Toronto FC fall to 10-man Houston Dynamo

Toronto, ON - Giles Barnes' first-half tally held up as the winner on Wednesday as the 10-man Houston Dynamo held on for a nervy 1-0 victory over Toronto FC at BMO Field.

Both teams entered the match in desperate need of three points to keep their playoff hopes alive as the regular season draws to a close, and it was Barnes' goal 10 minutes before the intermission that lifted Houston to the win.

The result takes Houston to 39 points with three games remaining in the season, four points behind Columbus for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

A win for Toronto would have taken the club level on points with the Crew, but the defeat sees the Reds remain on the outside looking in despite creating several quality scoring chances.

Jermain Defoe got the starting nod up top after missing several games with a groin injury and made his presence felt in the 23rd minute when he got behind the Houston defense, but was closed down nicely by Houston goalkeeper Tyler Deric.

The game's only goal came in the 35th minute when Giles Barnes outmuscled Toronto defender Nick Hagglund for an aerial ball on the right side of the field and fired it between the legs of TFC goalkeeper Joe Bendik.

Things became more intense in the 54th minute when Dynamo defender AJ Cochran was whistled for a foul in the box and shown a straight red card for denial of goal scoring opportunity, which also resulted in a penalty kick for the home side.

Defoe stepped to the spot looking for an equalizer, but his strike to the bottom left corner was expertly saved by Deric on the dive.

Given the physical nature of the second half, TFC was thrown a bit of life line when the fourth official's board showed seven minutes of added time. but the equalizing goal never came and Houston held on to claim all three points.