Breakfast Links - March 27, 2023
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
It was so nice to finally have all three Houston teams in action this weekend! With all three playing, it did lead to some mixed results between them. Let us kick off the week with your links to recap this weekend.
Houston
The best Houston result of the weekend came with the Dynamo picking up their second win on the season. This was their second win in a row, beating a strong New York City FC team 1-0. The result came from a very strong defensive showing and a clinical Amine Bassi penalty kick. Head coach Ben Olsen set them up perfectly to shut down New York’s exciting attack and it showed with only allowing one shot on target. The Dynamo will look to continue their hot streak on Saturday traveling to San Jose.
The Dash finally kicked off their season with a home opener against Racing Louisville. The game was sloppy from both sides, ending in a 0-0 draw. Both teams had multiple opportunities, but neither could manage a clean shot on goal that was able to beat the keeper. The Dash look to next Saturday when they travel to play the Chicago Red Stars.
Houston Dynamo 2 opened their season on the road to newcomers Austin FC II. The game was extremely tight for the most part, but Austin happened to be more clinical, seeing Dos lose 2-1. Houston’s lone goal came from forward Papa N’Doye off an incredible pass from Diego Gonzalez. N’Doye capped it off with a great finish and even better celebration. Beto Avilla had a rough game, missing multiple chances and receiving two yellow cards which resulted in seeing red. Dynamo 2 will look to get their first win of the season hosting Colorado Rapids 2 next Sunday.
Major League Soccer
This week in MLS we saw some of the biggest matchups of the season within the Eastern Conference with Columbus playing Atlanta, Orlando playing Philadelphia, and Cincinnati playing Nashville. In Columbus we saw the Crew absolutely demolish the hottest team in MLS 6-1. The Crew’s goals mostly came from their young players including Aiden Morris and Jacen Russell-Rowe. Former Dynamo striker Christian Ramirez also joined in on the fun scoring two goals on his return to MLS. Atlanta was without Thiago Almada but that does not excuse losing by five goals.
In Philadelphia, we saw a flurry of early goals with three being scored inside 20 minutes. Orlando struck first inside two minutes through Martin Ojeda, then added a second with Ivan Angulo scoring his first in MLS. Philly got one back ten minutes later through Andres Perea, but it was not enough as they lost 2-1.
Nashville and Cincinnati played the tightest game of the weekend ending in a 1-0 win for Cincinnati. Both teams were largely unaffected by the international break, setting up an exciting game. Cincinnati, who are usually known for being an incredible attacking side, played one of their best defensive games in their short existence, shutting out a very strong Nashville side. American international Brandon Vazquez was able to find the breakthrough right after half time to keep Cincinnati amongst the favorites in MLS.
Around the World
As it was an international break there is not too much to talk about, but there were some exciting games to be had. Friday night saw the United States National Team travel to Grenada for a Nations League match. The United States put out a very strong lineup and ruthlessly smashed Grenada 7-1, giving them a two-point advantage in the group. Among those seven goals, two came from Ricardo Pepi and another two from Weston McKennie. We also saw Alejandro Zendejas score his first goal for the United States. The National Team plays again tonight against El Salvador to try and clinch the group.
In European Qualifying, the biggest matchup came on Friday where the Netherlands traveled to France to have Kylian Mbappe ruin their weekend. France scored within two minutes through Antoine Griezmann and then scored a second quickly after through Dayot Upamecano. Mbappe then scored two more to cap off an incredible performance from the World Cup semifinalists. Other notable matchups saw Spain beat Norway 3-0, England beat Ukraine 2-0, and Croatia tie Wales 1-1.
