All New York has to do to progress to the Western Conference final is to win at the Houston Dynamo on Sunday. And, writes an optimistic Frank Giase, “it’s not as impossible as it may seem.”
True, Houston’s home form was the best in the regular season at 10-1-4, while New York had the least road wins with its 1-8-6 record. But considering how well New York played in the tied 1-1 first leg at the Meadowlands, especially in defense, “is a 1-0 victory really that impossible to achieve?”
“One goal,” says Giase. “A penalty kick… an own goal… a trademark Juan Pablo Angel free kick. That’s all it may take. And if the Red Bulls get that goal, they not only cancel out Houston’s road goal, but it puts the pressure on the Dynamo to score, which opens up their defense to counterattack.”
As they say in Scotland, it’s the hope that kills us.