Turnaround has been the theme of the last six weeks for the Houston Dynamo. The club’s won four of its last six games and is creeping towards the red line on the standings page.
The low point of that streak came three games ago when they were handed a sobering 3-0 defeat by the Columbus Crew. Two wins later and now the Ohio club will visit Houston five points ahead of them in fifth place and trying to extend their own move up the standings.
While the term "must-win" is rarely thrown around in Dynamo camp, with time and opportunity running out, responding against the Crew is imperative if Houston wants to continue their upward climb.
“We’re stepping on the field and we’re taking the mindset of absolutely having to walk away from these games with the full points,” team captain Brad Davis told the media Thursday. “When we were losing the teams in front of us were losing and now that we’re winning the teams in front of us are winning. This is definitely a game that’s very important to keep us tight. It’s not going to get us over the red line, but it’s going to keep us on the verge of doing that.”
Walking off the field in Columbus may not have instilled a sense of revenge in Houston as they look at the big picture but the loss certainly stung. It was a result that left the club to stew on wasted chances and breakdowns in the back dealing with a physical Crew forward line.
“As far as the motivating factor there’s two of them,” said head coach Dominic Kinnear. “Last time they played pretty well and we didn’t and secondly if you look at the standings we have a chance to get closer.”
The hiccup ultimately didn’t cost the Dynamo momentum. Houston bounced back the following week with a win at Sporting Kansas City and another over the Montreal Impact at home last week.
While the last match against Columbus was a setback, the club is approaching do-or-die situations. Few outside results have gone their way meaning wins, especially at home, are a must.
“Every game’s a playoff game and we can’t drop points at home from here on out,” said David Horst. “We’re at home, we’re making a push to the playoffs and it’s a six point swing if we win the game. That’s what matters in this game.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.
