The Houston Dynamo traveled to Montreal to face the Impact with a chance to leap ahead of the hosts in the standings. All they needed to do was take the full three points.
Instead, they left with was the worst loss in club history.
For the first time in their seven year history the Dynamo lost by five goals, surrendering a 5-0 result to the Impact. The score line is an accurate representation of the game as Houston were outplayed by an Impact team who was surgical in the final third and compact in defense.
“It was a poor performance on the field against a team of Montreal’s caliber and hence you’re going to get a lot of goals scored on you,” goalkeeper Tally Hall told the media after the game. “We didn’t play well [enough] to get a win, not even to get a tie.”
The turning point in the game came in a three-minute stretch that sparked Houston’s demise courtesy of brilliant goals from Marco Di Vaio, who bagged a brace, and Felipe Martins, sparking the hosts to a 2-0 lead 10 minutes before the break.
It was a hammer blow from which Houston never recovered.
“I think that Di Vaio is one of those players that are very special in the way he thinks about the game,” Hall said. “It’s not just Di Vaio; they have high caliber players all over the field. So we have to be at our very best against a team like that to have a fun night, and we did not have a fun night.”
Montreal had all the fun in the second half, hitting the Dynamo three more times as the visitors pushed futilely for a way back into the game.
Looking at the performance Houston never had a solution to silence Montreal’s attack. The result was the most lopsided score line in club history and a blown opportunity that will surely leave a mark.
When asked what the club will look to change next week, head coach Dominic Kinnear simply responded, “The result. To play better.”
It's a short response, but one that tells the story of a historically bad night.
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.
