A tough time in Houston for Union

BY KERITH GABRIEL and Daily News Staff Writer

Posted: July 03, 2012

THERE IS LITTLE time to think about the events that transpired in Houston on Saturday night as the Union hopped a flight to Los Angeles following a 2-1 loss to the Dynamo at the new BBVA Compass Stadium.

Thinking about all the missed opportunities and poor shooting can't be in the collective mind-set of a club that will visit the defending MLS champion Galaxy for a Wednesday showdown at the Home Depot Center (11 p.m., Comcast SportsNet).

Against the Dynamo, it took an 81st-minute miscue in the box from defender Gabriel Farfan for Houston (6-5-5, 23 points) to pick up its first regular-season win over Philly. Houston stalwart Brian Ching stepped up and buried a penalty kick past goalkeeper Zach MacMath, snapping a two-match winning streak in all competitions for the Union (3-9-2, 11 points).

As for Houston, it extended its unbeaten home streak to 15 games — a span of over a year and two stadiums since a 2-0 loss to Columbus in June 2011 at the University of Houston's Robertson Stadium.

"We are disappointed. We thought we at least deserved to get a point out of that," Union interim boss John Hackworth said. "We didn't particularly play our best, but we came out in the second half and got and equalizer and really, should have made the game, 2-1 [in the Union's favor]."

A reenergized Union side emerged from the halftime break, and just a minute into the second half midfielder Keon Daniel tied the match, using a nifty turn to create space and score from roughly 20 yards out.

"We played well, especially in the second half and things just didn't go our way," said Daniel.

Contact Kerith Gabriel at gabrielk@phillynews.com