Houston Dynamo Complete Comeback, Advance to Open Cup Quarterfinals
(image via Aldo Canale)
The path lined up nicely for the Houston Dynamo. They took down USL Championship club El Paso Locomotive FC in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Round of 32 and got another home match at Shell Energy Stadium against a USL club in the Round of 16. However, Louisville City FC came in off an upset of Major League Soccer club Austin FC and had their sights set on the Dynamo.
After a 2-0 loss on Saturday in league play, the Dynamo made some changes to the lineup, notably inserting Ondrej Lingr back in to the eleven up front and Jack McGlynn’s first start since returning from injury. Minutes into the match, the Dynamo had a chance to take an early lead.
McGlynn had the ball in midfield and perfectly weighted a through-ball into the path of Duane Holmes. The Louisville defense brought Holmes down in the box and referee Marcos de Oliveira immediately pointed to the spot. McGlynn took the penalty but Louisville goalkeeper Danny Faundez extended to his right and pushed the shot off the post and away from goal. Houston were unable to caplitalize and the match remained 0-0.
The game would remain scoreless into half time and Houston made two changes coming out of the break. McGlynn made way for Lawrence Ennali and goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer, who took a knock in the first half, had to be replaced by Jonathan Bond.
The Dynamo pressured the Lousiville goal during the second half but it was the away side that got a goal on a clinical counter-attack. Louisville broke down their left side and Chris Donovan slid a ball all the way across the goal to the backpost. Striker Ray Serrano was there to slide the ball into the net and give Louisville City the 1-0 lead in the 68th minute.
Ben Olsen immediately brought Hector Herrera on after the goal as the Dynamo searched for an equalizer. Time ticked away and the result looked bleak. But Herrera, at 36 years old, showed class is permanent.
The former Mexican international fired a perfect, pinpoint cross to the six-yard box where defender Erik Sviatchenko leaned his head forward and found the back of the net. The goal, crafted by two captains, two veterans, pulled Houston level at 1-1 in the 89th minute.
The match went to thirty minutes of extra time, with the Dynamo looking to take advantage after their late equalizer. After 102 minutes, they finally found a lead, thanks to their much maligned DP striker Ezquiel Ponce.
It was Herrera, once again, the architect. He played a ball into the feet of Ponce in the box, with his back to goal. The Argentine turned and fired with his left foot, beating Faundez to put Houston ahead 2-1 in the 102nd minute. It was the fourth straight Open Cup game that Ponce scored in and finally put Houston in the driver’s seat.
Agustin Resch saved a chance on the line for Louisville to equalize in what could have sent the game to penalties. It was nervy, but Houston saw the game out and the final whistle blew on a 2-1 victory after the thirty minutes of extra time. The Dynamo booked their place in the quarterfinals of the Open Cup, but not without drama. The draw for the quarterfinals, through the final, will take place tomorrow morning at 8 AM.
Now, the Dynamo have to shift back to league play as they host the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. Colorado put six goals past Houston earlier this season in a 6-2 win.
