Dynamo welcome Charlotte FC in Leagues Cup Round of 16: What to watch for
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo have advanced to the Round of 16 in the Leagues Cup and will meet Charlotte FC tonight at Shell Energy Stadium. Charlotte were unable to host at their home stadium, meaning the Dynamo get to host despite finishing lower in the Supporters Shield table last season. Houston is coming off a 0-0 draw, and subsequent penalty shootout win, last week against Pachuca in the Round of 32. Charlotte had to play in Frisco last round, with their home stadium unavailable then as well, and easily beat Liga MX side Necaxa 4-1.
When: Monday, August 7 | 8:30 PM CT kickoff
Where: Shell Energy Stadium; Houston, Texas
TV/Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: ESPN 97.5 FM (English), TUDN Deportes Houston 93.3 FM (Spanish)
Kings of knockout
While the MLS regular season has been a bit of up and down for the Dynamo, their performance in tournaments has been great. Houston are currently in the semifinals of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and are now into the Round of 16 in the Leagues Cup. There’s something that can be said about a tournament situation where it’s win or go home. There’s a trophy and continental qualification on the line as well. The Dynamo haven’t won a game in Leagues Cup yet, but here they are in the knockout rounds. Head coach Ben Olsen says his team has the right mentality for these scenarios. “We’ve been resilient through these Leagues Cup games,” Olsen said on Sunday. “We've not always played the best, but we've managed to find ways to squeak a few out. Some of it's chance and some of it's playing at home. There’re some things that went our way, but there is definitely a mentality here that I like. It’s one that we're trying to work on and cultivate as we continue to grow this culture into one that is a winning one. As I've said many times, winning is a habit, and any time we step on the field, we want to get a result, whether it's penalty a shootout or in regular time, it doesn't matter. It's the same feeling. It’s the same breeding of a winning culture. We’ve been able to do that in the cup competitions so far. There’s something at the end, and you want to go get that the cup and all the rewards that come with these things or else you fall short. You put a lot of energy and time into it, so we'll continue to try to get the carrot at the end of this.”
Defense carrying the offense
The Dynamo have conceded just three goals in Leagues Cup play, one of those was a bad giveaway by goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell and one was a penalty by Santos Laguna. They’ve also only scored three goals, an Amine Bassi penalty and two goals in 12 minutes time against Santos. Olsen’s style is much more defensive in nature but they need to find goals. They need to find that killer instinct. “It’s always been within a period of games where the offense is working really well and then the defense is working really well,” defender Erik Sviatchenko told the media. “Now we need to combine those two things where we have been as a team. All eleven have been working really hard to see if we can minimize the chances against, which is a good thing. That’s the first step towards winning games, or at least being very difficult to defeat. Now the offensive part starts to be a very important key because I think we progress really well from our build up towards the midfield and then towards the last third of the field. We need to have even more of a killer instinct. We need to get that final pass in and make the right decision. It’s about concentration. It’s about having the right kind of momentum and just being calm and composed. Sometimes we have been a little bit too stressed in those critical moments where we actually can get goals and we can finish the games fairly. But again, it takes time sometimes. I think we have the right players. I think we have the right dynamic, but we just need that kind of comfort and boost to get that goal on the first chance we get. Then we score instead of waiting four or five chances and then it gets a bit too nervy at the end of the game where it can go both ways. We have some patterns that we're working on, and we see them more and more in the games. We just need to score the goal.”
The GOAT is waiting
Inter Miami and Lionel Messi await the winner of tonight’s match in the quarterfinals. With that exciting tie on the horizon, the Dynamo can’t get ahead of themselves. Charlotte have struggled this season in MLS but are having a good tournament, scoring four their last time out. Olsen spoke to the media about how Charlotte are very well coached and very clear in what they do on both sides of the ball. They do a good job building and switching the point of the attack. While a Messi meeting seems mouthwatering, the Dynamo have to take care of the task in front of them first in Charlotte FC.
Availability Report
Houston Dynamo - report not available
Pachuca – report not available
Predicted Lineup
