Sunday, July 17, 2011

Last Road Game For A While

When the Houston Dynamo scored in the 8th minute, I had a feeling that it was going to be a long night. The team, however, responded well and did not concede again. The ball did find the back of the net again, but was ruled out for offside. It was a good call one of Houston's players was offside and interfered with Jimmy Nielsen's ability to make a play on the ball.

In the 51st minute, when Colin Clark went in on Aurelien Collin with studs showing, I thought it was certainly a yellow, but I wasn't really that surprised when Kevin Stott went with the straight red. It was, as mentioned on the broadcast, a "frustration" tackle and a "cynical" foul. It also presented SKC with an opportunity to get an equalizer.

Nineteen minutes later, when Brian Ching kicked Collin from behind (wonder what he did to earn that distinction), I would have been surprised if Ching HADN'T seen red. Ching had absolutely no way to get to the ball and deserved to be sent off. The 2nd red also removed any excuses SKC might have had for failing to equalize.

It seemed strangely appropriate that it was Collin that got the equalizer. With Dynamo fans booing him every time he touched the ball, it's almost as if they said it was his fault he was fouled by Clark and Ching. I can't even blame him for the yellow card for the celebration after the goal. I probably would have gotten carded too.

So, with the draw, the SKC unbeaten streak in MLS play runs to 11, the 2nd longest streak in the league this season. The team also continues its stingy defense and runs its streak of allowing 1 or 0 goals in a game to 12.

Next up for the men in Sporting Blue is an international friendly with Newcastle United of the EPL. It is the first of 10 straight games at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. A nice long winning streak would go a long way to helping people forget how bad the 10-match road trip was.

That's it for now. I'll have more tomorrow on the new acquisitions (Soony Saad, Deneil Cyrus and a major player to be announced later today). See you soon.

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