Sviatchenko goal sends Houston Dynamo to Champions Cup Round of 16
(image via Billy Mears)
The Houston Dynamo came into the second leg of their Round One Concacaf Champions Cup match knowing a 1-0 win would be enough to advance them to the next round. St. Louis CITY SC had a 2-1 lead after the first leg but Houston had a vital away goal that they carried back to Shell Energy Stadium. The Dynamo knew they had to score and they eventually found the goal to win 1-0 and send Houston to the Champions Cup Round of 16.
Houston pushed into the attack, wave after wave, in the first half. Eleven minutes in, a nice one-two on the edge of the box led to a shot for Brad Smith but the Australian’s effort deflected away from goal. Not long later, in the 18th minute, Sebastian Kowalczyk finally got to a ball pinging around in the box. He was off balance, however, and couldn’t get a clean shot away.
St. Louis looked content on sitting back and absorbing the Dynamo attack, while trying to hit on the counter. In the 27th minute they did just that with their two strikers linking up. Joao Klauss played in Samuel Adeniran in what looked to be a sure goal. Dynamo goalkeeper Steve Clark rushed off his line and was able to make himself big to stuff Adeniran’s attempt.
In the 33rd minute, St. Louis’ captain Roman Burki showed why he is the reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. The Swiss keeper dove fully outstretched to his right to deny a long-range effort from Jan Gregus. The rebound fell to Kowalczyk at close range but Burki was there once again to deny the effort at point-blank range.
The score remained 0-0 when the halftime whistle blew. The Dynamo were getting chances but knew that wasn’t enough. They had to find a goal if they wanted any shot at moving on and keeping their Champions Cup run alive.
Ben Olsen made one change to begin the second half, bringing Erik Sviatchenko on for Micael. This would prove to be a key moment in the match. But before that moment could happen, a big defensive moment kept the Dynamo in the tie. Adeniran broke free in the 55th minute, timing his run perfectly to stay onside. Just when it looked like he was in alone on Clark, Ethan Bartlow came flying back to slide in and take the ball away at the last second.
Bartlow’s play would turn out to be huge as the Dynamo found their goal just minutes later. On the hour mark, the Dynamo earned a free kick in their own half. The ball was lofted into the box and Sviatchenko rose high to win it. His header found the feet of Daniel Steres, who played it back to Sviatchenko. The Danish center back put his left foot through the ball to beat Burki and give the Dynamo a 1-0 lead and the lead on aggregate. The goal was Sviatchenko’s first for the club, and couldn’t have come in a bigger moment.
Olsen immediately brought Amine Bassi and Franco Escobar on after the goal. Both players came on for the first time in 2024, replacing Coco Carrasquilla and Brad Smith. Houston didn’t sit back. They kept on the ball and kept St. Louis on their heels, as they had for most of the night. St. Louis tried to find openings, eventually pushing Burki and crew forward in stoppage time to find the equalizer.
The equalizer never came and the Dynamo came away with a 1-0 win, advancing on the away goals tiebreaker after the aggregate finished 2-2. Houston will now advance to the Round of 16 where they will meet the MLS Cup Champion Columbus Crew. Columbus had a bye in the first round of the tournament. Those matches will take place on March 6 and March 12.
