HOUSTON -- Thanks to a relentless second half and perfect scoring play by Stuart Holden, Geoff Cameron and Brian Ching, the Houston Dynamo are back to .500.
After an almost hypnotic first half, the Dynamo came to life with one scoring chance after another and finally converted in the 68th minute as Ching gave Houston all the offense it would need in a 1-0 win against the New York Red Bulls.
Stuart Holden got the play started and fed Cameron, whose perfect pass found Ching who was alone in the box. Ching deflected the pass by a stunned Jon Conway and the Dynamo, who have won three of their last five, held on for their second consecutive win at home.
Tony Caig made three saves starting in place of Pat Onstad, who is with the Canadian national team for a friendly against Brazil in Seattle. Caig was hardly challenged, but he played well enough to earn his first MLS win and second shutout.
The Dynamo played without other key players, and used a solid team effort to fill in the gaps for the team's third win of the season.
Dwayne De Rosario joined Onstad in Seattle and Eddie Robinson was suspended after being sent off Wednesday night in a 2-2 tie at FC Dallas. In addition, team captain and defender Wade Barrett missed the game with a right adductor strain.
The Red Bulls were also missing key performers, and with regulars out for both teams, the first 45 minutes of static soccer reflected just that. Juan Pablo Angel was not with New York, apparently too ill to travel, forcing the Red Bulls into a more defensive mindset from the get-go.
New York had a single scoring chance in the first 45 minutes and the Dynamo had two, although one of them was correctly called offside. Over the course of the 90 minutes, the Dynamo saw the flag raised for offside on nine occasions, seven coming in the first half.
In the 15th minute, former Dynamo player Kevin Goldthwaite made a great defensive play to keep the visitors from falling behind early. Holden settled a pass from Ching, but just as Holden turned to the net, Goldthwaite slipped underneath and pushed the ball out of harm's way.
Less than two minutes later, Jozy Altidore took a floating pass from Seth Stammler and hammered New York's first shot on goal, but Caig, playing in his first match since April 19 at Los Angeles, got a hand on it to make the save.
Ricardo Clark settled the rebound and cleared the ball out of harm's way, putting an end to the Red Bulls' only threat of the first half.
The Red Bulls outshot the Dynamo 3-2 in the first half and had the only shot on goal, which Caig stopped.
Referee Andrew Chapin only handed out one card in the opening 47 minutes, pulling out a yellow for John Wolyniec who was cited for tackling from behind.
New York midfielder Luke Sassano forced another change out of coach Juan Carlos Osorio when he left the game in the 44th minute with a left toe injury and is listed as day-to-day. Sassano was replaced by Sinisa Ubiparipovic. After the break, the Dynamo burst into life, with three good chances in short order.
A bicycle kick shot by Holden missed just high over the crossbar in the 60th minute and Ching had a point-blank header stopped by Conway four minutes later.
In the 66th minute, the Dynamo had a 2-on-1 and Brian Mullan found Ching, who had another point-blank shot stopped by Conway.
Ching then made sure he took his next opportunity to give the Dynamo the only chance they needed, and they salted the rest of the game away to ensure the victory.
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