HOUSTON -- During his postgame interview, just minutes after his team beat the Columbus Crew 2-0 at Robertson Stadium, Houston Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear quipped that the MLS schedule maker must not have thought his team had a chance to make the SuperLiga 2008 final.
No way would they schedule a game in Houston during the hottest month of the year just days before the final match of the second-year tournament.
Maybe he was kidding, maybe he wasn't. No matter the sentiment, Kinnear and his team are on a roll. They have won four consecutive matches overall and are 2-0 in league play in the middle of SuperLiga 2008 play.
Brad Davis and Brian Ching scored goals in the first half, and even though the team was outshot 12-6, they limited the Crew's quality chances to fewer than five and took advantage of a hot and steamy night to inch three points closer to Real Salt Lake.
"I think we played a real good game tonight, even thought the heat and all the games we have played recently, kind of caught up with us at the end there," Kinnear said. "But we scored a couple of good goals, and Brad's first goal was really excellent, and that was really enough for us.
"They had a couple of really good chances in the second half, but Pat (Onstad) came up with two big saves when he had to and we held them off from there."
Guillermo Barros Schelotto had three shots for the Crew, and former Dynamo player Alejandro Moreno had a goal taken away when Onstad dove to his right and made a key save in the 60th minute.
Since losing 2-1 at San Jose on May 22, the Dynamo have been one of the best teams in Major League Soccer. The team called that loss in northern California their worst of the season, and since then they have turned things around since.
They have played nine league matches since then and they have earned points in eight of them (4-1-4).
Ching, who effectively clinched Saturday's win his eighth goal of the season in the 43rd minute, said the last six weeks have been fun again for a team that, like last year, struggled to win and play well as a team early in the year.
"It seems like this is a long time coming, but hopefully we can continue to play this well for the rest of the season," said Ching. "Right now, we can enjoy this, but we have another big game coming up Tuesday and that will be a chance for us to win another final."
Ching, who played forward with newly acquired Nate Jaqua, said the friendly competition between the two players up front will be fun for both of them as the two look to recapture some of the magic from a year ago.
Jaqua assisted on Ching's goal and was arguably the best player on the field for the Orange on Saturday.
"He is a great offensive player and he is going to get his share of the balls. That will help take some of the pressure off me," Ching added. "I just try to play off of him and tonight we did well, and I thought we played well the last game (vs. Pachuca last Tuesday). Hopefully we can keep this going."
Davis was had an incredible game for the Dynamo, who will not play another MLS match until Aug. 16. Davis was taken out of the game in the second half of the 2-0 win against Pachuca and admitted he did not play well against the team's biggest international rival.
But his goal in just the 13th minute was a springboard for the Dynamo, who remain undefeated when they score the first goal of the match.
"It felt really good to get that first one tonight," Davis said. "I will be the first one to admit when I struggle in a game, and last week was not a good game for me. I struggled with how I played. It was very frustrating.
"It was good to be able to come out tonight and contribute with a goal. That was a great pass from Brian (Mullan) and the team got three points. That is the most important thing right now. I have had some chances recently with posts and crossbars, but it went my tonight."
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