Second-half substitute Dwayne De Rosario rescued the Houston Dynamo with a 25-yard rocket in the 88th minute to lift the Houston Dynamo to a dramatic 2-1 win over Panamanian champion San Francisco F.C. Tuesday night, their seventh consecutive home win.
The Dynamo moved into a first-place tie in Group B with Mexican club Pumas UNAM; both teams have five points with a 1-0-2 record. San Francisco F.C. dropped to 0-2-2. Pumas UNAM and Luis Angel Firpo meet on Thursday night in San Salvador, El Salvador. The Dynamo host Pumas on October 22.
Dynamo forward Chris Wondolowski opened the scoring in the 13th minute, heading in a cross from midfielder Corey Ashe. It was Wondolowski’s second goal of the season (the first came in CONCACAF Champions Cup play against CSD Municipal on March 19) and sixth of his three-year career with the Dynamo (in 48 games, 15 starts). Ashe now has one goal and three assists in 15 international games with the Dynamo over the last two seasons.
San Francisco F.C. tied the match just after halftime when Temistocles Perez latched onto a long ball and chipped Dynamo goalkeeper Tony Caig from 35 yards away.
Dwayne De Rosario entered in the 78th minute and decided the game 10 minutes later, stealing the ball in the midfield, stepping up to the top of the box, and blasting a 25-yard shot into the right side of the net. It was De Rosario’s fifth goal in 19 international games for the Dynamo, the most international goals for any Dynamo player.
The Dynamo played in their first home game since September 7; two games since then have been postponed due to Hurricane Ike. The Dynamo have now won seven consecutive home games since a 1-0 loss to Chivas de Guadalajara on July 15. In that stretch, Houston has outscored the opposition 19-6.
Houston defender Mike Chabala made his first career start in a non-U.S. Open Cup match and only his fourth total appearance for Houston, including two Open Cup appearances.
San Francisco F.C. (0-2-2) vs. Houston Dynamo (1-0-2)
October 07, 2008 – Robertson Stadium, Houston TX
2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League -- Group B
Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Chris Wondolowski 1 (Corey Ashe 2) 13
SFFC -- Temistocles Perez 2 (unassisted) 47
HOU -- Dwayne De Rosario 1 (unassisted) 88
San Francisco F.C. -- Carlos Valdes, Rolando Algandona, Deivis Granados (Santiago De Alba 62), Carlos Rivera, Temistocles Perez (Wess Torres 84), Juan Solis (Angel Lombardo 78), Manuel Torres, Eduardo Jimenez, Antonio Ortega, Alberto Zapata, Alberto Blanco.
Substitutes Not Used: Boris Alfaro, Giovanni Gutierrez, Miguel Olivares, Victor Suarez.
Houston Dynamo -- Tony Caig, Mike Chabala, Bobby Boswell, Patrick Ianni, Wade Barrett, Brian Mullan (Kyle Brown 56), Ricardo Clark (Richard Mulrooney 46), Stuart Holden, Corey Ashe, Chris Wondolowski, Nate Jaqua (Dwayne De Rosario 78).
Substitutes Not Used: Pat Onstad, John Michael Hayden, Guy-Roland Kpene, Eddie Robinson.
Misconduct Summary:
SFFC -- Manuel Torres (caution; Dissent) 60
HOU -- Richard Mulrooney (caution; Reckless Tackle) 74
SFFC -- Wess Torres (caution; Reckless Foul) 91+
SFFC -- Angel Lombardo (caution; Reckless Foul) 92+
gameSumLabel">Referee: Benito Archundia (MEX)
gameSumLabel">Referee's Assistants: Hector Delgadillo (MEX); Marvin Torrentera (MEX)
gameSumLabel">4th Official: Jair Marrufo (USA)
gameSumLabel">Attendance: 4,178
Weather: Clear-and-75 degrees
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
