Houston Dynamo fall on the road to DC United

The Dynamo faced off in the nation's capital against D.C. United in a mid-week matchup. Things got off to a relatively slow start as the Dynamo had trouble breaking down the DC midfield, while DC found some success with through balls to Fabian Espindola or Nick DeLeon. However, the most that these opportunities amounted to for DC United was corner kicks.

The biggest news for the Dynamo came in the 12^th minute of the game as Mark Sherrod and former Dynamo star Bobby Boswell both fought for a ball going out. Sherrod fell awkwardly and forced Dominic Kinnear to go to his bench subbing in Brian Ownby earlier than he would have liked.

After Sherrod's exit the Dynamo struggled to possess the ball and create opportunities going forward. DC found momentum in their through balls and Chris Rolfe was able to capitalize on a chance. Espindola beat Jermaine Taylor and passed the ball to Rolfe and Rolfe beat David Horst 1v1 and found the net putting the home side up 1-0.

The Dynamo would manage to get a few chances on goal before the half, notably Giles Barnes's effort that was deflected which forced a tough save by DC goalkeeper Bill Hamid. The Dynamo would go into the locker room at halftime struggling to possess the ball and create many shots while being down a goal.

The Dynamo nearly had a goal early into the second half as Andrew Driver's corner kick went over Hamid into a dangerous area. However, Bill Hamid sold a bit of contact which resulted in a foul against the Dynamo.

In the 63^rd minute, the Dynamo nearly found another goal as Will Bruin beat Hamid, but was still well marked. Bruin tried to pick out Andrew Driver, but had it taken away before he could control it. DC responded well by countering the Dynamo's effort and earned their 2^nd goal of the match after Espindola beat David Horst 1v1 and found the net past a frozen Tally Hall.

The Dynamo continued to tally up their chances on goal as Servando Carrasco sent in a long distance effort just as he came on the field which forced a finger tip save by Hamid. In the dying moments of the game, things went from bad to worse for the Dynamo as Brian Ownby lost his cool and took a swing at a DC player which saw him rightly sent off.

The Dynamo would end up losing the game 2-0. The result was a fair one as DC dominated the game from start to finish. Though DC only scored by taking David Horst 1v1, the Dynamo simply didn't make the most of their opportunities. DC simply possessed the ball better, found their forwards more, and did what matters most: put the ball in the back of the net.

The loss sees DC United jump to 18 points, 1 point over the Dynamo. The Dynamo will next travel to the other coast (not back to the 3^rd Coast, but to the West Coast) to play the San Jose Earthquakes this Sunday.

Dynamo: Hall; Ashe, Taylor, Horst (Alex 83'), Sarkodie; Driver, Creavalle (Carrasco 69'), Barnes, Cummings; Bruin, Sherrod (Ownby 12')

DC United: Hamid; Korb, Boswell, Parke, Cristian; DeLeon, Arnaud, Kitchen, Neal; Rolfe (Doyle 80'), Espindola (Silva 90' + 3')