9 Man Dynamo Unable to Contain LAFC in Second Half
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo’s second match of 2026 was one that presented a huge test. LAFC, and their stable of stars, visited Shell Energy Stadium on Saturday night in front of a sell-out crowd.
Ben Olsen and the Dynamo coaching staff made one change to the starting eleven from last week’s win over Chicago. Ezequiel Ponce was out with an injury and was replaced up front by Ondrej Lingr. Houston got an early chance after just 6 minutes when Guilherme had a shot deflected out of play for a corner kick.
The Dynamo stayed on the attack and LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made a good save to deny an Antonio Carlos header in the 16th minute, even with the flag eventually going up for offside.
LAFC’s best chances of the first half came in the 37th minute. The away side worked the ball to the left side for Denis Bouanga. His shot on goal was parried away by Houston goalkeeper Jonathan Bond but fell to Son Heung-Min. The Korean superstar wiggled free and fired at Bond, but the Dynamo keeper once again was up for the challenge.
The game took a huge turn in first half stoppage time when Antonio Carlos was shown a straight red card and sent off. The Brazilian went into a challenge on Son from behind, apparently catching the LAFC striker on his calf. Referee Jon Freemon made no hesitation in pulling the red card out and there was no review called for by VAR.
Houston had to play the second half down a man and brought on Agustin Resch for his Major League Soccer debut to begin the second half. He replaced Lingr. The Dynamo nearly took a shock lead just moments later. Lloris came off his line and the ball fell to Agustin Bouzat. The Argentine tried to chip the French keeper from 40 yards out and saw his effort ping off the crossbar.
From that moment, LAFC took hold of the game. Bond denied Son from close range in the 53rd minute, before the flag went up. The away side then found the break through shortly there after. LAFC worked the ball to the top of the box from the left corner and midfielder Mark Delgado struck a shot from 20 yards out into the bottom corner to put Los Angeles up 1-0.
Son nearly added a second in the 59th but Bond again came off his line to make a save. Hector Herrera came on in the 76th minute to try and turn the tide but things went from bad to worse seconds later. Son was sent through on goal and Agustin Bouzat pulled him down. Freemon had no choice but to send him off and the Dynamo were down to 9 men.
LAFC put the game to bed in the 82nd minute with their second goal, a near carbon copy of their first. The corner kick was once again taken on the left side and played to the top of the box. This time Delgado made one more pass to Stephen Eustaquio. The Canadian international fired from distance past Bond to make it 2-0.
The one highlight for the Dynamo was Homegrown midfielder Matthew Arana coming on for his MLS debut in the 88th minute. Arana became the youngest ever player for Houston. The final whistle blew as LAFC got the 2-0 victory.
The Houston Dynamo will have next weekend off after their match against the New England Revolution was postponed. The Dynamo will return to Shell Energy Stadium on March 14 to take on the Portland Timbers.
