The Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles Galaxy both had chances to take control of first place in the Western Conference, but neither could take advantage.
The Dynamo and Galaxy played to a scoreless draw on Sunday at Robertson Stadium in Houston.
Dynamo forward Brian Ching became the latest Houston player to earn a red card after being sent off in the 84th minute.
Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts made four saves for the shutout, while Pat Onstad made three saves.
The tie pushed LA and Houston into a three-way tie with Chivas USA for first place in the West.
What did you think of Sunday's match? Disappointed in the lack of goals? Impressed with Ricketts' performance? Surprised that Donovan couldn't deliver the game-winner?
Share your thoughts below.
Perhaps the average MLS player is the one needing protection from Beckham.
http://www.extrafootie.co.uk/news/article/30009/
Most admit Houston is a very physical, dirty team. They push the limits. Well, thats the MLS. So Beckham and the league has to risk itself against these tactics? do the people want to watch make a 60 yard pass or a clever short pass to landan? Or do we want to watch Clark tear someones ACL (as he is known to do? or watch Ching try to break Lowes legs? (as he is known to do) or watch Mullin/Davis/Mulrooney make a two-footed studs up “tackle”? they just dont get it. And fans wonder why: there is little to no soccer in the MLS. Here is your answer. Protect Blanco, Beckham, Landon, de Ro, F Jungberg, and you will get some. Otherwise, like watching lumberjacks
Per Garber and Sunil, Beckham has brought in tens of millions of $’s for the MLS. Who has sold out stadia in the MLS? Mulrooney? Clark? WHo is getting paychecks BECAUSE of Beckham? Most of the players. Players like Clark, Mullin, Marsch are eating because of the Beckham impact. several HUNDRED thousand extra tickets were sold because of the Becks project (ie to buy a ticket to the Beclham game, you had to buy tickets to 5 other regular season games). The signing of Becks meant that every American now knows about the MLS. Increased awareness for potential investors. Increased possibility of signing other major soccer stars to the league. News: the MLS is going nowhere with the likes of Clark (who injured one of the world most creative players Joe Cole when he tore his ACL), Mullin, Marsch, Olsen, Mulrooney, Davis. When Beckham is gone, ticket sales will decline make no mistake. 400,000 jerseys with the Beclham logo were sold in the US. more money for MLS, notoriety, publicity, etc.
Okay, Advocat, you are officially out of your mind. And writing sentences you no longer seem able to do. Seattle is in the league because of Beckham? Hello? Anybody home? You just keep topping yourself — each comment more idiotic than the one before.
The Seattle are Hollywood people who entered the league based upon MLS signing Beckham. The Beckham project has generated exposure and revenue far beyond the obvious. But the hate for a white prominent athlete inspires hatred by selective fans and envious players. If your idea of a soccer player is Vagenas, Marsch, Mulrooney, Nagamura, Olsen Mullin, Robinson,etc. then you should be happy with the current MLS quality. I am not.
Thanks, James, couldn’t have said it better myself. Between Advocat’s rant here and his racist comments on the u17 nat’l team thread, he’s given us enough evidence that he’s not only clueless but a bigot as well.a
advocat:
Since coming to Houston in 2006 the Dynamo have been known as a calm, measured, workman’s team (Columbus reminds me of them somewhat). They were known for holding possession, passing and control in the mid-field, and defending well. Our midfield is one of the deepest in the MLS with Davis questionably being the 4th Dynamo call-up potential to USMNT.
So I just don’t agree with you is all. Apparently recent history also agrees that Rico/Holden/Clark are exceptional given their national caps. So is everyone else wrong and you just have some magic vision that no one else possesses? Sure Ching isn’t the striker most people find exciting to watch, but I do appreciate his play.
If you are arguing that the Dynamo are more aggressive than they are technical, fine. But it appears to be working. If a foul is committed then by all means it should be called. If you say (and I believe that you are) that referees should “reward” the more technical approach to elevate the game then I disagree. The ref should call it as he sees it according to the rules.
I’ve heard opposing team player interviews (I have MLS Direct Kick too, who cares) when the players basically state that they expect physical play from Houston so before the match even starts they have a chip. When play starts you can see them amp’d up and whining about every hard and legitimate tackle. Surely the refs are aware — and yet they call it as they see it.
Becks raises attendance when he plays, sure — 50% of this season at one stadium (maybe) per week. I was there with my Canon DSLR on the third row getting pics of him. I felt like a tourist in my own seat. That said, overall MLS attendance is down and the only thing even keeping it close is Seattle/Toronto. LA’s attendance is the best overall but down 24% from last year. LA/NY/CHICAGO/Houston should be leading in attendance given the market size. I’d expect nothing less.
Houston’s attendance is admiral given where we play. When/if we get a new stadium I suspect it will increase and will remain in the top 4 and get closer to a larger-market team like LA. Houston’s attendance at playoff time I believe has set a number of records as having largest MLS game attendances — 4 out of 10 or so top attended MLS games are all Dynamo matches — all at Robertson Stadium.
Why all the hate?
Peace.
Also, I’m surprised by the lack of comments on how bad that field was. Why does the UofH football (pointy) team practice on it a few days before their tenant plays a game on it? They have practice fields. Neither team could trap the ball it was so bad.
Dynamo need a stadium.
Yeah! How dare Vagenas attack the bottom of Beck’s boot with his unexposed ankle! Ban him for life I say.
Becks is so clean there’s no way that a late tackle with studs on a players ankle while the ball is more than a few feet away could have initiated by Beckham. He’s the brand. It must have been Rico’s fault for tempting Beckham’s foot… yeah, that’s the only explanation that makes sense.
Clark has the reputation of a dirty, physical player with very very limited technical skills. Becks? the veritable opposite. It is sad that Becks has to protect himself from the likes of Clark, Vagenas, etc. Jesse Marsch produced a flying karate chop on Beckham in one of his first games. Marsch should have been banned for 10 games. Wonder why there is so little actual soccer in the MLS? When Houston can be so successful with brutal anti soccer technique, why change?
Where would this league be without Beckham? Attendance would be way down, less interest from new MLS investors, many fewer jerseys sold, tv revenue down, tv contract revenue lower, etc etc. Beckham offered the MLS to class up their league. But the lumberjack henchmen (Clark, Marsch,Davis, Mullan Mulrooney, Olsen Nagamura,etc) dominate. Becks made the one or two decent passes in the whole game. Clark made the same stupid MLS level movements. (And he will never learn anyway.) ask yourself, did this game encourage other class players come to the MLS? No way. There was essentially zero soccer in this game. It was 9 Dynamo players playing rough,physical waiting for a breakdown. No beauty to the game. And Ching and Clark act up against one of the iconic players in the game and the MLS? If I am Garber, I call Clark and Ching and clue them in: Becks brings in the money and MLS growth. To date,no one pays to watch Clark or Mulrooney or Davis. Why would you?
I have been following the league since inception. I have the Dirct Kick tv plan and rarely miss an MLS game. Houston is the most physical team in the league in the last 5 years. Barrett, Boswell, Clark, Davis, Mullan, Mulrroney, Waibel are the key lumberjacks on this squad. But the league lets them get away with it because the whole team is so physical. Ching should have been banned several games for his nasty attack on Lowe last month.
wtf, I understand your frustration, but the Dynamo/Galaxy match was full of attacking football, just unsuccessful attacking football…..there were great defensive plays on each side of the pitch. It’s not like the two teams were bunkering in….
advocat:
You need to pay more attention to the Dynamo. Yes, 30,000 for a regular season game is unusal, but yesterday was the first time in 3 years that Beckham actually flew to Houston and played in a game. Last year and the year before he was hurt and the game was in the summer. He didn’t want to endure the heat so he never even came to Houston.
Anyway, if you do a little research you will see that Houston is 4th in the league this season in attendance (17,000+ per game) without a soccer-specific stadium or Hollywood ownership. Pay attention to the playoffs; Robertson will be sold out every game.
As for the Dynamo being a dirty team, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Yes, the Dynamo are physical, but they do not take cheap shots like lots of other players and most of them are not floppers (Oduro and the departed Kamara being the exceptons). If you are not comfortable with physical play you probably ought to limit yourself to youth soccer.
i’m sick of these goddam scoreless draws! i propose a new rule: if a game ends scorless, no points for either team. a team should have to at least score a goal to get points from a game. a rule like this would encourage more attacking play. what do you think???
To add: I’m not defending Clark’s hand to the face, but you seem to be defending Beckham’s idiotic tackle. Who was the hack on that play? I used to be a Beckham fan, but now I just don’t care. When he’s good, he’s fun to watch, but yesterday he was no better than anyone else on the pitch, and it’s obvious he gets preferential treatment. I understood why he got that treatment a couple of years ago, and I accepted it. But no longer. The guy is an image obsessed opportunist who needs to shave.
advocat, your comments are clueless.
This is almost identical to what he did to Rico:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcrySgkbtm8
Beckham doesn’t even enjoy the Beckham project so why should we? He bails on his team for half a season for personal ambition? Call it what you want, Landon was right about him.
LA fans appear to be losing interest as well with attendance down from last year more than most teams. To say that every team is benefiting from his presence isn’t correct. Expansion franchises are lifting the sport’s overall numbers and besides the lone appearance that Beckham might or might not make at your team’s stadium, his effect isn’t far reaching. He didn’t help himself out with his AC Milan ambitions. It will happen again.
We all know Houston is a very physical, dirty team. You could randomly red card any Dynamo player in any match. They are allowed a lot of harsh play. Instead of protecting the more technical players and teams, they favor this team. This will not help the MLS. Clark, Mullan, Ching are some of the ditiest players. Ching nearly broke a Fire players leg last month (and he is a center forward?).
@advocat
You know why Rico didn’t get a card for that? Because around the world, Becks gets sent off for yet another late tackle from behind that is not even close to getting ball. Becks played the player.
But this is MLS, where the Beckham Project includes Becks getting special protection. Which I why I watched dumbfounded when Becks proceeded to go over to Ching, get in his face and yell at him, and not get a second yellow. Instead, Ching gets straight red.
So enjoy your Beckham project. I sure don’t.
Ricardo Clark pushed Beckham in the face with his hand. Thats a red card everywhere. But special rules for a hack like Clark. The hacks in the MLS (not limited to Jesee Marsch, Olsen, Clark, Vagenas, nagamura,etc) get more protection than the technical players who are needed to develop the MLS quality. Then Ching compounding the issue. Notice to Houston: the 30k fans in your stadium are courtesy of the beckham phenomenon. Your future earnings are courtesy of the Beckham project. but they dont get it. Hack away boys, its all your good for.
I was at the match and it was a beautiful day with a great crowd so all of MLS should be happy for that bit.
I am a Dynamo fan first and foremost but I enjoy watching Donovan, Beckham, Lewis, Buddle play. I can now add Ricketts to that list. He should be MVP candidate. I’ve watched him for the Galaxy a few times as well as for Jamaica. He is a class act!
The play was exceptionally chippy (even by MLS standards) and the ball was rarely settled on first touch and it drives me a little batty. I commented to my wife that it was like a kernel of corn popping.
Becks had a few on Rico and Holden had two swipes to the head with the last being the one that most people saw.
There is someone here who always says that Houston is dirty (and mentions Holden?) and they could not be more wrong. As others have said, Houston is aggressive – thinking about Mullan here – but it’s always in the spirit of a legitimate tackle for the ball. The Houston fans and organization don’t care for diving like that of Oduro and I hope that it stops. Kamara did it at times as well this year.
Anyway, call the game what it is — chippy with chances but exciting to watch.
Good luck to the Western Conference!
Take care,
James
Rico Clark thinks he’s a tough guy, and who knows, maybe he is, but I don’t think the time to prove how tough you are is after the whistle. Further evidence that American players don’t have a clue when it comes to discipline, fouls, and controlling emotions. Rico Clark is a walking red card in international circumstances.
0-0 = two good defenses. Very good game by two tough teams.
Ching jsut is not US quality when we play better teams. I saw Casey dribble the ball out of bounds with nobody marking him in the CC and even he did more than Ching when given another opppertunity. It is true that MLS play does not = USMNT play..see Twellman.
Dave, thanks. Precisely my point. What IS odd is that both Ching’s red cards have been this year. Leonardo may have a point. It’s beginning to seem like Ching is not out of the mix because of injuries, as I think Ives intimated in earlier notes leading up to the last two nat’l team matches, but perhaps because he’s simply out of the mix altogether.
Terrible game. No one was in control of anything. The ball went up and down the field without a purpose. I’m not surprised by the score.
The play of the game was the bicycle kick to prevent the ball from crossing the goal line, and I’m a galaxy fan.
Disappointed that we can’t get the shield, but if we win the MLS Cup I will get over it. 🙂
Ricketts easy MOTM. Referees around the MLS seem to protect Beckham. Any other player would have seen red after hacking Clark so many times. After Rico got fed up with it, then he baited Ching into retaliating. Becks is a punk a$$ b!tch. Hope these teams meet again in the playoffs.
Reffing was bad…not as much the head guy (although I’m not sure how he misses Kovolenko’s elbow to Holden’s face or doesn’t card Beckham earlier for repeated hard tackles…it should never have gotten to the dust-up point), but the linesmen were horrible. Watched the replay and there were 3 offsides calls on Houston where the guy was well onsides, and 2 of them would have been breakaway 1v1 with the goalie.
Murphy, did not say it was a bad challenge just that he made several of them on Clark all day and he finally had his fill of it. It happens. Just sad that Ching could not keep his head. As a Dynamo fan, the guys have to be smart and understand that the refs are looking for a reason right now.
I don’t think Houston’s the most dirtiest team, but Clark is definitely the most hottest head.
that wasn’t a bad challenge by beckham. he didn’t go in studs up or anything. can’t blame him for that. at least he’s playing hard and not mailing it in and collecting a big paycheck.
What too the ref so long to take out the cards? and kept calling bs offside.
Posted by: 3VIL L33T | October 18, 2009 at 10:57 PM
Completely agree. Ref let that game and the challenges get out of hand. I think if he would have set a tone earlier the challenges would not have gotten so bad.
“Dynamo forward Brian Ching became the latest Houston player to earn a red card after being sent off in the 84th minute.”
…I think this is actually Ching’s second red card
Frank, you mean Ching shouldn’t be on the team because he gets a red? do you know how many red cards he’s gotten in his entire career?
You’re a fool.
Sorry but the Dynamo are not dirty. They are an aggressive team. I think there has been a concious effort by the refs in their recent matches to calm that down, hence all the reds. Ching was given two yellows today in the matter of 5 minutes. Although the second yellow was the result of Beckham seeking him out after the altercation with Clark. Funny how they got the reaction and not the instigator. Clark had a legit beef with Beckham. He fouled him at least 5 or 6 times today and the ref pretty much turned a blind eye to it. Game was heated and well contested. However, both teams had clear looks on goal and were either foiled by good keepers or just blew the chance. Two best teams in the West IMO.
another reason why Ching should NOT! be on the USMNT.
what comes around goes around josue :)))
and whoops about the ‘more dirtier’, was in a rush before i went out
What too the ref so long to take out the cards? and kept calling bs offside.
0-0 = booooring
Brian Ching = fall from grace? what a rough, rough few months for that guy. lost his starting MNT spot and now a(nother) red…
about time houston starts getting some reds. one of the more dirtier teams in the league
looking at you too holden
Posted by: Chris | October 18, 2009 at 07:22 PM
More dirtier? Way to go genius. The Dynamo play a physical game, but they’re not dirty. In fact, they’re probably the best team in the league at not going down easily when they’re fouled.
I was there, believe me, NEITHER team was playing not to lose.
Thank you to both teams for giving the Sounders something to play for next week.
I stopped watching at halftime too boring, playing not to lose.
As a Crew fan who cares about the Shield, I love the draw as it knocks both teams out.
Still, a good match to watch, it wasn’t 0-0 for lack of trying.
about time houston starts getting some reds. one of the more dirtier teams in the league
looking at you too holden
Most exciting 0-0 draw I’ve seen in a while. Ricketts was amazing.
1st