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Ching brace sees Houston top Seattle

Ching - Getty

By CALEB SONNELAND

The Houston Dynamo ended Seattle's nine-game unbeaten run in MLS play Saturday night as the two sides slugged out a physical 3-1 Dynamo victory in Texas.

Coming off a red card suspension, Brian Ching notched a goal on either side of halftime to ensure three points for the Texas club for his second and third goal of the season.  Ching got his first in the 23rd minute when he directed a powerful header past Kasey Keller off a Geoff Cameron cross, and finished the game off with his second in the 70th when Colin Clark fizzed a low ball across the area for the striker to smash home.

"I thought Houston was better," said Sigi Schmid.  "Brian Ching showed his leadership abilities. I think he carried that team. He was the man of the match without a doubt."

Clark also had a night to remember as the 27-year-old opened scoring for the hosts early in the 7th minute when he drove a loose ball in the box past Keller before turning provider for Ching's second goal to polish off the result.

Seattle DP Alvaro Fernandez had temporarily gotten the visitors back into the game from the penalty spot in the first half after Fredy Montero was felled within the area by Corey Ashe.  Fernandez converted with ease, sending Tally Hall the wrong way for the midfielder's sixth goal of the season.

Despite looking like drawing level on a handful of occasions, the Dynamo held firm and saw out the 90 minutes.

"I’m really happy for the guys," said Dynamo manager Dominic Kinnear.  "I told them afterwards I think it’s the best we have played this year. Energy was good, enthusiasm was excellent, and we scored a couple good goals in the beginning of the game, which gave us some energy and confidence.

"We had some scary moments there, but, all and all, I thought we played very well tonight, and I’m happy for the guys.”

The loss marks the third straight for Seattle in all competitions, conceding 11 goals in three games.  The Sounders still sits third in the West.

Despite enduring May and June with just a lone win, Houston has eight points in its last five matches with two wins, two draws and a loss.  The club currently sits fifth in the East, level with Sporting Kansas City on points but a goal behind on goal difference.

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What did you think of the game?  How impressive was Ching's performance?  Is Seattle on a slide?  

Comments

  1. For Seattle: this is why mid season freindlies are stupid, a team that was on a roll is now out of rythm and dropping points in all competitions. well done management, hope the payday was worth it.

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  2. I don’t need to watch the replay… I was at the game and the incident I’m talking about happened about directly in front of my seat on the sideline.

    Fernandez got in Clark’s face after the ball went out of play, Clark checked over his shoulder to make sure the ref wasn’t looking, placed both hands on Fernandez’s chest and shoved him to the ground not 10 feet from the line judge.

    That said, Fernandez was flopping like a beached salmon and I’m glad Clark didn’t get ejected.

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  3. Was about to reply that Ching had previously struggled in international outings with speed of play…

    and then remembered that we took Edson Buddle and Robbie Findley instead. Insert foot into mouth.

    Great victory for the Dynamo, though it may be too little too late

    Reply
  4. It was a good call by the refs not to card/eject him. Clark put his hand on him and Fernandez flopped. Look at the replay, it is embarrassing for Fernandez. I hate flops like that and I wlould have given Fernandez the card.

    Overall it wasa a physical game that Seattle was not prepared to play. I think the ref allowed a contact game but was calling them the same on both sides of the ball.

    By the way, the refs are the refs (every league, every sport). If you don’t like them follow something like World Poker Challenge where there are not refs.

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  5. I was gonna say, this is like Ching’s final f-you to Bradley… I remember him playing pretty well after the initial snub. I would’ve liked to see the guy in SA, he’s a class act, and doesn’t deserve some of the abuse he gets from fans. “USA reject”? He deserved a whole lot more than that.

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  6. As usual, though, you could write a book about what the ref missed. I’m a Houston fan, but even I’m surprised Clark didn’t get ejected for shoving down Fernandez directly in front of the line judge while the ball was out of play.

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  7. Brian Ching is the man. Said he owed the team 2 pts after his red card and he sticks to his word. Still mad at Bob Bradley for not putting him on WC roster.

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  8. Yeah, it looked like 2 handballs on that 1st Houston goal and off side on their 3rd goal. That said, Seattle D looked aweful and they deserved to lose.

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  9. Very uninspired performance by the Sounders, they never looked into the game at all and just slept walked through the entire thing. The ref missed a clear handball on the first Houston goal but that really does not matter cause they were the much better team on the day and deserved the full points.

    Reply
  10. One of the better offensive performances by the Dynamo. Did really well with the ball when in possession and showed a lot of attacking options. I was impressed with Andrew Moffat’s striking ability, he hit a few balls from 25-30 yds out that had a bit of pace and were kept on target to force Keller into some saves.

    Reply

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