Obafemi Martins scored the only goal of the game to fire the 10-man Seattle Sounders to a 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo in the MLS.

The visitors came close to taking the lead when Ricardo Clark surged through on goal, but Stefan Frei rushed out of his net to make a crucial tackle and deny the midfielder.

Seattle took the lead in the 39th minute when Clint Dempsey released the run of Martins, who span around his marker before firing an effort past Tyler Deric and into the net.

In the second half, the Sounders were reduced to 10 men as Gonzalo Pineda was given a straight red card for a high boot which caught the chest of Clark.

Houston almost got back on level terms when Nathan Sturgis collected the ball just outside the box, but his stinging effort drifted just past the post.

The home side nearly got a crucial second goal as Osvaldo Alonso raided the length of the pitch with a mazy run before firing a low shot at goal, but Deric kept his team in the game with a fine save.

The Dynamo upped the ante late in the match, but they were unable to find the breakthrough as the Sounders held out for three points.