Dynamo sink Sporting Kansas City to advance to Western Conference final
(image via Aldo Canale)
When the Houston Dynamo began the 2023 season, few could have seen them hosting a Western Conference semifinal game. The club has not been to the playoffs since 2017 and brought in a new coaching staff and almost a completely redone roster for this season. After winning the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the Dynamo did just that, host a Western Conference semifinal. Old foe Sporting Kansas City was the opposition and in a much that harkened back to the glory days of their rivalry, this match was fought tooth and nail for 90 minutes. In true Dynamo-of-old fashion, Houston gutted out a 1-0 win to advance to the Western Conference final.
The Dynamo came out early looking to get the offense going through Nelson Quinones. The Colombian continually drove at the SKC defense and had some good looks on goal but could not convert. The first half played out like most thought it would, with the visitors content on Houston having the ball and waiting to counter to find their chances.
The chess match between Ben Olsen and Peter Vermes continued to play out until Houston found the breakthrough in the 39th minute. Captain Hector Herrera whipped in a corner with his left foot and defender Franco Escobar was there at the penalty spot to rise and head the ball past Tim Melia to make the score 1-0.
Sporting nearly replied instantly when they had a penalty shout in the 41st minute. Alan Pulido’s shot was saved by Steve Clark and the rebound fell to Daniel Salloi. His shot was cleared off the line by Erik Sviatchenko with what seemed to be his hand. A handball on the line would have been a penalty and a red card to the Danish center back but VAR did not recommend a review. The teams went to the locker rooms at the half time and the Dynamo held the 1-0 lead.
The Dynamo looked for an elusive second goal to give themselves breathing room but it wasn’t coming easy. Corey Baird looked to be in alone on goal in the 63rd minute but Melia read the play well and came out to smother the chance. Sporting’s best chance of the evening came in the 69th minute when the ball sat up nicely for Salloi in the box after a Johnny Russell cross. He laced a volley on goal but Clark reacted well and dove to his left to parry the effort away.
The away side threw the kitchen sink forward for an equalizer, even bringing on seasoned veterans Graham Zusi and Roger Espinoza. The ball found its way to Willy Agada in the 4th minute of stoppage time but his shot was blocked by Micael. That ended up being the last time Sporting would get on the attack as the Dynamo nearly found a second but were able to see out the game until the final whistle blew on a 1-0 victory.
The Dynamo now await the winner of tonight’s other Western Conference semifinal to see who they will play in next week’s conference final. Houston will travel to either Seattle to take on the Sounders or Los Angeles for a match up with LAFC.
