Houston Dynamo 1-Real Salt Lake 2
Real Salt Lake forward Albert Rusnak scored twice in stoppage time to beat the Houston Dynamo 2-1, and give his side three important points. With the win, RSL (11-10-5, 38 points) jumped all the way to fourth place in the West. On the other hand, the Dynamo (7-11-6, 27 points) lost more than three points on Saturday night. With the loss, the team is practically eliminated from any playoff hopes they still had.
Well and this was because the visitors came in to Houston determined to get the win. Of course, they performed accordingly. With a total of 25 shots, which 10 were on target, and 64% possession of the ball, Salt Lake showed they are ready for the MLS playoffs.
Despite having the lead since the 36th minute when Boniek Garcia’s shot from outside the box beat goalkeeper Andrew Putna, Houston was never in control of the match. The home team’s performance was bad in all sectors of the field throughout the match.
And honestly, this is not only about losing this match. The worst part for the Dynamo is the way they lost this match. They have not been showing that fighting spirit that was a main component of the success this franchise had a year ago when they went all the way to the conference finals.
The team not being able to hold on the lead again, in front of its own crowd, shows that they have not learned from past mistakes. The team has given away too many goals in the last minutes of matches that has costed them vital points in their aspirations to repeat what they did last season.
It seems that nothing is working for Houston, and there are not positive responses from the front office or even the bench. Coach Wilmer Cabrera has not shown a change in the game plan for his team, and despite doing some rotations in the roster nothing has changed for the Space City team that will face FC Dallas in the Texas Derby this coming Thursday.
On the other hand, Real Salt Lake had a great performance. Joao Plata, and Jefferson Savarino play a tremendous game on the wings where they created many opportunities for their side. They took advantage of their speed against Houston players such as Damarcus Beasley and Andrew Wenger. Also, Nigerian midfielder Sunny was a key component for the Utah team. He was the balance at midfield, where he helped his team to defend and transition the ball to the attackers.
Now, RSL will try to keep the good momentum as they visit rivals Colorado Rapids on August 25th.
Editor’s Note: All photos are courtesy of Jose Castellanos.
Houston Dynamo
