If Saturday’s draw proved anything for the Houston Dynamo it was that the time for sharing points has come to a close. The scoreless affair with the Philadelphia Union claimed a point but other results cost the club two points in the playoff race.
Now seven points back with six games left, including a game in hand on five of the six teams ahead of them, the draw showed that for the club to make a fourth consecutive playoff appearance they’ll need to take the full reward.
“I think it’s going to take a winning streak,” head coach Dominic Kinnear said after Saturday’s draw. “Everyone’s playing each other here at the end. Our best opportunity to catch Philadelphia was to beat them head to head because you can’t have your reliance on other teams.
“For us to make the playoffs with six games to go they’re going to have to go on a winning streak here. It gives confidence and puts pressure on others.”
The Dynamo have been somewhat of magic men in their history. The club seems adept at conjuring late season runs to secure or improve playoff positioning.
A winless stretch over the summer months, however, has put the team behind the eight ball. Between May 17 and Aug. 3, Houston went winless in eight games as injuries and the World Cup break decimated their roster, their defense struggled and their attack went missing. In that span they were outscored 21 to six and fell out of the race.
The team has battled back since — pulling 14 points out of the last eight games — but other teams getting the wins they need means the eighth playoff appearance in nine years won’t be achieved through draws.
“There’s still 18 points up for grabs. There are still plenty of points out there,” said rookie defender AJ Cochran. “We’ve just got to stay together as a team, work hard and the points will come.”
With wins at a higher premium than at any point in the season, the club’s injury report is not helping things. The Dynamo had seven players miss the game against the Union; five of those have played at least 1,800 minutes this season. While they usually deflect the impact of not having players, it’s hard to ignore the impact it has as the club pushes for the postseason.
“You always say it’s not respectful to talk about the guys that aren’t here, but we are missing quite a few players here,” Kinnear said. “We’ve done that a good part of the year, as has every team. But I look at the injury report and see Philadelphia has none and ours almost outweighs our starting 11 — it's cause for concern.”
Regardless of who is on the field, the club’s situation is crystal clear. Wins will get them there. Too many more draws and they’ll be in the unique position of looking to next year.
“You keep looking up and we’ve got a game in hand on some teams,” said Giles Barnes. “You win that and we’re two points ahead. As long as we keep winning and collecting points we’re here to the end of the season.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.
