Sporting Kansas City (55 points, 30 games) sits at the top of the Eastern Conference, followed by Chicago (53 points, 29 games), New York (50 points, 30 games), D.C. United (47 points, 29 games), and Houston (46 points, 30 games). The Columbus Crew (45 points, 30 games) sit just a point back from the final playoff spot.
The Dynamo had the opportunity to keep pace with D.C. United and take advantage of a struggling opponent. The Union came into the game winless in their last eight games, while only scoring four goals during that time. D.C. United will face off with Chivas USA later this evening and could widen the gap to four points with a win.
Philadelphia opened the scoring in the 28' when Freddy Adu fired a shot by Tally Hall. Kofi Sarkodie knocked the ball off Hall and it bounced back to Adu who took his time and found a spot with space.
Just minutes before the halfway mark, Boniek Garcia fired in a shot that ricocheted off the far post to even up the match. Will Bruin did a nice job of getting the ball to Garcia and Houston was quickly back in the game.
In the 50', Freddy Adu scored his second goal of the game after a penalty was award to the Union for a foul by Andre Hainualt. Adu was dangerous the entire game, but unfortunately for the Union, he left the game shortly after his second goal due to injury.
Houston pushed to even up the match, but Josue Martinez finished them off in the 70' with a goal to put Philadelphia up 3-1 and severely set back the Dynamo's playoff aspirations.
Houston will have three straight home games against New England, Montreal, and the Union again before finishing up with Colorado on the road. Typically those opponents would make most teams and fans happy, but it's the struggling teams Houston has not been able to close out this year.
Houston will need the fans to show up and sell out BBVA Compass Stadium for these last three games and give them the push they need to get to the playoffs. Even with this result, Houston's chances are still good to get in the playoffs, but probably not in the top three spots. Either way, the men in orange will need our help starting next week with New England. I hope to see you there.
As frustrating as the season has become, I hope Dynamo fans sell out these last 3 games and push the team to the playoffs. #DontGiveUp
— Ordinary Orange Fan (@OrangeFanBlog) September 23, 2012
Follow me on Twitter @OrangeFanBlog
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