Tigres Roar in Second Half to Down Dynamo
(image via Aldo Canale)
The Houston Dynamo opened their 2025 Leagues Cup in front of a sold out crowd at Shell Energy Stadium on Tuesday night. A good number of those fans were not wearing orange, however, but instead were in the yellow and blue of the visiting Tigres from Liga MX.
Ben Olsen put out the same starting eleven that was named for the match that never happened on Friday night against the LA Galaxy. Ondrej Lingr slotted in as Houston’s number 9 for the injured Ezequiel Ponce, while Felipe Andrade started at left back for the banged up Franco Escobar.
Tigres came out in the first half controlling much of the ball but the chances were few and far between. The Dynamo broke on the left with some good link up between Duane Holmes and Lawrence Ennali in the 22nd minute but the American’s shot was deflected out for a corner.
Dynamo goalkeeper Jonathan Bond was called on to make a big save in the 36th minute. The ensuing corner was flicked on but Vladimir Lorona could not direct his shot on target. Just as it looked like Houston had played a good first half and hung well with Tigres, the Mexican club struck.
A long ball over the top out Angel Correa in on goal and beat Ethan Bartlow. The World Cup winner controlled and turned at the top of the box and fired a low shot past Bond into the corner of the goal on the stroke of half time to give Tigres the 1-0 lead.
A goal that late in the first half can be deflating but the Dynamo came out of the locker room for the second 45 minutes and immediately responded. An inch-perfect pass from Brooklyn Raines got Lingr in on goal alone and he slotted past Guzman to tie the game at 1-1 in the 47th minute.
Lingr nearly added a second in the 55th minute but Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman did well to stymie his first attempt and then reacted well to dive and deny his second chance. Minutes later, Tigres did find their second goal.
An aggresive high press from Tigres forced Bond into a bad pass. The ball went right to Diego Lainez who took a touch with space at the top of the box. Lainez curled a shot past the dive of Bond from 22 yards out to put Tigres in front 2-1 in the 66th minute.
Another Houston mistake sealed the match in the 70th minute. Artur turned, with the Dynamo controlling possession, and played backward. The problem, there was no one from the Dynamo back. The ball rolled into the path of Correa and he ran in on goal all alone. He juked multiple times to put Bond down and diving and then chipped into the empty net to make the score 3-1 in favor of the Liga MX side.
The Dynamo nearly pulled one back in the 80th minute. Dorsey weighted a ball into the box into the path of substitute Gabe Segal. He got a shot away but Guzman came off his line, once again, and made himself big to make the save.
Ozziel Herrera put the finishing touches on the night in the final minute of seven minutes of second half stoppage time. The substiute took a ball over the top and volleyed it into the ground, then up and over Bond, for Tigres’ fourth goal.
As the second half came to an end and the full time whistle blew, Tigres picked up the 4-1 victory and three points in the Liga MX side of the table. The Dynamo gained no points and now are all but eliminated from Leagues Cup. Only the top four of the 18 MLS teams in points will advance on to the knockout round.
The Dynamo will next play on Friday, again at Shell Energy Stadium, against another Liga MX side in Mazatlan. With advancing all but impossible, we could see some young players and guys who have not gotten many minutes get a chance to show what they can do in that match.
