The Houston Dynamo claimed a much-needed 2-0 MLS win at the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday.
Owen Coyle's men struck once in each half at Avaya Stadium, with Ricardo Clark and Will Bruin on the scoresheet.
It ended a run of three straight league games without a win for Houston, who climbed into eighth in the Western Conference.
With the win, the Dynamo closed to within a point of the seventh-placed Earthquakes, who suffered their third straight loss and have failed to score in each of those defeats.
Clark opened the scoring in the 10th minute for the visitors.
A fine team move led to DaMarcus Beasley feeding a pass to Alexander Lopez on the left, and the latter whipped in a cross for Clark to head in.
Victor Bernardez smashed an effort off the woodwork just after the half-hour mark as the Earthquakes were denied an equaliser.
And the Dynamo would seal their win in the 81st minute.
A counter-attack led to Leonel Miranda squaring for Bruin to tap in an easy goal and give the Dynamo a 2-0 win.
