Revolution Vs. Dynamo Final: New England Fails To Spoil Houston's Playoff Hopes, Loses 2-0

Despite having the better of the chances in the first half, the New England Revolution switched off in the second half and conceded two late goals to go down 2-0 to the Houston Dynamo. Ricardo Clark scored his first goal since returning to the U.S. and Boniek Garcia added his second of the season.

The first half ended in a 0-0 deadlock, and although Houston enjoyed 69% of the possession, it was the Revs who had the majority of the chances. Darrius Barnes missed a sitter early on after Benny Feilhaber nearly put one in the upper 90 from a free kick, and Stephen McCarthy had a great chance to head in a set piece delivery later in the half but put it over the bar.

In the second half, though, it was a different story. Juan Toja entered in place of Clyde Simms, and the Revolution never looked the same. They conceded further possession to the Dynamo, but now Houston was able to do something with it, creating chances and putting shots on frame. Brad Davis put a header on frame in the 55th minute that Bobby Shuttleworth was well-positioned to save, before Jerry Bengtson wasted a great chance off a header in the 59th minute.

In the 77th, Brian Ching received the ball at the top of the box. He laid off to Davis on the right, who used his less-preferred right foot to drill in a cross for Clark at the near post. Clark flicked to the far post and off the woodwork to score, finally finding the breakthrough for the home side.

New England attempted to work their way back into the game but struggled to generate quality chances as Houston continued to smother the game. Then, in stoppage time, Boniek Garcia latched onto a cross at the far post and drilled home past Shuttleworth to stick a fork in the Revs' efforts.

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