Dynamo Ride Heath Pearce's Mustache to Three Points

It wasn't picture perfect, there were some mistakes, but the Dynamo got the goals they needed (with some help from Heath Pearce) and defeated Chivas 2-1 at Robertson Stadium tonight.

The first half got off to a frantic start as the Dynamo looked to have scored in the third minute. Bobby Boswell headed home an early Brad Davis corner, but the goal was waived off on an interference call on Cam Weaver. Just four minutes later, a sloppy back pass from Hunter Freeman allowed Marcos Mondaini to dribble towards goal, make a simple fake to force Tally Hall to go to ground and then roll a shot easily in to the open goal. You can imagine the colorful metaphors I said under my breath. After the goal, the match calmed down considerably with the Dynamo getting the better chances, but still struggling to finish. 

In the 29th minute, the Dynamo finally equalized off a clever Geoff Cameron header that beat the diving Dan Kennedy at the far post. Brad Davis got the assist on the goal with a spot-on free kick delivery that Cameron was able to elevate and redirect, all while his back was to the goal. It was a nifty play and definitely worth checking out on replay.

The set piece delivered another goal for the Dynamo in the 55th minute. Brad Davis sent a low corner that pinballed between a couple players before finally going in the net off Heath Pearce. Chalk it down as one of the "ugly but it counts" goals.

Aside from the three points, the highlight of the night was the return of Brian Ching, who was back on the field for the first time in over a month. Ching replaced Cam Weaver in the 70th minute to a huge applause from the 19,333 in attendance.

Kinnear stressed all week the need for this team to show more urgency in their attack and it seemed to work for the most part. The finishing still wasn't what we'd like to see, but there were better chances and aside from the early mistake from Freeman that allowed the goal, the Dynamo looked better and more important, got three points.

After the match Dynamo players were upbeat but realistic about the result. The win breaks the team's seven match winless and streak and helps boost their place in the weak Eastern Conference. Houston improves 4-5-6, good for 18 points on the season, and puts them back in third place in the Eastern Conference...for now.