Houston Dynamo vs Austin: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo beat Austin FC 2-1 Saturday night thanks to a late goal from Iván Franco. Houston rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to get the three points.
MATCH SUMMARY
Houston Dynamo FC 2 – 1 Austin FC
Saturday, May 28, 2023
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, Texas
Referee: Ted Unkel
Assistants: Ryan Graves, Nicholas Balcer
Fourth Official: Meghan Mullen
VAR: Jorge Gonzalez
Attendance: 16,055
Weather: 85 degrees, mostly cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
ATX: Gyasi Zardes (Nick Lima) 22’
HOU: Héctor Herrera (unassisted) 37’
HOU: Iván Franco (Daniel Steres) 88’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
ATX: Julio Cascante (caution; not retreating) 30’
HOU: Nelson Quiñónes (caution; foul) 67’
HOU: Micael (caution; time wasting) 90+3’
LINEUPS & STATS
Houston Dynamo FC: Steve Clark; Daniel Steres, Micael, Ethan Bartlow, Franco Escobar; Adalberto Carrasquilla, Artur, Héctor Herrera (c); Aliyu Ibrahim (Thorleifur Úlfarsson 70’), Corey Baird (Nelson Quiñónes 65’), Amine Bassi (Iván Franco 81’)
Unused Substitutes: Andrew Tarbell, Brad Smith, Sebastián Ferreira, Luís Caicedo, Erik Sviatchenko, Chase Gasper
Total shots: 15 (Héctor Herrera 7)
Shots on goal: 6 (Héctor Herrera 4)
Fouls: 7 (Nelson Quiñónes 2)
Offside: 5 (Corey Baird and Aliyu Ibrahim tied with 2)
Corner kicks: 6
Saves: 2 (Steve Clark 2)
Austin FC: Brad Stuver; Hector Jimenez (Jon Gallagher 46’), Julio Cascante (c), Alexander Ring (Aleksandar Radovanovic 63’), Adam Lundkvist; Daniel Pereira, Sofiane Djeffal (Jhojan Valencia 63’), Nick Lima; Emiliano Rigoni, Gyasi Zardes (Maximiliano Urruti 74’), Ethan Finlay (Diego Fagundez 63’)
Unused substitutes: Matt Bersano, Kipp Keller, Rodney Redes, Will Bruin
Total shots: 11 (Ethan Finlay 3)
Shots on goal: 3 (Julio Cascante, Daniel Pereira and Gyasi Zardes tied with 1)
Fouls: 9 (Adam Lundkvist and Daniel Pereira tied with 3)
Offside: 1 (Jon Gallagher 1)
Corner kicks: 6
Saves: 4 (Brad Stuver 4)
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH BEN OLSEN
On the result:
“I’m thrilled for the guys. Big points for us under the circumstances because in two days we go to Vancouver for a long stretch. Eight days with a bunch of games, so it was important to continue our form at home. I’m proud of the way we did it. There were a lot of adjustments in that lineup, similar players, but we made some tweaks with the backline and switching up (FW Amine) Bassi and (MF) Coco (Carrasquilla). I think you saw that early we were a little bit unfamiliar with some of the defensive structure. They are a tough team to press, and we did it and we did it in an ineffective way for much of that first 20 or 25 minutes. They are so good on the ball and breaking down the five back is hard to deal with, and they got a lot of chances. Getting into halftime and getting the goal back was important, and I think the adjustments at halftime helped a little bit with getting back to what makes us good. That’s closing out the areas in the center of the park and forcing them wide. We did a better job of shifting that. It gave us more time to shift and deal with their overloads. I’m proud we came back. We were down, and we got our first comeback win. That’s great for our psyche that we know we can take a punch and move on.”
On FW Iván Franco scoring his first goal in game-winning style:
“We gave him the game ball, and we did that because it’s not a lot of fun being on the bench. We talk about coming in and bringing energy and bringing influence to the game, and he did that. (FW) Thor (Úlfarsson) did that in Dallas. That’s a great thing for a team, and it brings him confidence. It’s his first goal for the club, and it was an important one.”
On the busy stretch of upcoming games:
“Keep us on track, so we start there. We go there. We have the extra day before that game, so we recover a little bit. We leave Monday. We go a day early, and we focus on Vancouver. That’s another one that we are going to need everybody. We are going to need every player in this, and in some ways that’s why it’s big tonight to get some contribution from a sub because over the next eight days, we are going to need quite a few players to get the job done and each we have to become deeper as we go. (DF) Erik (Sviatchenko), (DF) Brad (Smith), (DF) Chase (Gasper) and (MF) Ivan (Franco). We’ve got some real quality now on the bench that is itching to get in the game and prove themselves.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO MIDFIELDER HECTOR HERRERA (TRANSLATED FROM SPANISH)
On his goal:
“The most important thing is the team. The team needed a goal at that moment, obviously I am happy to be able to score and help the team. The most important thing for me is the team and I think that today the result was very positive for the group. It is a result that we deserved and very important for us.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO FORWARD ALIYU IBRAHIM
On continuing to earn minutes:
“It was a good three points. We gave everything in this game, and we are very happy with the three points. We’ll keep going.”
On how he is acclimating to MLS:
“Everyone is good here, and I’m good with everyone. I feel at home here.”
On how the change of tactics helped his game:
“It’s something we did in training. Of course, we wanted to do that same in the game and follow what the coaches tell us to do. That’s how we are going to play the game.”
On the Houston heat:
“It’s different than Croatia. Of course, I’m adapting and getting used to it. I’m from Nigeria, and it’s the same there. It’s very hot.”
On the atmosphere at Shell Energy Stadium:
“I feel good. Of course, we are getting support from the fans. They are encouraging us to give everything, and of course, we are giving our best.”
