How can the Houston Dynamo advance in Leagues Cup?
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
Real Salt Lake beat Atlas 2-1 on Thursday night, throwing a big wrench into the Leagues Cup standings for West Group 8. RSL and Atlas now both have three points, while the Dynamo have zero. Houston hosts Salt Lake on Monday, setting up a deciding contest in which two teams will advance from the group. So, how do the Dynamo move on?
First things first, the Dynamo have to beat Real Salt Lake in regulation. A loss or winning and losing in penalties would leave Houston with less than three points and RSL and Atlas would advance. The Dynamo have to win and get three points, which would leave the three teams all tied. Let’s take a look at the tiebreakers for three teams tied in a group.
If the Dynamo beat Salt Lake on Monday night, Houston, RSL, and Atlas will all finish group play with three points. Then it comes down to these tiebreakers, so let’s dive in.
The first tiebreaker is goal difference. Atlas is finished with group play with a 0 goal difference. Real Salt Lake has a +1 and the Dynamo have -1. If the Dynamo beat RSL by more than one goal, for instance 2-0, that would knock Salt Lake to -1 and put the Dynamo at +1, meaning Houston would win the group, Atlas would finsh second, and RSL would be out.
Scenario 1 to advance: Beat Real Salt Lake by more than one goal
If the Dynamo beat Real Salt Lake by just one goal, all three teams would be tied with three points and tied with a goal difference of 0. That would then move us into the second tiebreaker, goals scored. Atlas and RSL have both scored two goals and the Dynamo have yet to score. Therefore, 1-0 win for the Dynamo would not be enough. They would have just one goal to the two for Atlas and Real Salt Lake, meaning Houston would finish third in the group and be eliminated. If the Dynamo can score more than two goals and win, they will leapfrog Atlas in goals scored and advance in second place.
Scenario 2 to advance: Beat Real Salt Lake by one goal and score more than two (ex: win 3-2 or 4-3)
If the Dynamo win 2-1, Real Salt Lake would win the group with three goals scored to the two that Atlas and Houston would have. That would then bring into play the third tiebreaker, goals conceded. But….in this scenario Atlas and Houston would both have scored two and conceded two. Which then brings us to the fourth tiebreaker, the Fair Play Table.
Atlas had one yellow card against the Dynamo and one against Real Salt Lake. The Dynamo had one yellow card against Atlas. If Houston beats RSL 2-1 without any yellow or red cards, they would advance over Atlas with fewer points in the fair play table. If Houston wins 2-1 but gets more than one yellow card or a red card, Atlas would advance.
Scenario 3 to advance: Beat Real Salt Lake 2-1 and get no cards in the match
Now, if Houston wins 2-1 and gets one yellow card in the match, they would be once again tied with Atlas on Fair Play points and we would move to tiebreaker number five, a random draw. Yes, the Dynamo’s Leagues Cup fate could be determined by the flip of a coin.
Scenario 4 to advance: Beat Real Salt Lake 2-1 with one yellow card in the match and win a draw by the Organizing Committee
Confused yet? We are too. Basically, the Dynamo need to win by two or more goals and they’ll win the group. That’s the easy way. If they win the group they will advance to play the winner of West Group 4 which will be the winner of Toluca and Sporting Kansas City. If the Dynamo finish second in the group via the other scenarios they will advance to play Club America.
Whatever happens Monday, just remember Houston must win in regulation. Anything less and the Dynamo are out of the tournament and won’t play again until they resume MLS play on August 24.
