Houston Dynamo FC downs in-state rival Austin 2-0

 

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (March 18, 2023) Two second half goals gave Houston Dynamo FC a lead that Austin FC was unable to and led Houston to a 2-0 win at Shell Energy Stadium on Saturday night. The win gave Houston their second victory over Austin at home and their second win against theor in-state rival in the all-time series.

The first goal came in the 71st minute when forward Amine Bassi scored with a penalty spot as a results of the video assistant referee confirming that an Austin defender handled the ball with his arm inside the box. It was the first goal for the Dynamo from the French native.

The second Houston goal came 15 minutes later, in the 86th minute, when captain Hector Herrera switched the ball at the edge of the box. His pass to defender Griffin Dorsey created space for the captain to run between two defenders and beat the Austin shot stopper with a one-touch finish toward the near post.  

Head coach Ben Olsen stated in the post-game press conference:

“Almost as important it is to put up shutouts, so it's great all around. Defensively, we don't tell those guys enough. I felt Teenage (Hadebe) was really good, and Ethan (Bartlow) had his best game. I’m proud of those guys to keep a high, high scoring team off the board. For Hector (Herrera) to score a goal and to get on the board and also Bassi is a big deal one out of the run of play, you know, another set piece – PK. So all in all, good night, we're gonna enjoy it because it's our first one. It's nice to get that monkey off our back and then we're gonna get back to work and hopefully get better.” 

The win also gave Olsen his first victory with the Dynamo and further gave Houston their 186th win in regular season play and their 138th win in regular season play at home.

Herrera also was questioned after the game about the changes in the second half. He stated:

“I thought we did a good job of controlling the match. They nearly scored a goal and that is what makes us lose a lot of games. At the half we knew that we were managing the game correctly. We also needed to increase the intensity and energy to get the result we wanted. We came out in the second half with that mentality, and we took advantage from that point on. We could have scored more transition goals.” 

The win raises the Dynamo's record to 1-2 for the season before a Saturday, March 25 match at home against New York City FC (2-1-1).

Readers may click here to view photos from the match by Darla Tamulitis of La Vita Loca Photography.