The Houston Dynamo were the recipients of a first-half own goal but saw Toronto FC's Marvell Wynne hit for the first goal of his MLS career as the clubs battled to a 1-1 draw Saturday afternoon at BMO Field.
Given the early advantage through Hunter Freeman's own goal, the Dynamo solidified their spot atop the Western Conference with the draw. They are now seven points ahead in the division with all their closest pursuers still to play over the weekend, yet with a game in hand. Houston is 9-2-4 in its last 15 matches in all competitions and was coming off of a draw against San Francisco FC last Tuesday in CONCACAF Champions League play.
His club trailing after 72 minutes, Wynne struck and ended up adding a much-needed point to TFC's playoff hunt, but it might be too little too late. Toronto is still last overall in the MLS table with 28 points. It entered the day six points behind D.C. United for the last playoff spot. The Reds have just one win (1-9-7) in their last 17 contests.
Brian Ching and Dwayne De Rosario returned to the Houston lineup after playing just 45 and 25 minutes respectively over the Dynamo's last three games. Head coach Dominic Kinnear wanted to keep his stars fresh given their international commitments and the Dynamo's crowded fixture list in the next month. Patrick Ianni got the start on the back line in place of suspended defender Eddie Robinson.
It was a landmark start for goalkeeper Pat Onstad. The Canadian international became just the third player in Dynamo history to make 100 starts for the club. The other two Houston centurions (team captain Wade Barrett and Brian Mullan) were also in the Dynamo starting XI.
The Toronto starting XI had a bit of a different look as Marvell Wynne moved from his usual fullback position into the midfield. Kevin Harmse took Wynne's fullback spot, while Hunter Freeman started in place of usual defender Marco Velez. Freeman, Harmse and Tyrone Marshall formed the three-man back line when the Reds converted to a 3-5-2 formation early in the game, with Jim Brennan moving up into the midfield.
The Dynamo had a good early chance, when Brad Davis crossed to Ching in the third minute. Ching had some space in front of the Toronto net but moved too far ahead to reach the ball and was called offside.
Toronto had a chance of its own in the 12th minute following a foul on Rohan Ricketts from Houston's Bobby Boswell, which earned the defender a yellow card. The caution resulted in a direct kick for Amado Guevara, but the set piece specialist's attempt sailed wide of the net.
Neither side looked to have any sort of rhythm on attack in the early going, as both teams were plagued by turnovers and sloppy passing. For the Reds, it was reminiscent of their poor offensive performance last Saturday, when they were held without a shot on goal in a 2-0 loss to Kansas City. TFC at least broke that particular streak when Guevara's shot in the 20th minute required a save from Onstad.
While the attacks may have been lacking in attractiveness, both sides were able to come close to a goal. In the 17th minute, a broken-down passing play in the Houston penalty area led to the ball falling at Guevara's feet, but the midfielder's shot went over the crossbar.
Less than a minute later, it was Ching again causing problems in front of the TFC net. The striker battled Harmse for the ball and then suddenly turned and fired from the edge of the goal area. Reds 'keeper Greg Sutton was in place to make the point-blank save.
Unfortunately for Toronto, Sutton was caught out of position in the 23rd minute when Houston took the lead. An innocuous header from Davis just outside the box was headed backwards by Freeman towards the goal, but unbeknownst to Freeman, Sutton was standing close behind him. As a result, the back pass ended up rolling into the side of the net for an own goal.
It was the first own goal of Freeman's MLS career and the second own goal in Toronto FC history, after Kevin Goldthwaite's unintentional score on May 19, 2007 in a 2-1 loss to D.C. United. For the Dynamo, it was the second time this season they've capitalized on an opponent's own goal, after FC Dallas' Drew Moor accidentally scored against his side in a 3-3 draw on April 6.
Perhaps somewhat embarrassed by the mistake, the Reds rushed downfield and nearly scored on the counterattack. Chad Barrett came up just short after taking a cross in front of the net that Onstad was in position to stop.
Things got off to a more positive start for TFC after the break. The Reds were able to find space for wide crosses into the box, but the problem now was getting the crosses on target. Toronto collected four shots in the first seven minutes of the second half, though none were on goal and only an attempt from Danny Dichio (off a 40-yard pass) came close to going into the net.
The game settled into a rhythm of a lot of activity for both teams, but nothing that led to any real scoring chances. Houston seemed content to hold onto its one-goal lead, while TFC couldn't seem to muster anything on their end.
In the 73rd minute, however, the game suddenly came to life. Wynne carried the ball up the right side, evaded De Rosario with a cut inside and sent a well-placed strike from just outside the penalty area, dipping over Onstad into the left side of the Houston net. It was the first career goal for Wynne, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft.
Wynne showed his quality again a few minutes later, as the Dynamo attempted a quick counterattack. De Rosario came down the left side on a near-breakaway opportunity, but Wynne got back in time to break up the play with a hard tackle that stripped De Rosario of the ball.
The Reds pressed for the lead in what was essentially a must-win game for TFC's playoff hopes. Abbe Ibrahim, Jarrod Smith and Johann Smith entered the game in the second half in place of Dichio, Barrett and Ricketts, respectively, and seemed to add some pace to Toronto's attack.
TFC begin a two-game road trip next Saturday in New York against the Red Bulls. The Dynamo head to their third country in an eight-day span when they face Mexican side Pumas UNAM in CONCACAF Champions League group play on Tuesday.
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
