Sporting Kansas City 1-Houston Dynamo 0
A lonely goal by Diego Rubio was all Kansas City needed to beat Houston 1-0. The Orange felt apart after defender Alejandro Fuenmayor saw red in the fourteen-minute after a controversial call by referee Chris Penso.
The team was not the same after being down one man so early in the match. They had to do a substitution early to fix their back line as Adolfo Machado came in to the game in place of Tomas Martinez. With this move by Dynamo coach Wilmer Cabrera the home team lost their presence in offense. MLS All Star forward Albert Elis had some chances to get his side on the scoreboard, but the final touch was not fine for any of Houston’s players.
In addition, the concentration was just not there for Houston during this crucial match to get into a playoff spot against a long-time rival Kansas City. It seemed the team was worried about the referee’s calls more than the match itself. Even the reaction from the bench was not the appropriate one. The frustration was rising so quickly than even Wilmer Cabrera was dismissed from the match at half time for what the referee said it was “an inappropriate conduct in the tunnel”. First assistant Michael Dellorusso coached the team during the second half.
Yes, the referees had many controversial calls throughout the match. Penso showed 10 cards to the home team, which is the most in a match in the club’s history. All this happened even though Sporting KC committed more fouls than the Dynamo. This was a very physical match and Penso did make some very bad calls. Either Penso is just not prepared or lacks talent to perform his profession at a high level at an MLS game. His bad performance and the lack of concentration by Dynamo players costed them two more red cards during stoppage time. Darwin Ceren and Elis were sent off and will probably miss Houston’s next MLS match (they are still eligible the U,S. Open Cup semifinal match on Wednesday night).
Leaving all the controversy out, Kansas City played very smart. They showed some solid real ingenuity in the midfield as well as pressured their rivals from Houston first third. Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia saved his side on many occasions and was a key player in his sides victory.
On another note, Kansas City’s midfielder Gianlica Busio, who is only 16 years old, made his first MLS start and had his first career assist during this match. Also, Houston newest acquisition, forward Ronald Pena, made his MLS debut as he subbed in Mauro Manotas in the second half.
Next for the Dynamo is hosting Los Angeles FC in an Open Cup semifinal on August 8th, whereas Sporting KC will visit the same LA team three days later.
Houston Dynamo
Sporting Kansas City
