Fighting back into playoff position is one thing, staying there is another. In an effort to do the latter, the Houston Dynamo are hoping to do something on Wednesday night in New England that they have managed only once this year: earn a second straight win.
The last time Houston picked up back-to-back wins was in April, when they beat the Vancouver Whitecaps and, yes, the very same Revolution they face on Wednesday night (7 p.m. CT, KHOU 11.2, FS Houston). The Dynamo are also enjoying a good run of form – 3-1-3 in their last seven – and are looking to continue their move up the standings.
“There’s a sense of urgency,” defender Bobby Boswell said. “Guys are tired of talking about it and want to just go out and do it. The biggest thing we’ve been doing is being hard to play against.”
It is hard to play against any team that enjoys the majority of the possession, something the Dynamo have recently done. In the past three matches – two wins and a draw – Houston have averaged 54.1% of the possession. But for Boswell, the hulking workhorse in the Houston defense, it still comes down to attitude.
“We’ve got a group of guys together that’s willing to put the work in,” he said. “If we go out there and outwork the other team and make it difficult for them, the result will go in our favor.”
New England has struggled to get many results to go in their favor this year and are winless in their last four. Still, Revolution do have a potent attack lead by perennial All-Star midfielder Shalrie Joseph and U.S. national team midfielder Benny Feilhaber, who scored his second goal of the season in last week’s loss to the Columbus Crew. There is also the Revs’ new Designated player, Milton Caraglio, a talented Argentine striker who is starting to find his feet in MLS.
“Every team has dangerous players so you have to make sure you’re prepared,” Boswell said. “I think that’s what we’ve been doing these last few games and hopefully we don’t get away from that Wednesday night.”
Clark questionable/Carr travels
Injuries continue play a role in Houston’s season. In Sunday’s win against Portland, midfielder Colin Clark picked up a slight knock to his left knee – the same knee surgically repaired last year. He is listed as questionable on Tuesday’s injury report but did travel with the club to New England. With three games in seven days, the Dynamo traveled 20 players to New England to allow Dominic Kinnear some flexibility with his roster selection. Forward Calen Carr, who recently came off the injury report after sitting out the first half of the year with a concussion, made the trip up north and is available for selection tonight.
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on
twitter at @Dynamoexaminer.
