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Houston aims to start positive streak against Crew

Jun 17, 2011 - 7:12 PM Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Having snapped a seven-game winless streak last time out, the Houston Dynamo will try for a second successive victory at Robertson Stadium on Saturday against the visiting Columbus Crew.

The streak was the second-longest winless skid in club history, but after falling behind in the seventh minute against Chivas USA last Saturday, the Dynamo rallied for two goals to pull of the 2-1 win.

After the match, Houston coach Dominic Kinnear was relieved that his team finally broke the streak, and was pleased with the performance after halftime.

Brad Davis notched his league-leading ninth assist in the game, but Houston defender Eddie Robinson left with a knee injury after returning to the lineup for the first time in five games.

Robinson has started just twice this season for Houston, but the club should have Canada international defender Andre Hainault back to take his place after Canada was knocked out of the Gold Cup.

Striker Brian Ching also made his first appearance since May 4 as he came off the bench to play the final 20 minutes of Saturday's game in an effort to regain his fitness.

Crew striker Andres Mendoza made headlines for the wrong reason after taking and scoring a penalty kick in a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake on June 8.

The problem was that Jeff Cunningham could have moved into a tie on the all- time MLS scoring list had he taken the kick, and Mendoza issued an apology.

However, the Crew put together one of its worst performances of the season last time out in losing 1-0 to the Chicago Fire in a match that saw the club fail to register a shot on goal.

"Too many guys had a bad game today - too many at once, put it that way," Crew head coach Robert Warzycha said after the match. "Chicago was a team that wanted it more. When you have a combination of a team that wants it more and good players, obviously you're going to lose the game."

Inconsistency has been a problem for Columbus throughout the season, but Warzycha's attack could get better on Saturday if both Emilio Renteria and Tommy Heinemann return to the lineup after battling injuries.