Dyna-sty!
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Congratulations to Dominic Kinnear and the rest of the Houston Dynamo as they won their second straight MLS Cup on Sunday. The Dynamo defeated the New England Revolution 2-1 in a wonderfully competitive match at RFK Stadium. This is only the second time in MLS history that a club has managed to complete back-to-back MLS Titles. The first club to achieve that lofty goal were D.C. United when they won consecutive title in 1996 and 1997.
As the old saying goes, "it really was a game of two halves." The first half saw the Revolution be the brighter of the two teams. The 5 man midfield for New England caused all sorts of problems for the Dynamo attack. Flanking runs by Khano Smith and the brilliant play of attacking midfielder Steve Ralston gave the Revs plenty to build from in the first half. Finally in the 20th minute Taylor Twellman headed home a perfectly placed Ralston cross thereby giving the Revs a much deserved 1-0 lead.
The second half was a different story. The Revs would pay even though they saw two early chances by Pat Noonan got begging, one being saved by Dynamo keeper Pat Onstad and the other going just wide of the post. The equalizer arrived in the 61st minute when a scrappy play in front of New England keeper Matt Reis fell to Houston's Joseph Ngwenya and the Zimbabwean slotted the ball under Reis and into the back of the net. After that it was Houston who had the better of the play. Khano Smith who was brilliant in the first half was lucky not to have been sent off after what looked like an almost Zinedine Zidane type of mental meltdown with an attempted headbutt of Houston's Craig Waibel. It was then left to Houston's talismanic midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, who has stepped forward so many times in the past, to provide the crowning moment of glory. With Houston's Brad Davis finding some space along the right side he placed a cross into the area which DeRo snap headed home giving the Dynamo the lead and sending their loyal following into a frenzy as orange smoke flairs erupted from the Dynamo supporters. The Revs did throw everything forward in a desparate attempt to find a tieing goal but a tremndously hard close range header by Jeff Larentowicz was spectacularly saved by Onstad thus preserving the Houston victory.
A thrilling final to a very entertaining MLS season indeed. The Cup MVP was awarded to Houston's De Rosario which was much deserved because he just got more and more dangerous as the match progressed. Next season we'll see if Houston can do a hat trick of titles. I am really looking forward to next season as the league continues to improve year after year. The league will also welcome the return of the San Jose Earthquakes in 2008 which is a bit ironic because the Dynamo had moved to Houston prior to the 2006 campaign, previously the club was known as.........San Jose Earthquakes.
