Houston, TX – Brian Ching was a luxury off the bench for the Houston Dynamo on Saturday.
The Philadelphia Union wished he had stayed there.
Ching drew and converted a penalty kick in the 83rd minute as Houston beat the Philadelphia Union, 2-1, on Saturday to stay unbeaten at BBVA Compass Stadium.
Houston (6-5-5) won for the fourth time against two ties at its new stadium as it maintained fifth place in the MLS Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia (3-9-2) failed to build on a 4-0 win over Sporting Kansas City as it lost for the fifth time in eight road games this season.
Brad Davis put Houston in front in the 19th minute when he reached a pass from Macoumba Kandji and scored to the bottom-right corner.
Philadelphia answered in the first minute of the second half, as Brian Carroll set up Keon Daniel for a finish to the bottom-left corner.
Ching came on to replace nine-goal scorer Will Bruin in the 74th and was taken down in the area with just under 10 minutes remaining to win the penalty kick. He easily converted for his second goal this year to give Houston the win.
Houston hosts the Chicago Fire on Tuesday in its next match. Philadelphia will visit the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.