Houston Dynamo and San Jose Earthquakes played out a goalless draw at Shell Energy Stadium on Sunday in the Major League Soccer Regular Season. The result keeps both sides in the top half of the table, though the gap between them remains noticeable. Houston sit second with 39 points from 22 games, while San Jose are fourth on 34.
The match had no goals, but there was a yellow card to San Jose's Reid Roberts in the 58th minute. Both managers made heavy use of their benches in the second half. Houston brought on Franço Negri at 61, Héctor Herrera at 75, and Felipe Andrade at 83. San Jose responded with Dave Romney, Paul Marie and Bo Leroux all on in the 73rd minute before adding three more changes at the break.
And here's the thing — San Jose had more of the ball, 58 per cent against 42, but Houston were the more direct side. The hosts registered 74 attacks to San Jose's 93, yet their expected goals figure of 0.7 was lower than the visitors' 1.33. San Jose managed four shots on target with an accuracy of 36 per cent, while Houston had none on target from six attempts off target. Both teams created just one or two big chances between them.
To be fair, the statistics show a match where chances were thin on the ground. Houston made 381 passes with 315 successful, while San Jose completed 466 of their 525. The hosts had seven corners to the visitors' four, but San Jose attempted 20 crosses compared to Houston's 12. Neither goalkeeper was called upon to make more than four saves — Houston's Jonathan Bond made four, while San Jose's Engliss Gunn had none to make.
By then it was clear enough what this result meant. Houston ground out a point against a side that had lost three of their last five matches, including a 5-1 defeat to Minnesota United. San Jose, meanwhile, remain four points behind second place and have not won in their last three outings. The line has barely moved for either team in the standings.
