GAME NIGHT:
DYNAMO 1, FIRE 1
Resiliency is becoming the dominant trait of the 2011 Houston Dynamo.
For the second straight week, the Dynamo used some late magic to generate a result-saving goal, this time pulling out a 1-1 draw against the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park on Saturday night.
The match started the way the Dynamo expected: Chicago went forward hard in search of goals that would end its three-game losing streak. Houston weathered the storm until the 18th minute, when it conceded a goal to Diego Cháves.
Still down by one with 20 minutes left to play, the Dynamo felt the pressure and surged forward, putting forth a strong rally that yielded Bobby Boswell’s game-tying goal in the 83rd minute, when he rose above a crowd to nod home a Brad Davis corner kick.
[inline_node:310477]“We knew they were going to come out hard because, in all the games they’ve played, they’ve come out pretty hard,” Boswell said. “Once the game slowed down, we adjusted to the field. I think we were all over them, and fortunately we got the goal at the end of the match.”
Boswell’s goal was his second on the year – the center back scored the game winner against Vancouver in the 42nd minute two weeks ago – and marked the second week in a row that a Dynamo defender has come through on a corner kick after the 80th minute.
“We always want the center backs to attack the ball,” said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. “The big center guys – Bobby and Andre [Hainault] – were coming forward, and Bobby’s scored a couple goals and seems to pop up in the right place. Brad put the ball in the right place, and Bobby is attacking it, and it’s a great goal.”
After weathering the early storm and dominating the final stages of the match, the Dynamo leave Chicago feeling good about getting a result on the road and especially about their ability to raise their level of play at a crucial moment in the match.
“To fight back the way we did, especially coming out in the second half, I think we definitely had the better of the play,” said Davis. “I feel like we could have even won that game if we pushed really hard. We gave them a couple of opportunities and they scored on [one of] them, and that’s disappointing, but to keep pushing and get a goal and get the point is fantastic.”
The draw on the road – the Dynamo’s third straight – extended the team’s unbeaten streak to five games and its road unbeaten streak to six games, going back to last September.
“We’re happy with the result today. Any time [we] get a [road] point, we’ll take it,” said Boswell.
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on twitter at @Dynamoexaminer.
