The Houston Dynamo's four-match MLS winning streak ended abruptly on Sunday afternoon at Giants Stadium. Juan Pablo Angel and Dane Richards scored first-half goals and Mike Magee added another after the intermission as the New York Red Bulls rolled to a 3-0 victory.
It was Houston's first defeat in MLS play since the New England Revolution beat them 2-0 back on June 12. Houston had gone 4-0-3 in league action since then, although they did drop the SuperLiga final to the Revs, on penalty kicks, earlier this month. Meanwhile, New York recorded its sixth shutout of the season, and second in as many games.
On Sunday, the Dynamo back four found itself under siege early on. Almost from the opening kick, the Red Bulls expertly exploited the flanks, stretching the field and repeatedly getting behind Houston's defense.
It didn't take long for the strategy to put the visitors in a hole. Eight minutes in, Magee corralled a throw-in near the end line and played a short pass to Dave van den Bergh. The Dutchman delivered a pinpoint cross onto the head of Angel, who had managed to split Dynamo defenders Eddie Robinson and Bobby Boswell at the top of the six-yard box. From there, it was academic for Angel, who easily nodded his eighth of the season, and sixth in six games, past a helpless Pat Onstad.
Meanwhile, the Dynamo had a much more difficult time penetrating the Red Bulls rearguard and seemed content to try to test New York keeper Jon Conway from distance. Dwayne De Rosario whistled long-range blasts over the bar twice in the first half -- once off a 30-yard free kick and another from the run of play -- and Ricardo Clark also had two opportunities from outside the box, missing the target on his first effort and hitting the other harmlessly into Conway's chest.
The way things were going, it seemed like it would just be a matter of time until the home team doubled its advantage. And in the 26th minute, they did. New York winger Dane Richards ran onto a beautiful, seeing-eye long pass from Seth Stammler, raced by Dynamo captain Wade Barrett, and slipped the ball past Onstad and into the net for his first of the season.
Going behind by two goals seemed to temporarily energize the visitors. They managed to control play inside the Red Bulls half immediately following Richards' strike and put together some clever combinations in and around the 18-yard box. But they couldn't manage a quality shot, let alone the goal they needed to get back into the game.
As the first half drew to a close, the Red Bulls began to take advantage of the extra space Houston's pressing afforded them. Angel flashed a header wide and had a 15-yard shot blocked on another occasion.
The Red Bulls found their third on the hour mark. New York defender Diego Jimenez sent a long pass over Robinson's head to a streaking Magee, who sidestepped Onstad before firing into an open net.
And if there was any doubt at that point that it was not going to be Dynamo's day, it was erased when Clark failed to stab home a loose ball with Conway at his mercy.
In fact, the scoreline could have been worse if Red Bulls substitutes Danleigh Borman and John Wolyniec hadn't each squandered golden chances later in the second half. Wolyniec also had an 85th-minute strike ruled out for offside.
Despite the loss, the Dynamo still pace the Western Conference with 32 points, five points ahead of Real Salt Lake. Houston returns to home to face the Chicago Fire next Sunday.
Doug McIntyre is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
