These 1-0 wins aren’t much fun to watch, but they sure do beat 0-0 ties.

SEATTLE — The dam didn’t exactly break, but there was enough of a crack for the Seattle Sounders to get their first goal — and win — at home in over a month. Albert Rusnák’s 67th minute goal snapped a home goal-less drought that had stretched out to 405 minutes, giving the Sounders a 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo.

Like they have in many of their recent games, the Sounders again started strong and created several good chances in the first half. It was not until Micael was shown two yellow cards in the span of 49 seconds to get ejected in the 61st minute that the Sounders could finally break through.

Nicolás Lodeiro played Léo Chu in behind with a nice first-time pass. Chú then cut it back through the penalty box — nutmegging a defender — and Rusnák ran onto it and finished smoothly with his left foot.

Up a man and a goal, the Sounders were mostly able to see out the final 23 minutes without much drama. But in the 93rd minute Brad Smith sent in a cross that found Thor Ulfarsson alone in the penalty area. His diving header went wide.

The win pulls the Sounders even on 32 points with LAFC for second in the Western Conference, albeit having played two more games. Both teams are three points behind St. Louis City.

Key moments

10 — Albert Rusnák gets the first decent look of the game when a ball falls kindly to him at the top of the penalty area, but his shot is right at Steve Clark.

25 — Dynamo get their first good look of the match when a corner kick falls to Corey Baird at the back post but his shot goes wide.

27 — Léo Chu gets free down the left wing when Nicolás Lodeiro plays him in only for the cross to be cut out.

38 — Raúl Ruidíaz gets onto a long throw-in the box but he can’t get his shot from six yards out on frame.

45+1 — Chú again gets free on the left wing and plays a cutback to Rusnák who can’t quite latch onto it and the ball goes out for a corner.

47 — A Cody Baker cross was cleared right to the feet of Lodeiro but his shot from about 6 yards out was blocked.

49 — Artur latched onto a shot from about 20 yards out that hits the crossbar.

61 — Micael picks up two yellow cards just 49 seconds apart and is ejected.

67 — GOAL! Albert Rusnák converts from about 8 yards out after Lodeiro played in Chú whose cutback pass was straight into Rusnák’s path. It ended a 405-minute home goal-less drought.

90+2 — Thor Ulfarsson somehow managed to find himself all alone in front of goal but his header goes wide.

Talking points

Finally, a goal: The Sounders’ home-goalless streak was well documented at this point and as it ticked past 400 minutes it was starting to feel like they might never score. But they did! The gates didn’t quite open after that, but you could see the team seeming to play a bit more freely and on another night they might have added another goal or two. Still, this is a concern. The Sounders have only scored 10 goals in their past 14 games and have only scored more than one goal in one of those. The good news is that they are still creating a fair number of chances, but the margins are just impossibly thin.

They really needed a win, too: As much as the Sounders needed a goal, they needed three points even more. They have now played 12 of their 17 home games and have collected 21 points. That puts them on pace for about 30 home points, which would be put them on pace for one of their lowest totals in a 34-game season. For all their troubles, though, they are still just three points out of first place in the Western Conference. If they can just be a little bit better at home, that remains very much within reach.

Another home shutout: For all the scoring struggles, the Sounders are registering clean sheets at a record pace. This was the Sounders’ 11th shutout overall and their ninth at home, which includes three straight. The MLS record for shutouts in a season is 16. That the Sounders achieved this with a backline that included Cody Baker and AB Cissoko is a testament to just how effective they are. They’re also averaging just .42 goals allowed per home match, which is the third lowest in MLS. This isn’t leading to a lot of entertaining matches, but it is reasonably effective.

Did you see that?!

He said what?!?

One stat to tell the tale

405 — The only time the Sounders had gone longer between home goals was in 2009 when they managed to play 468 minutes without a goal at home.