Houston Dynamo at Atlanta United: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo returned to MLS play with a 2-2 draw in Atlanta Saturday night. Franco Escobar scored early to give the Dynamo a lead. Two Atlanta United goals put the home side ahead until Latif Blessing scored late to earn Houston a point.
MATCH SUMMARY
Atlanta United FC 2-2 Houston Dynamo FC
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Atlanta, Georgia
Referee: Victor Rivas
Assistants: Chantal Boudreau, Jeffrey Swartzel
Fourth Official: Ted Unkel
VAR: Jorge Gonzalez
Attendance: 42,630
SCORING SUMMARY
HOU: Franco Escobar (unassisted) 5’
ATL: Daniel Rios (unassisted) 25’
ATL: Xande Silva (unassisted) 55’
HOU: Latif Blessing (Coco Carrasquilla) 89’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
ATL: Xande Silva (caution; dissent) 8’
HOU: Franco Escobar (caution; foul) 42’
HOU: Coco Carrasquilla (caution; foul) 44’
HOU: Aliyu Ibrahim (caution; dissent) 53’
HOU: Micael (caution; other) 59’
LINEUPS & STATS
Atlanta United FC: Brad Guzan (C); Derrick Williams, Brooks Lennon, Noah Cobb, Caleb Wiley; Tristan Muyumba, Thiago Almada, Dax McCarty; Edwin Mosquera (Luke Brennan 17’), Xande Silva (Jay Fortune 80’), Daniel Rios (Jamal Thiare 76’)
Unused Substitutes: Ronald Hernandez, Efrain Morales, Josh Cohen, Nicolas Firmino, Quentin Westberg
Total shots: 12 (Xande Silva and Thiago Almada tied with 3)
Shots on goal: 5 (Xande Silva 2)
Fouls: 12 (Dax McCarty 4)
Offside: 4 (four players tied with 1)
Corner kicks: 4
Saves: 7 (Brad Guzan 7)
Houston Dynamo FC: Steve Clark; Franco Escobar, Griffin Dorsey, Erik Sviatchenko (Tate Schmitt 76’), Micael; Artur, Hector Herrera (C), Aliyu Ibrahim (Latif Blessing 67’); Adalberto Carrasquilla, Amine Bassi (Ethan Bartlow 90+6’), Sebastian Kowalczyk (Sebastian Ferreira 76’)
Unused substitutes: Brad Smith, Daniel Steres, Andrew Tarbell, Jan Gregus, Brooklyn Raines
Total shots: 19 (Griffin Dorsey 5)
Shots on goal: 9 (Griffin Dorsey and Latif Blessing tied with 2)
Fouls: 16 (Aliyu Ibrahim 4)
Offside: 3 (three players tied with 1)
Corner kicks: 6
Saves: 3 (Steve Clark 3)
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH BEN OLSEN
On the match:
“We spoke in the locker room about good resiliency to get something out of the game. The substitutes did a great job of coming in, changing the game's energy. In some ways, it feels like two points were lost, because we played well, had enough chances to score, and the goals were naive of us. We had two poor giveaways that led to goals. That’s something we continue to have some issues with and not maximizing the points when we play this well on the road. It’s about resiliency and being able to get something out of the game when it wasn't our best night, we'll take the point. We have Seattle at home now and we need to get a better performance from this group and myself.”
On Latif Blessing’s contributions to the team:
“We've loved it. I've loved watching Latif (Blessing) for a long time now. He comes to this group, fits in with the culture and gives us good minutes. We know he brings good energy, and he has been given a lot of goals. His movement in the box and finding opportunities has helped us out.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO DEFENDER GRIFFIN DORSEY
On chemistry with Coco Carrasquilla:
“There were a lot of positives tonight, especially in the attack. Defensively, I think we gifted that left winger a goal, but we made his life miserable in our attacking and defense. Coco (Carrasquilla) and I have been clicking great. I love playing with him. I think everybody can see his brilliance. Tonight, just felt like we were on the same page the whole time, it was fantastic.”
On scoring two goals in back-to-back games:
“It's fantastic. Tonight, we created a lot to even score more which is super positive. The mistakes tonight were brutal because I thought we deserved the three points.”
