The Houston Dynamo went into Wednesday night’s showdown vs. Sporting Kansas City knowing that holding their two-goal cushion wouldn’t be easy at LiveStrong Sporting Park, but some stout defending and poor finishing from KC helped the Dynamo do just that.
A Seth Sinovic header goal was the only score Sporting KC could put on the board as a night’s worth of domination wasn’t enough to erase Houston’s two goal lead. Sporting settled for a 1-0 victory, which wasn’t enough to help them avoid an abrupt elimination from the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Dynamo series victory means Houston will play in the Eastern Conference final against the winner of the New York Red Bulls-D.C. United semifinal, which will conclude tonight. The Dynamo will host the first leg of the East final on Sunday.
Houston escaped Kansas City with a series victory after defended with numbers for most of Wednesday night, a strategy that paid off on a night that saw Sporting KC miss chance after chance. Their attack was able to send in a plethora of passes into dangerous areas, but C.J. Sapong and Kei Kamara failed to find the net.
Graham Zusi enjoyed an outstanding night, sending in a steady stream of promising passes, but his teammates couldn’t convert those passes into goals, save for a Sinovic header off a perfect Zusi cross.
Sporting KC looked like they might find a late equalizer, but missed on a handful of chances, and they had a penalty appeal denied after Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark appeared to take down Chance Myers in the penalty area.
Here are the match highlights:
What did you think of the match? Impressed with Houston’s ability to protect a two-goal lead? Disappointed in Sporting KC’s finishing? Think the Dynamo can win the Eastern Conference final?
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