Houston Dynamo at LAFC: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo picked up their first road win of the 2023 Major League Soccer season, beating LAFC 1-0 Wednesday night. It was the second win in five days for Houston over LA. Brazilian defender Micael scored his first MLS goal in the match to help the Dynamo bring home all three points.
MATCH SUMMARY
LAFC 0-1 Houston Dynamo FC
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Venue: BMO Stadium - Los Angeles, California
Referee: Guido Gonzalez Jr.
Assistants: Chris Elliot, Felisha Mariscal
Fourth Official: Mark Allatin
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
Attendance: 22,177
Weather: 65 degrees, clear skies
SCORING SUMMARY
HOU: Micael (unassisted) 23’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
LAFC: Stipe Biuk (caution; foul) 22’
LAFC: Ilie Sánchez (caution; foul) 27’
HOU: Steve Clark (caution; time wasting) 64’
HOU: Artur (caution; foul) 76’
LAFC: Kwadwo Opoku (ejection; foul) 79’
LAFC: Diego Palacios (caution; foul) 89’
HOU: Erik Sviatchenko (caution; foul) 90+2’
HOU: Corey Baird (caution; dissent) 90+2’
HOU: Daniel Steres (caution; foul) 90+3’
LINEUPS & STATS
LAFC: John McCarthy; Ryan Hollingshead, Giorgio Chiellini (Aaron Long 70), Jesús Murillo, Denil Maldonado (Kwadwo Opoku 46); Diego Palacios, Ilie Sánchez, Erik Dueñas (Danny Crisostomo 70); Stipe Biuk, Mateusz Bogusz (Nathan Ordaz 85’), Carlos Vela (c)
Unused Substitutes: Eldin Jakupovic, Christian Torres, Julian Gaines
Total shots: 14 (Ilie Sánchez and Mateusz Bogusz tied with 4)
Shots on goal: 1 (Mateusz Bogusz 1)
Fouls: 12 (Carlos Vela 4)
Offside: 3
Corner kicks: 4
Saves: 2 (John McCarthy 2)
Houston Dynamo FC: Steve Clark; Daniel Steres, Erik Sviatchenko, Micael, Griffin Dorsey; Héctor Herrera ©, Artur, Luís Caicedo, Nelson Quiñónes (Iván Franco 72), Aliyu Ibrahim (Thorleifur Úlfarsson 72), Amine Bassi (Corey Baird 53’)
Unused substitutes: Andrew Tarbell, Brad Smith, Sebastián Ferreira, Chase Gasper, Ethan Bartlow, Brooklyn Raines
Total shots: 12 (Héctor Herrera and Erik Sviatchenko tied with 3)
Shots on goal: 3 (Micael, Héctor Herrera, and Erik Sviatchenko tied with 1)
Fouls: 19 (four players tied with 3)
Offside: 3
Corner kicks: 5
Saves: 1 (Steve Clark 1)
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH BEN OLSEN
On the match:
“We knew there would be a real response from (LAFC). It's no fun losing four-zero. I've done that plenty of times. Usually there's a real response. They had a real response, they were sharp on the ball and had really good energy, physicality. It's just a very tough place to play. We were ready for that. I thought the guys, give them a lot of credit for the mentality that they had, we gave them a lot of the ball. They earned a lot of the ball. Again, their ball movement was better than us on the night, but our defensive shape was well. It was just fantastic, the willingness to cover the next guy. You know, the way we shifted, the just the overall effort and selflessness that the players gave tonight to keep a shutout in one of the toughest places to keep a shutout in the country was, again, it was just a lot of brave performances. A lot of selfless performances. We get a goal. We're pretty good, dangerous all night long. We still could have had more in transition moments if we were a little cleaner. So overall, it was always going to probably look like that tonight. The field here is terrible. That led to a scrappy game here. You can't see it probably on TV, but the field is rough. This wasn't a game where we thought we could build in our usual fashion and we were more direct at times, more transition. That's what the game needed. I'm just proud of the guys for holding up, defending was great. The back four was amazing. Micael had a great game, Erik (Sviatchenko), Daniel Steres filled in once again for us in an unnatural position and Griffin Dorsey, who earned his first minutes (since the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup) went 90 and in a difficult place. He held up very well too. So, overall good night. Thrilled to get back-to-back wins in particular against such a great team.”
On defeating LAFC for the second consecutive time:
“It gives us a little bit more buy-in of what we're doing here. That at least we're moving in the right direction. We have to take a lot of this with a grain of salt, but not too much with a grain of salt, right? Also understand what we can do here, as a staff and organization, but also these players. Belief is a big deal in this league. Getting results against a major team like LAFC. They're missing a lot of guys, no doubt. We missed a few and we had to reach into our bench as well. That belief goes a long way. It goes into buying into what we're selling as a staff, which is important because you can sell and sell, and sell, but if you don't get results. It's hard to keep selling and hopefully we were able to win in different ways. That's also important for the make-up of our group. Come in here and really grinding and making sure we're tough to break down, good in transition moments. Still not clean enough to go stick the knife in and chip in on some set pieces to help you win games. At home, at times we're able to build and play a different type of style depending on the opponent and depending on the circumstances. So, that's healthy. We got a lot of work to do. This game could have gone the other way fairly quickly, but we held the fort well.”
On the state of the team midway into the season:
“We want to be above the line at all times but right now in the west, it's crazy. Everybody's on 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 points. They're all in the same spot. So, you win one, you keep moving and you stay above the line. You lose one and drop a few spots below a few teams and you're below the line. So, it's very, very crowded. I like that, I think that creates a real urgency that we need right now. I felt that with the guys today, understood the challenge coming off a big win. We knew they would respond. And again, winning in a different way tonight was an exciting thing for us. Because this is really one of the first victories we've had where we've just buckled down and we're like, you're not scoring tonight and we'll try to grab you in transition or grab you on a set piece. So it was a different type of win for us. You need those, especially against really good opponents like LAFC.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO MIDFIELDER HÉCTOR HERRERA (TRANSLATED FROM SPANISH)
On the victory:
“To me, the most important thing is the victory, and this is our first victory away from home. Very important. It's true that we didn't dominate the match, but we were a strong, compact and strong team. That's the most important thing and I think that's the way we should continue.”
On playing in a new position:
“As a team, you have to be prepared and locked in and prepared to play in any position on the field. Not only that, but being able to give your best. I am familiar with the position, I have played it many times in Porto. I played a lot in that position and well, it's not something new for me. I am happy with the team's triumph, with everyone's performance and well, we have to continue on that path.”
