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There are two things that the Dynamo have trouble winning against -- speed and bad refereeing. So, having Baldomero Toledo refereeing a game between the Houston Dynamo and the Portland Timbers didn't have a very good chance of ending well for the Dynamo. The team was also without Giles Barnes and Jermaine Taylor who are gone on International duty as well as Brad Davis and Boniek Garcia who are recovering from injuries.
The Dynamo thought they took the lead early on a corner kick in the 16th minute but Baldermo Toledo, the worst referee in MLS, whistled a foul in the box negating the goal from Raul Rodriguez. Instead it would be the Portland Timbers who got on the board first after Nagbe was fouled by Houston earning a free kick for the Timbers. Jorge Villafana took the kick finding the head of an unmarked Maximilliano Urruti who directed it past a stretched out Tyler Deric and into the back of the net.
The second half started off on shaky ground for the Dynamo as the Timbers were awarded a penalty kick after David Horst was called for a foul in the box on a corner kick. Tyler Deric guessed the wrong direction on the ensuing Gaston Fernandez kick and the game was 2-0.
The Dynamo struggled to get the ball to Will Bruin who had little help up top all night. In the 81st minute, Alex Lopez made a great pass to DaMarcus Beasley on the far side of the box, but Beasley couldn't keep it on frame. A few minutes later Ricardo Clark tried a bicycle kick while falling to the turf, but it went off the crossbar.
The Dynamo outshot the Timbers 9 shots to 6 but conceded possession by 4.4%. The two teams were fairly level all night long except for the Toledo factor which tipped the scales in the Timbers favor and a 2-0 final score.
Friday, the Houston Dynamo travel to Toyota Stadium to take on rival F.C. Dallas.
Lineups
Houston Dynamo: Deric, Sarkodie, Horst, Rodriguez, Beasley, Miranda (75' Alex), Garrido, Clark, Sturgis (58' Lovejoy), Lopez (82' Manotas), Bruin
Portland Timbers: Kwarasey, Powell, Paparatto, Ridgewell, Villafana, Johnson ©, Chara, Nagbe (86' Peay), Fernandez (72' Valeri), Wallace, Urruti (76' Adi)