The Los Angeles Galaxy players said it wasn't a desperate situation but they sensed some urgency.
The team was in dire need of a home win after a 1-2-4 home record this season.
Earning three points at The Home Depot Center against a team they hadn't beaten there in their last four meetings and a club who stands atop the Western Conference standings seemed inconceivable prior to Sunday night.
Despite the odds, the Galaxy needed only a first-half goal by Todd Dunivant to beat the Houston Dynamo 1-0.
It was a win the Galaxy was desperately looking for. Coach Bruce Arena's team couldn't afford losing a chance at three points and fall deeper into the bottom part of the standings.
"I'm happy to say we're up in there with a bunch of teams," Arena said about the Galaxy being part of a cluster of teams near the middle of the standings. "That's OK. We're not in the worst position. We're not in the best position."
The win gives the Galaxy 18 points in sixth place, 10 behind Houston who leads the conference with one point more than Chivas USA.
But despite the win, Arena thinks his team has a lot of room for improvement, particularly in the back.
A.J. De La Garza, Gregg Berhalter, Omar Gonzalez and Dunivant, with the help of goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, helped keep Houston without a goal only for the fourth time this season.
"I think we've improved on the defensive end," Arena said. "We're building. I think we can only get better."
The defense's improvement might also lead to more goals by defenders like Dunivant on Sunday night.
Dunivant gave the Galaxy the lead when he deflected in a part-pass, part-shot from Mike Magee from about 10 yards out. Dunivant sent his shot to the right side of the Dynamo net, beating Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad.
"It's a great feeling (to) be able to help your team out that way, being a defender and score a goal gives the guys a lift and myself as well," said Dunivant, whose score is his first of the season and fourth in his six-year career. "As you can tell my celebration, I was really surprised myself, it was great though."
The scoring play began on a short corner kick by Magee.
"We got a corner of (Dynamo midfielder) Corey Ashe," Dunivant said. "Initially in the corner they had two players to defend at me but for some reason one of them dropped and our guys did a good job in reading that tactical move. They played it short and I just found myself in a little gap and I was able to redirect it."
Arena also helps the win can help direct his team to more points.
Arena said he expects his team to find more ways to rake in wins once the Galaxy's leading scorer, forward Landon Donovan, returns to the club next week after spending almost a month playing for the United States national team in World Cup qualifying and the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.
"Landon gives us another dimension upfront," said Arena, who spent most of the post-match news conference answering questions about the national team's improbable outing at the Confederations Cup rather than answering questions about the Galaxy's win. "I've always said games are won on the defensive end. But when you can add another dimension to a third of the field like Landon does, it only makes us better. I know this team is better than what I saw last August."
Donovan is expected to join the Galaxy early next week and should be ready to play in the club's home match against New England July 4.
Ivan Orozco is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
