In what was anything but a friendly match, the Houston Dynamo downed Mexican powerhouse Monterrey 3-0 in a physical, card-filled affair on Sunday night before a crowd of 28,440 - Houston's largest of the season and the eighth-largest to see the Dynamo play at Robertson Stadium.
Houston got goals from Cam Weaver, Brad Davis, and Jason Garey, but when it was all over, the major plotline showed up on the disciplinary report. The match saw seven yellow cards, three red cards, and four ejections total, including two ejections before halftime.
The fireworks started after a 12th-minute goal from Weaver put Houston up 1-0. Weaver took a chance from 20 yards out, and his deflected shot beat Monterrey goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco to give Houston the early lead.
Not five minutes later, nastiness between the teams began to show up. Monterrey’s Neri Cardozo and Houston’s Adam Moffat both earned yellow cards for pushing after a foul had been whistled. Then Houston was awarded a penalty kick when Brazilian midfielder Luiz Camargo made a run into the box on the end of a give-and-go with Davis and was tackled by defender Severo Meza. On the penalty, Davis beat Orozco to the lower right corner to give Houston a 2-0 lead.
Just a minute after the second goal, Monterrey midfielder Cesar Delgado took umbrage after a Camargo tackle. Camargo earned a yellow, and Delgado, who made contact with Camargo’s face, got away with a yellow card. Soon after, Rayados captain Luis Ernesto Perez laid into Davis after a showy spin move in the center circle, and Perez was ejected.
Monterrey then went down to nine men when Humberto Suazo, Monterrey’s most dangerous player with four of their five shots, elbowed Houston defender Hunter Freeman in retaliation for a physical challenge. Suazo, who memorably struck the goal that beat Real Salt Lake in the CONCACAF Champions League final in May, was ejected immediately.
With a two-man advantage, Houston took control of the ball in what was a relatively subdued second half. Still, there were two cautions and two ejections — Monterrey coach Victor Manuel Vucetich was forced to leave the field in the 67th minute and Moffat was shown a second yellow in the 86th minute.
Houston’s patience and work paid off in the 70th minute when Davis hit a curling free kick from the right corner that found Garey, a halftime substitute, at the back post. The ball fell to Garey when Rayados reserve goalkeeper Juan de Dios Ibarra mistimed his punch, and the Dynamo striker chested the ball in for the final goal.
Houston returns to league play at Sporting Kansas City next Saturday in a crucial match in the playoff race.
Monterrey vs. Houston Dynamo
September 04, 2011 -- Robertson Stadium, Houston, TX
Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Cam Weaver (unassisted) 12
HOU -- Brad Davis (penalty kick) 23
HOU -- Jason Garey (Brad Davis) 70
Monterrey -- Jonathan Orozco (Juan de Dios Ibarra 46), Severo Meza (Eduardo Guevara 77), José María Basanta, Ricardo Osorio (Oscar García 63), César Delgado (César Francisco de la Peña 46), Miguel Morales, Luis Ernesto Pérez, Neri Cardozo (Marvin Piñón 46), Sergio Santana (Marcelo Cazaubón 77), Humberto Suazo, Darío Carreño (Jesús Corona 63).
Substitutes Not Used: Luis Rodríguez, Guillermo Madrigal.
Houston Dynamo -- Tyler Deric, Hunter Freeman, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron (Josue Soto 65), Corey Ashe (Kofi Sarkodie 46), Colin Clark (Francisco Navas Cobo 74), Luiz Camargo, Adam Moffat, Brad Davis (Danny Cruz 80), Brian Ching (Jason Garey 46), Cam Weaver (Will Bruin 65).
Substitutes Not Used: Tally Hall.
Misconduct Summary:
HOU -- Adam Moffat (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 17
MTR -- Neri Cardozo (caution; Delaying a Restart) 18
MTR -- César Delgado (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 26
HOU -- Luiz Camargo (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 27
MTR -- Luis Ernesto Pérez (ejection; Violent Conduct) 29
MTR -- Humberto Suazo (ejection; Violent Conduct) 44
MTR -- Jonathan Orozco (caution; Dissent) 45
MTR -- César Francisco de la Peña (caution; Reckless Foul) 64
HOU -- Adam Moffat (ejection; Second Caution) 86
HOU -- Danny Cruz (caution; Delaying a Restart) 89
Referee: Jasen Anno
Referee's Assistants: Adam Garner; Greg Boles
4th Official: Hayden Edwards
Attendance: 28,440
Weather: Cloudy-and-85 degrees
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
