Dynamo take down Real Salt Lake again
(image via Ricky Vega)
The Houston Dynamo and Real Salt Lake locked horns Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium. The meeting was the 8th match between the two teams since last August. Their last encounter was a 3-0 win for Houston in this season’s Leagues Cup.
Daniel Steres replaced the suspended Franco Escobar in Ben Olsen’s starting eleven. Coco Carrasquilla also regained his place in the starting lineup after returning last week from injury as a sub.
The away side got the first chance of the game two minutes in. Salt Lake’s newest Designated Player, Diogo Goncalves, got his head on a cross but it was tamely right at Steve Clark. Just four minutes later Amine Bassi sprung Carrasquilla for Houston’s first chance of the night but the Panamanian waited too long to shoot and had his effort saved.
Houston opened the scoring in the 27th minute through their Moroccan playmaker. RSL tried to clear a ball in the box but it only went as far as Bassi. He wrapped his right foot around it and thundered a volley in from outside the box to make it 1-0 to the Dynamo.
The Dynamo doubled their advantege in first half stoppage time, but may have paid a price. Aliyu held the ball up on the left side of the box and played an overlapping Hector Herrera. The captain played the ball centrally for Griffin Dorsey who stabbed in the goal to make it 2-0. Herrera injured himself making the assist and immediately went to the locker room and was replaced by Sebastian Kowalczyk.
The second half began and Real Salt Lake gave themselves a lifeline, with a little help from the Dynamo. Chicho Arango broke into the box and Erik Sviatchenko chased him down to defend. Houston’s center back got the last touch that looped over Steve Clark to make the game 2-1 in the 49th minute.
Salt Lake pushed for an equalizer but the Dynamo ultimately took control late. In the 75ht minute, a good spell of possesion ended with the ball in the box. Kowalczyk got himself a shooting lane and made no mistake, smashing past Beavers to make the score 3-1.
DP striker Ezequiel Ponce sealed the three points in the 80th minute. Clark fired a long ball down field to Latif Blessing on a dead sprint. Blessing played centrally for Ponce. The Argentine rounded Beavers and tucked it into the empty net to make it 4-1 and send Shell Energy Stadium into a party.
Referee Jon Freemon blew the full time whistle and the Dynamo picked up a big three points in their fight to climb the Western Conference table. Now, the big question will be the health of Houston’s captain Hector Herrera.
The Dynamo will return to Shell Energy Stadium for another big match in the Western Conference, a midweek meeting against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday. Houston now sits two points ahead of Vancouver in the standings, with the Whitecaps playing late on Saturday night.
