Dynamo Settle for Scoreless Draw With Minnesota as Olsen Is Sent Off

The Houston Dynamo and Minnesota United played to a 0-0 draw Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium, a scoreless finish to the Space City Night match the Dynamo entered with their playoff spot already secured. It was a point at home, but not the breakthrough Houston has been chasing - the Dynamo are still looking for their first win since September 9.

Minnesota had the better of the night by almost every measure except the one that counts. The Loons controlled the shots, the momentum and the pace, and Houston did not put a single shot on target in the first half. Kelvin Yeboah carried Minnesota's clearest chances: in the 50th minute he could not get a clean touch and goalkeeper Jonathan Bond jumped on the ball to kill the attack, and just past the hour he got another look at what looked like a probable goal and missed to the left. Not getting a clean chance proved to be the theme of Yeboah's whole night.

The match's sharpest moment came at the whistle for halftime. Dynamo manager Ben Olsen, booked in the 45th minute, was sent off immediately after touching the fourth official following the initial yellow card. Houston played the entire second half with its manager dismissed, in a match that had already turned chippy - Houston was booked for the first time nine minutes in, and twice more in a four-minute span near the half hour.

Houston's second-half adjustments pulled the momentum closer to the center without ever taking the match over. Minnesota manager Cameron Knowles turned to his bench - Marcus Caldeira in the 64th minute, Joaquin Pereyra and Michael Boxall about ten minutes later, Tomas Chancalay in the 90th - but none of the substitutes could break the deadlock either, and the match ended at the same scoreline it started with. For Minnesota, it was a first clean sheet since August 7 against Tigres in the Leagues Cup, earned on a night the Loons will feel they should have won.