Houston Dynamo vs LAFC: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo dominated defending MLS champion LAFC Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium, running away with a 4-0 win. Houston controlled the match from start to finish and scored three second half goals to run away with the three points.
MATCH SUMMARY
Houston Dynamo FC 4-0 LAFC
Saturday, June 10, 2023
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, Texas
Referee: Alex Chilowicz
Assistants: Matthew Nelson, Justin Howard
Fourth Official: Alexandra Billeter
VAR: Michael Radchuk
Attendance: 15,366
Weather: 94 degrees, clear skies
SCORING SUMMARY
HOU: Nelson Quiñónes (Coco Carrasquilla) 11’
HOU: Amine Bassi (penalty kick) 50’
HOU: Corey Baird (Aliyu Ibrahim) 69’
HOU: Franco Escobar (Héctor Herrera) 89’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
LAFC: José Cifuentes (caution; simulation) 32’
HOU: Steve Clark (caution; time wasting) 53’
HOU: Franco Escobar (caution; time wasting) 79’
HOU: Corey Baird (caution; foul) 81’
LINEUPS & STATS
Houston Dynamo FC: Steve Clark, Chase Gasper (Daniel Steres 25’), Erik Sviatchenko (Ethan Bartlow 78’), Micael, Franco Escobar, Héctor Herrera ©, Artur (Luís Caicedo 78’), Adalberto Carrasquilla, Nelson Quiñónes (Corey Baird 63’), Aliyu Ibrahim (Thorleifur Úlfarsson 78’), Amine Bassi
Unused Substitutes: Andrew Tarbell, Brad Smith, Iván Franco, Sebastián Ferreira
Total shots: 13 (Amine Bassi 3)
Shots on goal: 5 (five players tied with 1)
Fouls: 13 (Héctor Herrera 3)
Offside: 0
Corner kicks: 5
Saves: 2 (Steve Clark 2)
LAFC: John McCarthy; Diego Palacios, Giorgio Chiellini (Jesús Murillo 46’), Denil Maldonado, Ryan Hollingshead (Julian Gaines 71’); Erik Dueñas, Ilie Sánchez, José Cifuentes; Stipe Biuk (Kwadwo Opoku 46’), Dénis Bouanga (Nathan Ordaz, 84’), Carlos Vela (Mateusz Bogusz 71’)
Unused substitutes: Eldin Jakupovic, Danny Crisostomo, Mateusz Bogusz, Tony Leone
Total shots: 13 (Diego Palacios and Dénis Bouanga tied with 3)
Shots on goal: 3 (Carlos Vela 2)
Fouls: 7 (Ryan Hollingshead 3)
Offside: 0
Corner kicks: 12
Saves: 1 (John McCarthy 1)
HOUSTON DYNAMO ASSITANT COACH BRENDAN BURKE
On halftime adjustments:
“We talked about defending in wide areas. We talked about getting (FW) Nelson (Quiñones) reconnected with (DF) Daniel (Steres) to help him. Daniel (Steres) did a fantastic job coming into the game as a substitute, as an outside back, against a team like that is a tall order. I commend him for stepping in the way he did. Nelson did his defensive work and he’s quite frankly on fire right now. That kid terrorized Chicago and he terrorized those guys tonight. He’s growing up before our eyes, it’s great to see. We also talked about trying to sustain a little bit more which I don’t think came out in the second half. But because we were able to find the second goal, the game got really stretched. We can be good in transition because we do have a good defensive block and (head coach) Ben (Olsen) has built a great structure for these guys to absorb pressure. Those are some of the things we talked about at halftime. The last one was just outworking them. It sounds cliché but we knew they were tired, they played Sunday and Wednesday, we played Saturday and Tuesday. It’s a very slight advantage but the weather here is something that we have to lean into, and tonight was the first time that it felt like furnace just standing out the sideline.”
On Nelson Quiñones' performance:
“When he decides to play downhill, he’s terrifying for a defender, and he was again tonight. He’s learning his own tools on the job as well and as a young kid. He’s starting to understand that he could be really dangerous at a high level on a consistent basis, but it takes hard work. He has to track back; he has to be part of our defensive block to allow himself those isolations going the other way. Whether it's in our build or in transition, he has to do the defensive piece first. I think he’s really taken that to heart and he’s starting to do that on a regular basis.”
On positives to take into Wednesday’s match with LAFC:
“Well now we’re in the driver's seat going back to their place. They have five international players (missing the game), we’ll have (DF) Franco (Escobar) out obviously on yellow cards and we’ll have (MF Adalberto) Coco (Carrasquilla) away with Panama. I think the balance is in our favor going back in there to try and grab a point. We need to find points on the road, so we’ll attack that game the same way we did tonight.”
On Coco Carrasquilla’s development in the attack:
“Coco (Adalberto Carrasquilla) is an extremely talented individual attacking player. We can use him in a number of different spots. He played out wide in those games, but he can also play the 10, he can play as a forward. He just gives us a weapon that allows other weapons on the field if that makes sense. We love Coco, we know he’s one of our very best players and he works tirelessly on top of it. You saw him tonight, hit the post and then tracked back 80 yards when we’re already up multiple goals. That’s just who he is, he’s a great guy and a hard worker. He’s extremely talented on top of it.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO MIDFIELDER HÉCTOR HERRERA (TRANSLATED FROM SPANISH)
On the result:
“We can still improve, right? We have been very solid, defensively, very effective offensively. We are happy with the victory that we badly needed. I said it before the game. From my point of view, (LAFC) is the best team in MLS, it is the best squad. Man-for-man they have very good players. We have to rest, we have to prepare well because we are going to have a more difficult game against them on Wednesday”.
On the heat:
“Starting today they will be like this or hotter. Last year I suffered adapting to the weather. It is difficult to play here. The heat affects both teams though, right? We have to take advantage of that, make ourselves strong and continue on this path.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO FORWARD NELSON QUIÑONES (TRANSLATED FROM SPANISH)
On the match:
“I’m really happy with today’s victory, this is a great team, this win is a result of the team’s hard work. I’m really happy.”
On how it feels to score goals in two straight matches:
“Personally, I’m really happy. These goals are a result of our training day-in and day-out. It’s reflected on the pitch. I have more confidence. I now have two games as a starter and that fills me confidence in supporting my team.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO DEFENDER ERIK SVIATCHENKO
On the result:
“We looked like a really good team for 90 minutes. Even though they had some threats the other way, I think we controlled many aspects of the game really well. It was tough for everyone to play out there, me included. I’m still getting back to my fitness and to get almost 80 minutes was a good thing. I’m just proud of the team in general that we were able to perform against a top team in the league. A team that was just in the CONCACAF final, maybe they’ve been travelling and playing lots of games, but that doesn’t mean we cannot perform. We did that, and it was great to see.”
On the keys to the clean sheet:
“We tried as much as possible to help each other and cover each other. Whenever one guy was passed (up), then the other guy came. That was from (DF Micael) Mica. That was from (DF) Dan (Steres) and (DF) Franco (Escobar). Everyone did amazing. (MF) Héctor (Herrara) and (MF) Artur in front. Also, our front four in some ways did great to track those runs. Of course, there were some great things when you win 4-0 and some good goals, especially Franco’s was unbelievable. I was sitting there shouting, ‘Shoot! Shoot!’ I know that he heard that I was shouting at him, then he shot, and it was amazing.”
