By Beaker
The New England Revolution failed to win the Presidents MLS Cup for the third straight year (fourth since 2002) falling to the Houston Dynamo 2-1 before nearly 40 000 fans at RFK Memorial Stadium in Washington.
In what was expected to be a defensive affair, ended up more wide open as evidenced by Dynamo’s uncharacteristic decision to go from a 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2 in the late stages of the match.
The Revs to took a 1-0 lead into half time and had their chances to double their lead – once again proving that ball possession is sometimes over rated – but Dynamo striker and Canadian international Dwayne “De Ro” DeRosario headed home the winning goal for Houston after Joseph Ngwenya levelled the score in the 61st.
The comeback capped a spirited and entertaining second half that witnessed shoddy defensive play in spots, open play and a stunning point blank save by Dyanmo keeper Pat Onstad (another Canadian international) in the 87th minute off a Jeff Larentowicz shot.
It’s not like the Revolution weren’t without some luck. Khano Smith was fortunate for not being sent off for what amounted to a possibly dangerous head butt to a Dynamo defender Waibel following a fair – challenge – though Waibel did embellish a little.
For the Revolution this is an all too familiar bad broken record. While on one side they represented the continued success of Boston-based professional teams, the comparisons to the Buffalo Bills (hey, why do the Minnesota Vikings get a pass?) are now inevitable.
There is no Bambino curse on the Revolution. Last I checked, Babe Ruth played baseball and not soccer. The bottom line is that the Revs could not withstand the offensive prowess of the Dynamo.
That’s why the Houston Dyanmo are deserved champions for the second time in a row.
Scoring Line
NE: Twellman 20’
HOU: Ngwenya 61’, De Rosario 74’
Lineups
NE: Reis, Heaps, Parkhurst, John, Thompson, Larentowicz, Joseph, Smith, Ralston (Dorman 78’), Twellman, Noonan
HOU: Onstad, Waibel, Cochrane, Robinson, Barrett, Mullan, De Rosario, Mulrooney, Davis, Jaqua, Ngwenya (Holden 80’)
