Houston Dynamo at Vancouver Whitecaps: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo won a wild, back-and-forth match against the Vancouver Whitecaps by a score of 4-3. Houston led 2-0 at half time then trailed 3-2 in the second half before scoring twice late in the match to pick up another road victory.
MATCH SUMMARY
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3-4 Houston Dynamo FC
Saturday, July 20, 2024
Venue: BC Place - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Referee: Fotis Bazakos
Assistants: Jason White, Gerard-Kader Lebuis
Fourth Official: Alain Ruch
VAR: Younes Marrakchi
Attendance: 24,114
SCORING SUMMARY
HOU: Coco Carrasquilla (Aliyu Ibrahim) 29’
HOU: Griffin Dorsey (unassisted) 36’
VAN: Fafa Picault (unassisted) 48’
VAN: Ranko Veselinovic (Fafa Picault) 54’
VAN: Fafa Picault (Sam Adekugbe) 66’
HOU: Brad Smith (Sebas Ferreira) 78’
HOU: Griffin Dorsey (unassisted) 87’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
HOU: Artur (caution; foul) 20’
VAN: Andrés Cubas (caution; foul) 45+3’
HOU: Franco Escobar (caution; dissent) 76’
VAN: Ranko Veselinovic (caution; dissent) 79’
HOU: Brad Smith (caution; foul) 90+3’
LINEUPS & STATS
Vancouver Whitecaps FC: Yohei Takaoka; Luís Martins (Alessandro Schopf 46’), Ranko Veselinovic, Bjørn Utvik, Sebastian Berhalter (Damir Kreilach 90’); Andrés Cubas (Sam Adekugbe 60’), Pedro Vite (Levonte Johnson 90’), Ali Ahmed; Fafá Picault, Brian White, Ryan Gauld (Ryan Raposo 30’)
Unused Substitutes: Belal Halbouni, Ralph-Priso Mbongue, Giuseppe Bovalina, Issac Boehmer
Total shots: 14 (Fafa Picault 4)
Shots on goal: 6 (Fafa Picault 3)
Fouls: 7 (Andrés Cubas 2)
Offside: 0
Corner kicks: 4
Saves: 3 (Yohei Takaoka 3)
Houston Dynamo FC: Steve Clark; Franco Escobar, Micael, Erik Sviatchenko, Griffin Dorsey (Daniel Steres 94’); Artur, Héctor Herrera, Adalberto Carrasquilla (Latif Blessing 83’); Ibrahim Aliyu (Brad Smith 67’), Ezequiel Ponce (Sebastian Ferreira 46’), Amine Bassi (Sebastian Kowalczyk 67’)
Unused substitutes: Ethan Bartlow, Andrew Tarbell, McKinze Gaines, Jan Gregus
Total shots: 18 (Amine Bassi 5)
Shots on goal: 7 (Griffin Dorsey 3)
Fouls: 16 (Ezequiel Ponce and Héctor Herrera tied with 3)
Offside: 2 (Aliyu Ibrahim and Ezequiel Ponce tied with 1)
Corner kicks: 1
Saves: 3 (Steve Clark 3)
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH BEN OLSEN
On the result:
“It was a very good first half but a poor start to the second half. Vancouver brought a lot of energy and capitalized on service and set pieces. When we went down 3-2, our guys found something, and they were able to show resiliency that I haven’t seen in a while. Vancouver is a tough place to travel to, and it always seems to be high scoring, and to our credit, we are scoring goals right now. The subs came in and did a good job again, which is important with the grind of a long West Coast road trip.”
On the energy after the match:
“Away wins are the best, and the guys are celebrating in the locker room right now. These road matches are hard, and it feels good to win them. We have also been able to find different ways to win recently. There were great portions of the game tonight, but the way we started the second half was poor. At halftime, we talked about what we were going to face from Vancouver from an energy, quality and adjustment standpoint. Many times, teams can’t come back from a 3-2 deficit on the road. It’s a hard thing to do, but we found a way.”
On Ezequiel Ponce’s debut:
“Ezequiel (Ponce) had a good night, and his pressing is great. He can see the defensive side which helped us in the first half. We have to focus on building relationships, and the players have to figure out where their runs are to build early service. Ezequiel is a high-quality striker, and he puts himself in great spots and has good habits. It will be nice to get him some shots and looks on target because I know he will do well with them. It was a good first match for him.”
On Brad Smith’s performance:
“Brad (Smith) scored a big goal, and he has done that for us a few times. He brings energy and a repeated ability to keep coming down the line. This was a good game for him because of the space and back three Vancouver presented. Brad did a good job throughout the night, and he gave us the belief that we could win the game.”
