Home not as sweet as usual
Streak snapped at 10 as Union pull away after Martinez’s exit
In a battle between two teams on the verge of conference playoff berths, the Philadelphia Union snapped Houston’s 10game home unbeaten run, seizing control after a series of suspect officiating calls mounted against the Dynamo in a 3-1 loss on Wednesday at BBVA Compass Stadium.
Arguably the biggest call came in the second half, when Dynamo midfielder Tómas Martinez was ejected following a red card.
With the game tied coming out of the locker room, Martinez moved to make his mark in the 47th minute, firing a shot from afar that curved, dipped then smacked off of the crossbar.
Six minutes later, it was Martinez again, ripping away from a defender and breaking downfield to distribute the ball to a streaking Alberth Elis, although the Honduran couldn’t get on top of it for a quality shot.
But Martinez was dismissed following a 59th minute red card after his legs became tangled with a Union player in the box during a Dynamo (7-7-6) attack. Officials cited the action as “serious foul play” that put Philadelphia’s player in danger, although the call initially confounded both sidelines.
“We came to play,” coach Wilmer Cabrera said. “But (Professional Referee Organization general manager) Howard Webb decided to put (in) a referee without experience and he killed the game.”
Philadelphia (8-10-3) was outshot despite more than doubling the Dynamo’s corner kick count — another point of frustration for Cabrera, who felt some were unwarranted. The Union capitalized on their advantage when Borek Dockal tallied his second assist of the game, finding striker Cory Burke, who captured the lead with his 70th minute goal.
“I haven’t seen anything like that in my life,” Cabrera said. “Tómas got a red card. Why? I don’t know … the game from the beginning was out of control.”
Houston began to pull control in their favor early in the match, more than tripling the Union’s shot output through the first third of the game and navigating a proactive defense to create chances for Mauro Manotas and Romell Quioto.
They broke through in the 11th minute.
Manotas flicked a pass to Óscar Boniek García a few yards from the top of the box before he fired it back to a charging Manotas, who tilted right and angled a shot into the opposite corner of the net past Andre Blake.
The Colombian has been particularly prolific in recent weeks, scoring eight goals through his last eight games in all competitions coming into Wednesday’s match. The goal, his 11th of the season, sets a personal single season high. It also inches him closer to Erick Torres’ team record of 14 goals set a year ago.
But in an inter-conference showdown that served as a potential preview for the U.S. Open Cup final in fall, the Union fought back.
Momentum shifted in the 34th minute, when Dockal recorded his eighth assist of the year by chipping the ball ahead to a seemingly offside Alejandro Bedoya. Bedoya, an American international, quickly lifted the ball over the hip of goalkeeper Joe Willis, who immediately jumped up to protest the goal, which was verified after a review to the 13,094-person crowd’s vocal displeasure.
Philadelphia’s Fabrice-Jean Picault upped the advantage in stoppage time, slotting a penalty kick before fans started heading for the exits.
With the loss, the Dynamo have earned just six points in their last six games thanks to a trio of ties, including a 1-1 draw with rival FC Dallas in their last contest. They’ll seek their second win in five games when they travel to Portland (8-3-7) to face the Timbers on Saturday.
“Right now it’s frustration, right now the guys are sad and upset … because we work hard every day,” Cabrera said. “But we have to have short memory and start a new day tomorrow.”