SuperLiga: Houston win, DC back in

There will be a Major League Soccer club in the final of SuperLiga 2007.

The MLS Cup defending champs Houston Dynamo advanced to the semi-finals, with a 1-0 win over DC United tonight. The Dynamo will face Group A runners-up Pachuca on August 14 at Robertson Stadium.

Morelia's loss in the late match also meant that, despite the loss, DC United will advance to play the Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center on August 15 in the other SuperLiga semi.

Both DC and Houston were sluggish throughout, showing the wear and tear of the string of matches each side has played, but unlike last night's goalfest, neither club seemed capable of a solid touch on the ball. The breakthrough came in the 50th minute, when a long goal kick by Zach Wells was flicked onto the path of Brian Ching, whose hard left-footed shot beat Troy Perkins easily.

United put both feet on the pedal, even bringing in Jaime Moreno, who hasn't seen action in five matches, in the 63rd minute, but they couldn't find a seem in the tightly packed Houston defense. Despite Christian Gomez's better run of play in SuperLiga, DC is still searching for an answer up top, as Ivory Coast youngster Guy-Roland Kpene (who has the ugliest hairdo in MLS) struggled to combine with teammates. Rod Dyachenko didn't fair much better and was substituted after only 35 minutes of work.

In the all-salsa showdown, Club America's Federico Insua broke a 2-2 deadlock in the 85th minute, halting a furious comeback by a 10-man Morelia. Down 1-0, Morelia's Mauricio Romero was sent of in the 54th minute for a foul in the box, and after Salvador Cabanas coonverted the PK, Morelia appeared doomed. But the 10-man Monarcas fought back with goals from Gonzalo Choy and Luis Landin, although ultimately it was not enough to keep them in the tournament.