GAME NIGHT:
DYNAMO 0, RSL 0
The Houston Dynamo earned a road tie in the toughest venue in Major League Soccer on Saturday night, tying Real Salt Lake 0-0. The Dynamo shut out RSL at home for only the sixth time in all competitions since the club opened the venue in 2008. Houston is responsible for two of those six shutouts; the teams played to a 0-0 tie on August 15, 2009. With the tie, Salt Lake extended its league-record home unbeaten streak to 29 games (20-0-9).
The Dynamo return to action next Saturday night, hosting the first-place New York Red Bulls at Robertson Stadium at 7:30 p.m., the first of three matches in eight days for Houston.
The Dynamo had the advantage in the second half of Saturday’s game, forcing three saves from RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando over the final 30 minutes. He made big stops on Will Bruin in the 65th minute and Koke in the 88th minute to preserve the shutout. Houston was shut out for only the second time in 10 MLS games this season and the first time since the March 19 opener.
At the other end of the field, Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall and his defense kept their second clean sheet of the season and first since April 17. Hall needed just one save to record the shutout, the third of his MLS career.
For Houston, midfielder Brad Davis and Bobby Boswell made their 155th and 125th appearances for the Dynamo in all competitions, respectively. Defender Hunter Freeman made the 80th regular season start of his MLS career, and midfielder Corey Ashe and defender Andre Hainault both made the 55th MLS starts of their respective careers.
The Dynamo played without forwards Calen Carr (concussion) and Brian Ching (plantar fasciitis); and midfielder Danny Cruz (knee hyperextension).
HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
On tonight’s contest:
“Both teams played pretty well and both teams had chances. It was a pretty fair result at the end of the day.”
On Houston’s defensive effort:
“We’re very pleased to get a shutout here. They’re a good team and it’s a tough place to play. The team showed a lot of determination and I’m happy for the guys.”
On the Dynamo attack on the evening:
“We didn’t just sit back and soak it up and let Tally (Hall) pull off wonderful saves. We played some good stuff going forward.”
MIDFIELDER GEOFF CAMERON
On Houston’s struggle to finish tonight:
“You look back and we had chances to put the ball in the back of the net. With a little more composure and that final pass, we could have come out of here with three (points).”
On any differences between the first and second halves:
“The first half we held them strong and fought hard. Then in the second half we turned it on, possessed the ball and I thought we dominated most of the second half.”
On playing at Rio Tinto Stadium:
“They’re a good team. The ball flies a little bit here, so you’re not used to that with the altitude and all that. They’ve had a pretty good [undefeated] streak here at home, but we came in here in the frame of mind that we were going to come out of here with a point or three, and we did that job tonight.”
FORWARD WILL BRUIN
On the match:
“We tried to get a feel for the game from the beginning, but we held our own and kept possession. It could have gone our way. We just focused on it being about us and coming in here and playing well.”
On the disappointment of not finishing in front of goal:
“We’re pleased, but we had our chances too. We thought we could have stole one or got [a goal] and came away with three points, but we didn’t give [a goal] away, didn’t make any mistakes or give up stupid goals. So we’re happy with that, especially after two losses.”
