Dynamo FC returned home to earn a hard fought 0-0 draw against St. Louis CITY FC. The Orange needed to get a victory in front of its fans after losing the last two matches against their Texas Rivals, Austin and Dallas.
Both teams were determined to get the victory from the starting whistle, but it was the visitors who had the most opportunities and controlled the tempo of the match in the first half. Houston tried to play the ball from the back, but the pressure of the Missouri squad complicated the gameplan Ben Olsen and the Dynamo had.
The away team used the sides to create opportunities to score the opener. Rasmus Alm, Indiana Vassilev, and Celio Pompeu were very dynamic and helped Joa Klauss in their last third to keep Houston’s defense busy throughout the game.
Houston on the other side, started the game with Hector Herrera, who slowly started to get minutes after an injury who impeded him from starting the season in good form and shape. This was a sign the team knew they needed the win to comeback on the right track and remained in playoffs’ spot. Also, showed the team wanted to control the possession of the ball at midfield.
The offense did not work for Houston. Amine Basi, ‘Coco’ Carrasquilla and Sebastian Kowalczyk and Ibrahim Aliyu were responsible for Houston’s attack. However, ‘Coco’, whose performance are better when he played behind the center forward, looked uncomfortable on the side playing as a wing. Kowalczyk did not have a good game playing as a #9.
For the second half, Houston modified and looked better in offense. They started to have more control of the ball at midfield and therefore the offense created many chances to score the winner. And even though the Dynamo ended the match with a total of 24 shots, just a few of them were on target.
At the end of the ninety minutes, both teams seemed okay with the point.
Now Houston will visit Sporting KC in league action. But first, they need to take care of business at home in their first match of the 2024 Lamar Open Cup, where they will host Detroit City FC. Important to mentioned that only 8 MLS teams are participating in the Open Cup this year and that the Houston Dynamo is the current champion of the oldest soccer tournament in the USA.
