Houston Dynamo go down a man early in loss to Austin FC

The winless streak continued for Houston Dynamo FC who made the trip to Q2 Stadium to take on Austin FC. The Dynamo were without several players due to health and safety protocols, but after going down a goal, they would go down a man. Despite initially managing the game well, the demands of playing with 10 men and with Austin possessing deep in the Dynamo half for length stretches of time led to a 3-2 win for Austin. They put the pressure on the home side with a late goal, but it wasn’t enough to get a point.

Austin came out the more aggressive side, but the visiting Dynamo had the first chance to get a goal. Tyler Pasher got free on the wing in the 5^th minute and cut inside hoping to open a shot for himself. His defender stayed in front and instead of taking a shot he slotted a perfect pass to Joe Corona who could’ve one touched the ball into the net, but instead his shot was poorly hit and went well wide and high from the goal.

Instead it would be the home side to open the scoring. Just a few minutes after Houston’s missed opportunity. A ball was played into Jon Gallagher who tried to make a play on the ball, but yielded the play to the rushing run of Tomás Pochettino whose shot ricocheted off the side post and into Zarek Valentin and then into the goal.

Things would get more difficult in the 20^th minute for the Dynamo with Darwin Cerén earning himself a straight red card. After fouling an Sebastian Berhalter, Cerén got his elbow up and nailed the player in the face. It was an easy decision by center referee Joseph Dickerson.

Houston got the equalizer in the 27^th minute thanks to Tyler Pasher. A poor pass out of the back by Austin saw Matías Vera get possession in a dangerous spot. Vera threaded a ball to Corey Baird who took a shot that was deflected off Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver. Pasher one touched the rebound into the net tying things up.

As the first half went on, Austin continued their press which gave the Dynamo some room to counter attack. The Dynamo were able to exploit some space left by players caught higher up the field, but also they slowed things down by winning set pieces.

Austin got the lead back just before halftime. A ball was sent in and it was headed wide to Diego Fagúndez who took a shot near post. Dynamo goalkeeper Marko Marić made a good initial save, but it fell right to Pochettino who put the ball in the net to make it 2-1 to the home side.

The home side nearly added to their lead early into the second half with Diego Fagúndez having himself a shot inside the 18 yard box. Fagúndez hit a low shot aimed at the far post, but Marić was able to provide his heroics to keep the score where it was.

However, a poor giveaway saw an excellent sequence of passing put Austin up in the 56^th minute. Fagúndez had an overlapping run and sent in a perfect cross to Cecilio Domínguez who headed the ball into the net.

As the second half went on, the Dynamo were forced to defend deep and rely on the counter attack which meant Austin had possession and in the Dynamo’s half. Both managers made lots of changes, but the result was largely the same: Houston trying to be compact and Austin looking dangerous in our half.

The Dynamo would get a goal back in the 86^th minute. After pressure by Griffin Dorsey, Stuver made a poor pass in the back that went right to Fafà Picault. Picault took his touch and put the ball in the back of the net even as he was under pressure.

It was a welcomed goal that gave the momentum to Houston for the final few minutes of the game with Austin left defending their lead, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to get the draw on the road. The Dynamo managed the game well and were unlucky with some of the goals they conceded, but playing the majority of the game down a man was a huge ask for Houston.

The Dynamo will continue their road trip with a stop in Saint Paul to face Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field on Saturday August 7^th at 7:00 PM CT.

Goals:

7’ ATX: Tomás Pochettino (assisted by Julio Cascante)

27’ HOU: Tyler Pasher

45’+1’ ATX: Tomás Pochettino

56’ ATX: Cecilio Domínguez (assisted by Diego Fagúndez)

86’ HOU: Fafà Picault

Disciplinary:

20’ HOU: Darwin Cerén (red card)

79’ HOU: Griffin Dorsey (yellow card)

83’ ATX: Jared Strout (yellow card)

Lineups:

Houston Dynamo (4-3-3): Marko Marić; Sam Junqua (65’ Adam Lundkvist), Teenage Hadebe, Tim Parker, Zarek Valentin; Joe Corona (90’ Mateo Bajamich), Darwin Cerén, Matías Vera (65’ Oscar Boniek García); Tyler Pasher (32’ Griffin Dorsey), Corey Baird (65’ Memo Rodríguez), Fafà Picault

Austin FC (4-1-4-1): Brad Stuver; Žan Kolmanič, Matt Besler, Julio Cascante (64’ Jhohan Romaña), Hector Jiménez (64’ Nick Lima); Alexander Ring (64’ Daniel Pereira); Jon Gallagher, Tomás Pochettino, Sebastian Berhalter, Diego Fagúndez (77’ Rodney Redes); Cecilio Domínguez (71’ Nick Stroud)