Flat and Frustrated: Dynamo Embarrassed Again at Home
(image via Derek Boyd)
The Houston Dynamo came back home after a 1-0 loss on the weekend, looking to find their form in a place that they’ve struggled at all season. The Vancouver Whitecaps came in on a poor run of form themselves but they were a road team at Shell Energy Stadium in 2025. And they did what many teams have done this season when visiting downtown Houston, leave with all three points.
Vancouver came out from the opening whistle pushing the attack forward and keeping the Dynamo in their own half. It paid off after just four minutes when a header from inside the box was saved well by Jonathan Bond. However, the rebound fell to Emmanuel Sabbi and he rifled a shot past Bond, who was still on the ground, to give the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead.
The away side should have had a second goal in the 13th minute. Brian White managed to stay onside and played Daniel Rios through on goal. The striker had only Bond to beat in a one-on-one but the Houston keeper came out and made the save.
Houston’s best chance of the half came on the half hour mark when Lawrence Ennali was sprung in on goal. The German winger raced behind the defense but pulled his shot wide of the far post as he tried to curl the ball in.
The Whitecaps grabbed a second goal just before half time to take control of the match. Some good play on the right side ended with Brian White laying the ball back for Sebastian Berhalter. The midfielder’s shot took a big deflection and wrong-footed Bond to make the score 2-0 in the 42nd minute.
The second half didn’t go much better for Houston and Vancouver won a penalty kick in the 54th minute when Felipe Andrade brought down Sabbi. Bond saved White’s spot kick but the rebound came right back to him and he tucked it into the empty net to extend the lead to 3-0 after 56 minutes.
Down by three goals at home, you would expect the Dynamo to show some fight. They showed it with physicality and some silly fouls but didn’t show it where it really mattered. Griffin Dorsey, Sebastian Kowalczyk, Ondrej Lingr, and Duane Holmes all came into the match to try and provide a pulse for the offense, to no avail.
The end of the 90 minutes signaled an incredible 7th loss for the Dynamo at Shell Energy Stadium in 2025. This Vancouver team has been good this year but with the form they were in and the Dynamo at home, this can only be called an embarrassing performance.
At least for the Dynamo they can try and put this behind them quickly. Houston will host the Supporters Shield leading Philadelphia Union on Saturday. Things don’t get any easier for the Dynamo and with their home form the way it is, this match looks like another that could turn out poorly. Tonight’s results have the Dynamo falling out of the top nine places in the Western Conference and the time to get going and play consistently is now.
