Breakfast Links - April 24, 2023
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
Good morning, everyone! Hope you all had an incredible weekend. Let’s talk some soccer with your links this morning.
Houston
It was mixed results for the Houston teams this weekend. Let’s kick off with the Dynamo, who were the only winners. The Dynamo beat Inter Miami 1-0 with the winner coming from Daniel Steres. Once again, the Dynamo got a home win coming off a great defensive performance and great performance in goal from Steve Clark. The Dynamo will now prepare for Wednesday’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup game against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The Dash opened the weekend traveling to Washington to play the Spirit. It was another difficult road game and another 0-0 draw for the Dash. The game ended up scoreless, with lots of chances for the Dash being missed. A player of the match performance from Allysha Chapman saw the Spirit kept somewhat quiet compared to their usual standard. The Dash will host the North Carolina Courage on Friday night. With no Dynamo game this weekend there’s no excuse to not come out and support the Dash Friday!
On Sunday night, Dynamo 2 hosted the Tacoma Defiance and lost 2-1. Dos played a solid first half and opened the second half incredibly strong. Nelson Quinones played a great game, constantly running at defenders and making things happen. Houston got their goal through a Beto Avilla penalty early in the second half. Isaiah LeFlore then gave away a penalty and received a red card to turn the game in favor of Tacoma. Tacoma went on to score the winner right at the end of the game to end a disappointing night for Dos. Dynamo 2 will travel to Kansas City next Sunday.
MLS/NWSL
This week in MLS we saw some massive results for some of the struggling clubs this season. In the Eastern Conference, we saw D.C. United, Charlotte, and Montreal pick up big wins to put them back in positions to fight for playoffs. D.C. United traveled to Orlando to beat them 3-1 off goals from Taxi Fountas, Donovan Pines, and Christian Benteke. Charlotte beat the hot Columbus Crew 1-0 via a Karol Swiderski goal. Montreal got their second win, beating the Red Bulls through an own goal and Mathieu Choiniere goal.
Two of the struggling teams in the west faced off with the LA Galaxy hosting Austin FC. Both teams were good playoff teams last season, but both have been well below the playoff line this season. The Galaxy, hunting for their first win of the season, came out strong playing their best game of the year, so far. Chicharito popped up with a goal out of nothing in typical Chicharito style and Riqui Puig came up with the second goal ten minutes later. Austin never seemed to get much going and their winless run continues.
The game of the weekend in NWSL came in Seattle as OL Reign hosted the Chicago Red Stars. Seven goals were scored in this game as it was a very exciting game. The Reign scored three goals in the first half to establish a two goal advantage. The Red Stars scored early in the second with an Allyson Schlegel goal. OL Reign then turned it on with a Megan Rapinoe goal and then another Jessica Fishlock goal to finish off the game, winning 5-2. OL Reign now sit second in the league on nine points.
Around the World
Borussia Dortmund has now claimed top spot in the Bundesliga after thrashing Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0. Earlier in the day, Bayern already lost to Mainz, on the road, creating an incredible opportunity for Dortmund to take top spot. They took that opportunity through an incredible performance by Donyell Malen, who is finally hitting some great form. With just five games left in the season, the race is entirely in Dortmund’s hands.
Tottenham traveled to Newcastle to battle them for a place in the top four. They did not do much battling as they saw themselves down 5-0 within the first 21 minutes of the game. This is now Spurs’ second loss in a row, making the possibility of them finishing in the top four look very bleak. As for Newcastle, they now sit very comfortably in the top 4 with seven games to go.
As it is now looking like Feyenoord are going to walk away with the Eredivisie title, the battle for the second Champions League place heats up. PSV and Ajax came into the week tied on points with Ajax ahead on goal difference. The two teams played each other with PSV destroying Ajax 3-0. Two goals from Luuk de Jong and a goal from Xavi Simons saw them jump over Ajax to second in the table. AZ Alkmaar also had a 3-0 win to give them an outside chance of finishing in that Champions League place.
