Erick Torres got back to his scoring ways as he scored Houston’s only goal against Colorado in their last ame but the rest of the offense didn’t seem to be on the same page. The traveling woes continue for Houston as they still don’t have a win on the road. Coach Wilmer Cabrera still can’t seem to figure out what the issue is on the road. With the team like the Dynamo have they have to be a contender for the playoffs but they need to start picking it up away from Houston.
Montreal seem to have the same issue as the Dynamo as they have only had one win away from home. Houston is a tough place to win at as the Dynamo are almost perfect playing in their own backyard. Defense seems to be the issue in Montreal as teams score with ease at times but they proved themselves worthy in their last game as it was a solid shutout of DC United.
Houston’s lineup for this one was a little adjusted with Forward Alberth Elis and Forward Romell Quioto away for international play. Andrew Wenger played Midfield and Mauro Manotas in at Forward for the two stars in this one.
As the first half got under way, The Dynamo trotted right down the field and Midfielder Andrew Wenger scored the first goal of the game in the second minute of play. That goal marks Wengers first of the season. Forward Michael Salazar of the Impact was issued a yellow card early as Montreal started to set the pace. The Dynamo seemed to frustrate Montreal with their crisp passing down the field as they were not wasting any opportunities they had. As Montreal continued to play hard they still couldn’t quite get past Damarcus Beasley and the Dynamo defense. Once again, in the 12th minute of play Wenger had a close opportunity on goal that sailed right into the goalies hands. Forward Mauro Manotas had a beautiful drive down field in the 17th minute, speeding past the frail Montreal defense and it would eventually end up wasted. Montreal had their first real chance at goal in the 20th minute by Midfielder Hernan Bernardello but it sailed just right of the post. Just three minutes later Houston Midfielder Alex scored a grounder in the bottom corner for the second Houston goal of the game. Houston Midfielder Ricardo Clark was issued a yellow card in the 25th minute for a hard collision on the opponent. Houston quickly started to lose their groove as they started making worse passes and Montreal couldn’t quite take advantage as their offense still struggled to get inside the box. Cubo Torres had a quiet half but finally gets a shot off in the 30th minute that flies into the stands and one minute later misses a crucial rebound way to the right. Going into the 35th minute Montreal was having a very hard time keeping Houston out of their side of the field and they were starting to look like the Impact that we all know. 42 minutes in, it was all Houston and Montreal could not find an answer offensively or defensively. In the last minute of the first half, Montreal found some momentum and got a smooth drive down the field lead by Forward Michael Salazar that ended up just missing the edge of the post and that added to the first half struggles for Montreal. The first half ended with Houston dominating every aspect of the game and Coach Wilmer Cabrera had to be happy with the first half play of his club.
During halftime, the Dynamo honored Brad Davis in his retirement ceremony. Davis joins the likes of Tally Hall, Bryan Ching, Dwayne De Rosario, and many more great names in Dynamo history. Davis has scored 57 total career goals and over 120 assists in the MLS and he played almost 30,000 minutes of play in the league. Brad Davis is a legend for Houston and the sport of soccer. Davis reflected on his years saying “We had some amazing times”. Davis is now a part of a group of Houston legends that will always be remembered.
The second half gets underway and both teams went back and forth right away. In the 53rd minute Houston’s Mauro Manotas gets another drive that ends in a scary collision with Montreal Defender Kyle Fisher that was ruled a free kick for Montreal. In the 57th minute, Montreal makes a strategic substitution as they sub out Hassan Camara for number three Daniel Lovitz at Defender. Cubo Torres dove down the field in the 60th minute ended in yet another collision with Montreal’s goalie Evan Bush that was a controversial no call. Two minutes later Cubo was subbed out for number 18 Memo Rodriguez at Forward. In the 68th minute, Houston Forward Memo Rodriguez scored his first goal of the season. Memo’s goal made the score 3-0 for Houston. Damarcus Beasley shot just outside the post in the 71st minute that resulted in a corner kick. Montreal made another substitution in the 72nd minute and put in Nick DePuy and Midfielder Dominic Oduro was subbed out. Houston made another substitution in the 78th minute and they subbed out Andrew Wenger for number 23 Jose Escalante. Montreal’s Michael Salazar scored a goal in the 89th minute to make it a 3-1 game but it may have been too little too late. The game ends with a 3-1 Houston victory and the Dynamo improve to 8-7-4 and Montreal falls to 5-6-6.
Houston are home next against Portland on July 29th. Check out The Skyboat.com and The SkyBoat on twitter for updates on July 29th
