Houston Dynamo assistant coach Wade Barrett said he was surprised his team's match with FC Dallas kicked off as planned on Thursday night in a torrential downpour.
The Texas Derby ended in a 1-1 draw, but the match was suspended after four minutes because of heavy rains. After a two-hour rain delay, play was resumed with Dallas taking the lead in the 29th minute on a Ryan Hollingshead goal.
Ricardo Clark tied it in the second half to earn the Dynamo a point, but Barrett said the delay made for less-than-ideal circumstances for both teams.
"It was difficult circumstances tonight," Barrett said on Friday. "Anytime you start a match and get four minutes in and have to reset, it's definitely difficult for the players to come out and adjust.
"But I thought our guys did an excellent job of handling that the best they could. It's not an easy thing to do."
Barrett, who was managing his second game following the departure of Owen Coyle last week, added that his biggest concerns were for the players and fans, calling the conditions at kick-off "not good" for anyone involved.
"At least nothing terrible happened in the first four minutes," he said.
Goalscorer Clark said he was screaming at referees ahead of the match and pleading with them not to play the game.
"It was a little bit dodgy at first," Clark said. "I remember screaming to the ref that it needs to just be postponed, because in the first three minutes, somebody could have gotten hurt.
"But the ref did a good job calling the game. We didn't need to be playing on that anyways."
After the prolonged break, players returned to the pitch to restart the match, but the effects of the long layoff were evident in the play of both teams.
"It's tough because there's a lot of obstacles when you have those circumstances," Clark said. "Obviously nutrition, hydration, stiffness is a factor.
"Maybe we came out a little bit slow, but the team showed good character and discipline to come back and keep our plan."
The game was the last for Major League Soccer for the next two weeks, with many of the league's players away for international duty at the Copa America. MLS returns to action on June 18.