After the Dynamo were faced with a 3-1 halftime deficit Wednesday night at home against Toronto FC, fans and media began calling the game the worst loss in franchise history. TFC had won just once in 11 games, had a new coach, and were on the road at BBVA Compass Stadium where the Dynamo have yet to lose. Enter Will Bruin. The second year forward from Indiana rescued a point with two late goals and saved the home team’s blushes. The team and fans have no time to rest though as they now head back to Canada for the second time this month to play the expansion Montreal Impact Saturday night.
After Danny Koevermans scored twice to give Toronto a 3-1 lead, things looked bleak for the Dynamo. After Bobby Boswell headed in a corner kick for the first goal of the night it was Bruin who took care of the final two. In the 73rd minute Geoff Cameron picked out Brad Davis streaking forward. Davis got into the box and laid the ball back for Bruin. The Dynamo leading scorer buried the shot to the top corner and gave Houston a pulse. Cameron was instrumental in the comeback as he moved into the midfield as the team switched to a 3-5-2 formation. Cameron was almost playing forward as the game began to die down. In the final minutes Cameron and rookie Brian Ownby began to connect on the right side and the rookie’s cross in the 90th minute was headed home by Bruin to tie the score and send BBVA Compass Stadium into a frenzy. The team pushed hard for a winner in stoppage time but settled for one point.
In the postgame I asked Will Bruin about the home crowd and how the team seemed to feed off them as they searched for the equalizer. Bruin said the crowd “inspired” the team, “still jumping and screaming in the 2nd half” and they didn’t want to let the fans down. The atmosphere in the new stadium is amazing and the crowd definitely helped the team earn the draw. With a lot of home matches coming up in the second half of the season, the Dynamo will have a hige advantage. With the crowd and the heat playing in the Dynamo’s favor they will look to pick up maximum points at home the remainder of the season.
The Dynamo now turn their attention to the Montreal Impact. The Impact will play the second game in the newly renovated Stade Saputo, their first being a 4-1 win over Western Conference contenders Seattle. The Dynamo will have to be on top of their game if they expect to get any points. Playing in the Dynamo’s favor is the fact that Montreal also played on Wednesday night, at Chivas USA. Two cross country flights in one week takes its toll and hopefully for the Dynamo this becomes an advantage.
Dynamo captain Brian Ching will return to face his former team, of a few months, and with all the turmoil surrounding his time their look for the Impact players to try and shut him down by all means necessary. Ching came on as a sub Wednesday night so I’d expect him to start Saturday night. If Bruin’s great run of form can rub off on Ching the Dynamo could run off a run of good results. Everything about this game screams 1-1 draw to me but if the Dynamo can keep it close, a late goal could be in the offering to gain a big 3 points on the road.
(image courtesy of Wilf Thorne/Houston Dynamo)
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