New York could have enjoyed the same advantage as Salt Lake if it had held on to its one-goal lead at home to the Houston Dynamo Saturday in what Joshua Robinson describes as a "messy, physical game." Houston's late equalizer, though, means the Texan team would certainly argue that playing at home second is best. At this rate, psychological theory will soon be more important in soccer than kicking the ball.
"The disappointment is there for us, because we felt that we should have won it," said NY's goalscorer Juan Pablo Angel. "But it's a 180-minute game, and we've only played the first half." Contrast that with Dwayne de Rosario's confident attitude quoted in the Houston Chronicle : "Now all we have to do is go home and take care of business, and we're looking forward to it."
"We probably did just enough to have won the game against a very, very tough team," said New York Coach Juan Carlos Osorio. His goalkeeper Danny Cepero could do little about Kei Kamara's late goal. "It was just a big mess in front," Cepero said. "Next thing you know, the ball's shooting out. We were tremendously frustrated, and I think we still are." The score is level, but the momentum's with Houston.