After a weekend off and a chance to catch their breath, ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC still is trapped in a run of ties.
City SC played its seventh tie in 10 games this season, this time in a 0-0 tie with the Houston Dynamo on the road. Road ties are preferable to road losses, and this is the fourth road tie of the season for City SC in five road games. It was City SC's third shutout in its past four games, but two of them have been part of 0-0 ties. It was the fourth shutout of the season for Roman Burki, who made a season high 10 saves, and City SC.
At some point, City SC is going to have to start winning games if it’s going to move up in the Western Conference standings. City SC is unbeaten in its past four games, but has a win and three ties in that run. City SC has lost just one game, one of only two teams left in MLS with just one loss, but sits in ninth in the Western Conference.
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Had City SC had this result in their previous trip to Shell Energy Stadium this season, in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, it would have advanced it to the round of 16 of that tournament. This time, it got the team another point.
Even though Houston had a big edge in possession, it was City SC that did more with the ball when it had it. It was a throwback game for Klauss, who after scoring in the previous two games failed to finish a couple of good setups. Samuel Adeniran came on as a substitute in the 64th minute, his first appearance since April 6 after being left off the game roster the previous two games.
Burki had to make an acrobatic save on a shot from outside in the 83rd minute on what was Houston’s best chance of the night.
For Klauss, his most frustrating miss of the night came in the 56th minute, when Tomas Ostrak fed him the ball on a break in the box but he may have slipped as he ended up on his back and shot the ball well over the bar.
For the third time in the past four games, City SC couldn’t score in the first half, and it was also the third time in the past four games City SC hadn’t allowed a goal in the first half. City SC’s best chance came in the 25th minute when Tomas Totland took a pass from Klauss and was free on the right wing in the box but put his shot straight to goalkeeper Steve Clark.
Houston’s best chance came closer. Off a Houston corner kick in the 44th minute, Daniel Steres headed the ball on goal and struck the cross bar, with the ball bouncing away and Houston putting the rebound well off target. Burki had to make four saves in the first half, four more than he had to make in the previous two games combined.