By IVES GALARCEP
The Houston Dynamo needed a win. After six matches without a victory, the Dynamo were at a point where anything but a win against lowly Chivas USA would signal serious alarm bells about the perennial playoff contender.
The Dynamo played like a team in dire need of a victory, jumping all over Chivas USA en route to a 4-1 victory at Stub Hub Center on Saturday night.
Giles Barnes scored two of the goals, while Will Bruin and Brad Davis provided first-half goals to erase an early Chivas USA lead.
The match actually started out well for Chivas USA, with Erick Torres opening the scoring just seven minutes into the match with a penalty kick drawn by Carlos Alvarez. The Goats wouldn’t hold the lead for long though, with Davis equalizing just five minutes later.
Barnes scored the first of his two goals on a beautiful surging run that culminated with a right-footed blast past back-up Chivas USA goalkeeper Tim Melia in the 32nd minute.
Things got worse for the Goats just before halftime as Will Bruin made the score 3-1 in first-half stoppage time to give Houston the momentum heading into second half.
The match effectively ended in the 69th minute when Bruin drew a penalty kick and red card on Melia after being taken down in the area. Barnes converted the spot kick to make the final score 4-1 and give the Dynamo their first win since March.
The loss extended Chivas USA’s winless streak to eight matches.
Here are the match highlights:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzBBMVSLay8]