Houston Dynamo vs St. Louis CITY SC: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo picked up a point in a 1-1 draw against Western Conference leaders St. Louis CITY SC Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium. Houston took the lead with a first half goal from Corey Baird but St. Louis equalized late through Joao Klauss.
MATCH SUMMARY
Houston Dynamo FC 1 - 1 St. Louis CITY SC
Saturday, September 16, 2023
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, Texas
Referee: Ismir Pekmic
Assistants: Corey Parker, Chris Elliott
Fourth Official: Ted Unkel
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
Attendance: 14,369
Weather: 80 degrees, scattered thunderstorms
SCORING SUMMARY
HOU: Corey Baird (unassisted) 42’
STL: João Klauss (unassisted) 87’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
HOU: Erik Sviatchenko (caution; foul) 8’
HOU: Franco Escobar (caution; foul) 22’
HOU: Héctor Herrera (caution; foul) 25’
STL: Njabulo Blom (caution; foul) 34’
HOU: Adalberto Carrasquilla (caution; foul) 61’
STL: Tim Parker (caution; foul) 90+5’
LINEUPS & STATS
Houston Dynamo FC: Steve Clark; Griffin Dorsey, Micael, Erik Sviatchenko, Franco Escobar; Artur, Adalberto Carrasquilla (Sebastian Kowalczyk 89’), Héctor Herrera; Amine Bassi, Corey Baird (Aliyu Ibrahim 81’), Nelson Quiñónes (Brad Smith 74’)
Unused Substitutes: Andrew Tarbell, Ethan Bartlow, Daniel Steres, Teenage Hadebe, Luís Caicedo, Thorleifur Úlfarsson
Total shots: 12 (Adalberto Carrasquilla and Amine Bassi tied with 3)
Shots on goal: 3 (Amine Bassi 2)
Fouls: 14 (Amine Bassi 3)
Offside: 3 (Corey Baird 2)
Corner kicks: 4
Saves: 6 (Steve Clark 6)
St. Louis CITY SC: Roman Bürki; Anthony Markanich (Indiana Vassilev 80’), Joakim Nilsson (Joshua Yaro 82’), Tim Parker, Jake Nerwinski; Aziel Jackson (Nökkvi Thórisson 60’), Eduard Löwen, Njabulo Blom; Jared Stroud (Nicholas Gioacchini 60’), Célio Pompeu (Tomás Ostrák 80’), João Klauss
Unused substitutes: Ben Lundt, Akil Watts, Kyle Hiebert, Jonathan Bell
Total shots: 11 (Eduard Löwen 4)
Shots on goal: 7 (Aziel Jackson 2)
Fouls: 19 (Aziel Jackson 3)
Offside: 0
Corner kicks: 4
Saves: 2 (Roman Bürki 2)
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH BEN OLSEN
On the match:
"We take away a point against the quote-unquote best team in the West. We take away a very good performance and we take away a little disappointment that we didn't get three points."
On conceding a late goal:
"They're a good team. To keep them off the board is very difficult. They prove that week in, week out. Steve (Clark) makes a great save. It's the plays leading up to that, I don't think we were at our best. This happened against a good team that brought in a lot of high-octane reserves that gave us some trouble. We've got chances, big chances to see that game out. As these games get a little tighter and the weather now changes and the speed of the game and everybody's fighting for playoff spots. You got to see those plays out. You have got to give yourself that cushion because everybody's coming. It's tough to keep teams off the board. So again, plenty of chances for us to get the second or the third. In between the 18 (yard-box), we played great."
On managing minutes for players who were on international duty:
"Hector (Herrera) didn't play in the Wednesday game, so I thought his energy levels were high. Coco (Adalberto Carrasquilla) is a machine. He can play every three days. He's built for that. The energy levels, I thought overall, were good tonight."
On reaching 40 points this season:
"It's nice to just keep grabbing points as we go. Every point counts in this league as you're trying to get into the postseason. That's certainly the goal. We'll just keep plugging away. We have an important game three days from now, another home game against Vancouver. We'll look to rebound and try to get all three points."
HOUSTON DYNAMO GOALKEEPER STEVE CLARK
On the 540-minute clean sheet streak:
“Looking back at it, it was a good run. Obviously, we're disappointed to concede in the last minutes. But I think you saw a team today that played on our front foot. It was an even game, but I think we were unlucky to not get out of there with two more points.”
On shifting the mentality of the team:
“It's definitely a different mindset. We're obviously very disappointed that we didn't take points at home no matter the team. The culture is certainly moving in the right direction. We definitely have a winning culture going.”
On only conceding two goals in the last six games:
“That’s a good statistic. I think that we're defending as a team, but also, when you have the ball more, you defend less. You are seeing some of that. They’re a very good pressing team, and I thought that we went toe-to-toe with them. It wasn't always perfect, but I think that was a good mentality piece for us.”
On similarities he sees on this team compared to MLS Cup contenders he has been on in the past:
“It’s one game at a time, and I think teams that contend know that. We’re in a good way, and we’re a strong side. There’s a lot of character in that locker room, and that's a good thing. So, I'm excited for the months ahead for sure.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO MIDFIELDER ARTUR
On the mood in the locker room after the match:
“Of course, we expected a little bit better. We were up in the game most of the time. We played really well and created a lot of chances. The whole team really thinks we should have gotten three points.”
On playing against a pressing team like St. Louis:
“We expected that. Of course, it’s not easy when they press like that. They are a very organized team. We knew that it would be hard, but I think after the first 20 minutes, we started to understand what we needed to do a little bit better. We started connecting a little bit better, and it showed in the game that we could create more chances.”
