Houston Dynamo vs Philadelphia Union Final Score: Dynamo drop another match

Houston went to Philadelphia with almost no chance of making the playoffs and in need of a big turn around after a disappointing loss the weekend before. However, they had to do it with Raul Rodriguez suspended due to yellow card accumulation and several players on the injury report.

It didn't take long for the Union to get on the board scoring in the third minute of the game. Sebastien Le Toux ran down the right side to find Tranquillo Barnetta in the box. Barnetta finished the ball perfectly as David Horst missed the coverage.

The Union had several more chances in the first half forcing Tyler Deric to make five saves as the Dynamo defense repeatedly broke down. Not with out chances in the first half the Dynamo were denied by John McCarthy several times including one ball that deflected off a defender then off the post to be palmed away by McCarthy. Also denied was Dynamo midfielder Leonel Miranda who had a long shot at goal but Philadelphia's keeper pushed it away from the net in the thirtieth minute.

Making a tactical shift at half time Dynamo coach Owen Coyle opted to pull Kofi Sarkodie in favor of Luis Garrido shifting Boniek Garcia to right back. It seemed to immediately spark the offense as Will Bruin sent a low cross to Giles Barnes who took a shot a goal but it was scooped up by McCarthy.

Eventually, the Union began to break the Dynamo defense down once again. In the 63rd minute Fabinho made a low cross to C.J. Sapong who tapped the ball in to make it 2-0. Moments later Barnetta almost made it 3-0 but luckily for the Dynamo he wasn't able to keep it on frame.

Despite subbing in Cubo Torres and Mauro Manotas the Dynamo couldn't make any headway on the score board. They had the edge when it came to the possession battle with 53.6% but weren't able to do anything with it as they managed just five shots on target for the whole game. This loss puts the Dynamo out of playoff reach and has fans firmly eying the post-season with hopes of rebuilding the team.

Houston plays rival Sporting Kansas City on September 23 which will be a short turn around for an already struggling team.

Lineup

Houston Dynamo: Deric, Sarkodie ( 46' Garrido), Horst, Cochran, Williams, Clark, Garcia, Barnes ( 76' Manotas), Miranda, Davis (70' Torres), Bruin

Philadelphia Union: McCarthy, Gaddis, Edu, Marquez, Fabinho, Nogueira, Lahoud, Le Toux, Maidana (76' Casey), Barnetta, Sapong