Camargo came into the midfield, with Hunter Freeman,
Andre Hainault and Colin Clark all out of the side. Will Bruin and Cam
Weaver returned as the strike pair in place of Brian Ching and the
suspended Carlo Costly.
• HOUSTON DYNAMO (4-1-3-2): Tally Hall - Jermaine Taylor, Geoff
Cameron, Bobby Boswell, Corey Ashe - Adam Moffat - Je-Vaughn Watson
(Danny Cruz 77), Luiz Camargo (Colin Clark 69), Brad Davis - Will Bruin
(Calen Carr 68), Cam Weaver.
TEAM NEWS
• With the point, the Dynamo moved into a tie for third place in the
Eastern Conference with Philadelphia, five points out of first place –
but they’ve played more games than any other chief playoff contender.
• “We’ve got to learn how to not get in these positions, to not do
this to ourselves. … It’s kind of weird the way things are falling for
us but he only thing we can do is keep plugging away,” said midfielder
Brad Davis. “We still have five games left, so no matter how bad things
are we’re not out of it so we’ve got to keep fighting away. It doesn’t
matter how you get into the playoffs, as long as you get in anything can
happen.”
• Said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear: “They’re all important
right now. This one, the next one, the one after that, there’s five
games to go and they’re all important.”
• Carr’s goal was his first with the Dynamo, since arriving just
before the start of the season. His last goal was last Oct. 23, for the
Chicago Fire; it came in his fourth appearance this season (all as a
substitute).
• Je-Vaughn Watson was making his first start since Aug. 17, and scored his first MLS goal.
• “I think it was a great first goal, great ball and great finish by
Je-Vaughn. On the second one Danny plays Jeff through, Jeff slides the
ball and Calen finishes there at the end,” said Davis. “So there are a
couple negatives but we’ve dug ourselves out of holes like that so many
times this season. We’ve just got to have the mentality to see games
like this off.”
• Forward Will Bruin made his first appearance since July 30, after undergoing surgery on his left knee.
• Midfielder Danny Cruz came off the bench in his first appearance since July 23, also because of injury.
• Brazilian midfielder Luiz Carmago made his first MLS start, in the
center of midfield, after making his league debut the weekend before as
a substitute.
• Jermaine Taylor started at right back, his first appearance as a
fullback after eight turns in the first XI in central defense.
• The Dynamo are still winless away from home, along with Vancouver
Whitecaps FC. Three teams in MLS history have gone through the season
without winning on their travels, last New York in 2009. Houston has two
more road games remaining among their five regular-season contests.
• “Every game from here on out is very important for us. We’re
coming home against a San Jose team who won on the weekend and we always
tend to have good games against them. It’s going to be another tough
game but we’re excited to get back home in front of our home fans,” said
Davis. “Hopefully we can get three (points) in front of our home fans
and make a nice push here at the end.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
The San Jose Earthquakes put an end to their winless streak after 13
games, defeating the Chicago Fire 2-0 on Saturday evening at Buck Shaw
Stadium. The Quakes have 29 points from 27 games on the season, sitting
in eighth place in the Western Conference.
LAST MATCH
• The Earthquakes went ahead in the 10th minute. Rafael Baca
unhurriedly collected a throw-in on the left wing and sent a curling
ball to the back post where Chris Wondolowski met it with a full-blooded
volley that Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson got his right hand to but
couldn’t keep out.
• The Quakes then doubled their lead in the 69th minute when Ramiro
Corrales ran onto a return pass from Wondolowski through Khari
Stephenson on a give-and-go and slipped in alone on goal, tucking his
shot neatly inside the left post.
• Earthquakes boss Frank Yallop made three changes to the team that
came back for a late 1-1 draw at Toronto FC at BMO Field. Steven
Beitashour returned from suspension in place of Chris Leitch, Sam Cronin
came in for the injured Justin Morrow, and Khari Stephenson started in
place of the suspended Bobby Convey.
• SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (4-4-2): Jon Busch - Steven Beitashour, Jason
Hernandez (Nana Attakora 61), Bobby Burling, Ramiro Corrales - Joey
Gjertsen (Jacob Peterson 80), Sam Cronin, Rafael Baca, Simon Dawkins -
Khari Stephenson, Chris Wondolowski (Matt Luzunaris 91+).
TEAM NEWS
• The Earthquakes won for the first time since June 4, a 4-2 victory
at D.C. United, in snapping their club record winless streak. The
Quakes were 0-6-7 during the skid.
• “I think the word would be “relief”. We played well tonight and
deserved the three points,” said San Jose head coach Frank Yallop. “As a
coach, I don’t look at runs, I look at performances, and I think we’ve
performed very well the last six games. Hopefully we can go to Houston
with a fresh attitude, and if we can win there, we’ll be right back in
it.”
• Chris Wondolowski scored for a second consecutive week and raised
his season total to 10 goals, now in a tie for fourth in the MLS Golden
Boot standings.
• “It took a little bit of concentration and execution on our part. I
thought the movement was there in the first half, we just couldn’t
connect on some passes. Those miscues led to them taking possession, but
we held our ground,” Wondolowski said. “In the second half, we
connected our passes and executed on our chances.”
• Wondolowski had a glorious chance to hit for a second when Jalil
Anibaba was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box, but Fire
goalkeeper stopping Wondolowski’s penalty kick.
• “I am a little disappointed I couldn’t get that second goal, but I
am thankful for our defense and Ramiro (Corrales) to clean up and get
us the 2-0 win,” said Wondolowski.
• The game in Houston starts a run of five games out of the next six
on the road for the Earthquakes. They have just two games remaining on
the season at Buck Shaw Stadium; they are 2-6-4 on their travels.
• “Our approach has been the same the past couple of games; we’ve
just been a little bit unlucky,” said Ramiro Corrales. “I think in
Toronto we played very well. We had our chances up there but just
couldn’t come away with a win. We came back home and finally got that
victory. And it feels good to do it here at home.”
• With Justin Morrow, who was given the start at left back the
previous week, injured in training, Corrales moved back to the left side
of defense. Rafael Baca made his second consecutive start, and third of
the season, in the center of the park.
• “Ramiro was very good tonight, and of course he scored the second
goal. His general play is fantastic right now. He’s our captain and I
think his play is indicative of what he’s done all year,” Yallop said.
“I’m very happy for Rafa; good player, good kid. He’ll continue to see
time if he keeps playing like that.”
• It was the first defensive shutout for the Earthquakes since July
16 (eight games), and their first shutout victory since defeating
Houston in the first meeting this season (June 4). The Quakes had
settled for draws in each of their previous three shutouts.
• “(Jon) Busch was the man of the match and our defense played
great. To get a shutout against that team, it makes this win that much
more special, ” said Wondolowski.