Streaks end as Red Donkeys tie Dynamo 1:1
July 29, 2006
The winning streak is over; so is the shutout streak. But the unbeaten streak lives on, reaching four, as the Red Donkeys fought the Dynamo to a 1:1 tie in the Houston heat. Chris Henderson scored the lone Metro goal in a game that saw both teams end the match with ten players.
The Metros came out in the same formation as last week; even with Tony Meola now recovered, Jon Conway kept his place in goal. The first half saw very little for Metro, as they recorded a solitary, while Houston failed to put one on frame, stopped time and again by the reborn Metro defense.
That defense came up big time and time again after the break, and with Metro not doing much in the attacking end, the game looked to end scoreless. But in the 67th minute, completely against the run of play, Amado Guevara spun around Dynamo defenders and threaded a pass to Henderson on the right side, who skipped the ball past Pat Onstad from a tough angle. Unfortunately, the lead only lasted three minutes, as Danny O'Rourke took down former Metro Ricardo Clark in the box and Dwayne De Rosario converted the penalty kick to his right, ending Conway's shutout streak.
A minute later, a violent tackle by O'Rourke on De Rosario led to the Canadian's hands ending up in the face of the Donkeys midfielder, with both players ejected (O'Rourke getting his second yellow, De Rosario a straight red) for the altercation. From that point on, Houston's best chance came with Metro-for-a-week Adrian Serioux just missed the top right corner off a Dynamo corner kick in stoppage time.
Much praise must be given to the Metro defense of Todd Dunivant, Jeff Parke, Carlos Mendes, and Marvell Wynne. The quartet has been on top form as of late, with Parke continuing his solid play from earlier in the year, Mendes quietly shutting down opposing strikers, Wynne coming into his own as he adjusts to the pros, and Dunivant finally providing consistency from the left back spot. They didn't get the shutout this time, but this foursome is only getting better with time.
Lineup: Conway, Dunivant, Mendes, Parke, Wynne, O'Rourke, Henderson, Stammler, Guevara, Magee, Buddle. Subs: Ikangu, Laventure, Jolley.
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