The Houston Dynamo and LA Galaxy huffed and puffed under the hot Texas sun on Sunday, and it took an unsightly goal from Alan Gordon to decide matters.
On a day when the temperature climbed high enough above the 90-degree mark to necessitate in-game water breaks at BBVA Compass Stadium, rhythm and attacking quality was in short supply.
But the Galaxy's veteran target man got into the right place at the right time on his birthday to deflectDavid Horst's attempted clearance into the net, keeping LA on course to host a Knockout Round game in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs via possession of third place in the Western Conference.
Meanwhile, Houston's impressive fall resurgence under interim head coach Wade Barrett seems to have peaked, as the Dynamo could direct just two shots on target en route to their third straight home loss.
LA Galaxy Postgame Notes
LA Galaxy 1, Houston Dynamo 0
Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016
2016 MLS Regular Season
BBVA Compass Stadium – Houston, Tex.
Scoring Summary:
LA – Alan Gordon 72’
Misconduct Summary:
None
Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Brian Rowe; Robbie Rogers, A.J. DeLaGarza, Daniel Steres, Ashley Cole; Baggio Husidic, Sebastian Lletget (Jeff Larentowicz 78’); Landon Donovan (Mike Magee 63’), Giovani dos Santos, Emmanuel Boateng; Alan Gordon © (Ariel Lassiter 90’)
Substitutions not used: Dan Kennedy, Dave Romney, Rafael Garcia, Raul Mendiola.
Head Coach: Bruce Arena
SHOTS: 14; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; CORNERS: 9; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 2
Houston Dynamo: Joe Willis; David Horst (Will Bruin 78’), Jalil Anibaba, Keyner Brown, Abdoulie Mansally; Boniek Garcia ©, Yair Arboleda (Andrew Wenger 62’), Collen Warner (Ricardo Clark 62’), Cristian Maidana, Alex; Mauro Manotas.
Substitutions not used: Rob Lovejoy, Kevin Garcia, Calle Brown, Jose Escalante.
Head Coach: Wade Barrett
SHOTS: 9; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; CORNERS: 6; OFFSIDES: 4; SAVES: 4
Referee: Kevin Stott
Referee’s Assistants: Craig Lowry and Apolinar Mariscal
4th Official: Rubiel Vazquez
Attendance: 21,085
