Chivas midfielder Sergio Ávila holds of a Dynamo midfielder; Photo: Thomas Shea

By Andrew J. Ferraro / MLSnet.com

HOUSTON –- The Houston Dynamo will have to keep dreaming about what could have been in front of the fourth largest crowd ever at Robertson Stadium.

In a matter of eight minutes in the second half, Houston had three very good scoring chances. But after holding off a furious Dynamo attack, Chivas de Guadalajara scored the only goal of the game in the 71st minute for a 1-0 victory.

With their win against the defending MLS champions, thanks to Omar Arellano's second goal of SuperLiga 2008, Guadalajara improved to 2-0 in Group A.

Franco Caraccio, Brad Davis, Wade Barrett and Brian Mullan all had quality second half chances tossed away by Chivas goalkeeper Ernesto Michel in front of a crowd of 28,723.

And just like what has happened so many times before during league play, one defensive mistake cost them a chance to at least tie the match as Arellano became the game’s hero.

Defender Pat Ianni misplayed a ball near midfield and then could not catch up to Arellano who took the ball near the penalty arc and ran in all alone on Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad.

With one quick shot, Arellano beat Onstad just inside the near post, sending roughly half of the fans in the stadium into an elated celebration. On the other end of the field, Michel, easily the man of the match, could only smile with justified satisfaction.

Despite the loss, the Dynamo played quite well with three key players with injuries or suspension. Brian Ching missed a second straight game with an abdominal injury. Saturday’s hero with two goals against Atlante FC, Stuart Holden, was a late scratch due to a groin injury.

And newly named MLS All-Star Dwayne De Rosario was suspended after he was sent off in Saturday’s match.

With Mullan and Caraccio starting up front, the Dynamo used a 3-5-2 formation and limited Chivas to just a few scoring opportunities.

But Guadalajara converted the only one they needed giving them a perfect 2-0 record in advance of their match Saturday against Atlante. Houston will play D.C. United the same night at RFK Stadium.

Still nothing is yet decided in Group A. If Chivas defeat Atlante in Dallas, and D.C. United defeat Houston, then three teams (Atlante, D.C., Houston) will be tied for the second spot in the group with three points. But, if Atlante wins and Houston wins, then three teams will be tied atop the group with six points (Atlante, Chivas, Houston). In either case, the two qualifiers for the semifinals will come down to goal difference.

Even without their top three strikers, the Dynamo held their own in the first half. Chivas outshot the Dynamo 6-5 and had one more shot on goal, as ‘keepers Onstad and Michel kept the match scoreless after 45 minutes.

In the eighth minute, Brad Davis had the first real scoring chance of the game, when he settled the ball about 25 yards out and fired a bouncing shot toward Michel.

The Chivas 'keeper was steady and made the save, setting up a Ramon Morales shot less than a minute later. After taking an outlet pass, Morales flew down the far side and fired a shot from 20 yards out, just missing the far post.

Four minute later, Davis lost a small battle with the poorly conditioned field and turned the ball over. Arellano took control and ran toward Onstad with the ball and fired a good shot from 15 yards out that missed just high and wide.

In the 26th minute, it was Arellano again and the third generation Chivas player made a move on Bobby Boswell that nearly sent the Houston defender to the field.

Arellano worked his way around Boswell, and shot toward what looked like an open top half of the net. But Onstad timed it just right, and blocked the ball out of play with his hands.

In the 34th minute, Houston nearly took a 1-0 lead when he took control of a loose ball at the top of the box, but his ensuing shot was quickly smothered by Michel.

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Dynamo Trying to Regain Championship Form, by Andrew J. Ferraro / MLSnet.com Staff
Chivas On Top of Group Play, by Lucas Ogden-Davis / MLSnet.com Staff