The Houston Dynamo played nearly two-thirds of the match with a man advantage and cruised to a 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday night. Luis Ángel Landín had a goal and an assist, Brian Mullan scored, and Dominic Oduro assisted twice. Rookie Sammy Appiah also netted on his professional debut.
Houston, however, should have been down a goal early when the Wizards’ Kei Kamara went one-on-one with ’keeper Pat Onstad, but the former Dynamo forward could only hit the side netting.
In the 24th minute, Houston broke on a counterattack and got the early lead. Two Wizards defenders collided, leaving Dominic Oduro with the ball. Oduro drove in on goal and dropped the ball into the path of Landín, who lifted his shot over Wizards ‘keeper Jimmy Nielsen from a tight angle.
In the 30th minute, a red card to Wizards midfielder Davy Arnaud provided Houston with a man advantage. The Texas native raced for a loose ball that was headed for Onstad. However, the Houston ’keeper was first to it and Arnaud made contact with Onstad’s hand. Referee Terry Vaughn erred on the side of protecting the goalkeeper and immediately gave Arnaud a red.
With the man advantage, Houston continued to press the attack through the remainder of the first half and into the second. Landín earned a turnover and immediately released the ball wide to Brian Mullan, who ripped his shot from just inside the box and into the net to give the Dynamo a 2-0 lead.
Houston relentlessly continued the pressure, and in the 59th minute Oduro and Landín each had an opportunity to extend the lead, but Oduro was denied by the post and Landín by Nielsen.
In the 70th minute Landín suffered a hard foul and had to exit with a left ankle injury. He was replaced by midfielder Sammy Appiah, who was making his professional debut. The rookie midfielder iced the game for the Dynamo in the 88th minute when he collected Oduro’s assist and placed his shot perfectly inside the post.
Wizards fall to Dynamo 3-0
