Houston Dynamo FC sends Charlotte FC home with 1-0 loss

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography     Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (June 29, 2024) Houston Dynamo FC continued their impressive run with a 1-0 win against Charlotte FC at Shell Energy Stadium, thanks to a quick goal by forward Aliyu Ibrahim (shown left).

The victory keeps the Dynamo undefeated in their last six matches, during which they have scored 14 goals. Ibrahim’s goal came in the fifth minute, marking his fifth of the season. The play began with a pass from forward Amine Bassi to Sebas Ferreira, who set up Ibrahim for the decisive shot.

Goalkeeper Steve Clark played a pivotal role in securing the win, making crucial saves throughout the match. His first big stop came in the eighth minute, blocking a strong attempt from Charlotte’s Kerwin Vargas. Clark ended the night with four saves, ensuring a fourth clean sheet for the team this season.

Clark stated after the match, "It's good to win at home, and we needed the points. We played one of our best games on the ball, and the guys performed really well tonight. It was a joy to watch, and I had a good seat for most of it."

Defender Franco Escobar earned a free kick in the 27th minute, giving captain Héctor Herrera a chance to score. Herrera’s shot was on target, but Charlotte’s goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina made the save. Clark was tested again in the 29th minute but handled the challenge easily.

Houston continued to press in the second half, with Griffin Dorsey nearly doubling the lead in the 48th minute. His shot, however, went just over the bar.

Charlotte tried to equalize, with their best chance coming in the 59th minute. Clark made a crucial save, deflecting the shot and then recovering the rebound. He made another significant save in the 75th minute, diving to stop a powerful shot from Liel Abada.

With this win, Houston Dynamo FC will head to Real Salt Lake for their next match on Wednesday, July 3. Kickoff is at 8:30 p.m. CT at America First Field.

Houston Dynamo FC, Charlotte FC to meet in Leagues Cup

By Chris Price

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (August 6, 2023) Houston Dynamo FC will hit the pitch at Shell Energy Stadium on Monday, August 7 to face Charlotte FC in the Leagues Cup Round of 16.

Houston advanced to the Round of 16 with 5-3 win over C.F. Pachuca at Shell Energy Stadium on Wednesday, August 2. The winner of Monday's match will face the winner of the FC Dallas vs. Inter Miami CF, which is scheduled for at 7:30 p.m. start on Sunday.

Houston Dynamo FC 1, Charlotte FC 2 slideshow

By Chris Price

Photo(s) by Darla S Tamulitis
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (Sunday, July 3, 2022) The Houston Dynamo FC dropped a 2-1 decision to Charlotte FC at PNC Stadium in Houston on Sunday evening. Senior photographer Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography, was on hand to photograph all the action. Click here to view all the game action photos.

Houston Dynamo FC falls to Charlotte FC 2-1

Photo to Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography, Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (Sunday, July 3, 2022) When ask in the post-game press conference if there was any positives he could take from the Houston Dynamo FC 2-1 loss to Charlotte FC, Dynamo head coach Paulo Nagamura responded; and was very blunt with his answer.

“Positives—not many to be honest with you. I think one of the things that we have been praising that we need to be better is consistency and when you play two games like you play against Chicago and Portland, that in my opinion was two good games, even though we didn’t get a result in Portland and you come today with that kind of performance – that worries me. That’s something that we need to work on, our consistency and especially playing at home. I have been talking and I been saying this many times; we need to be more dominant. In the game today one thing that we take away is that our giveaways will affect our game especially at home and I think today it did big time.”

Houston started the game like they intended to control the game from the very first minute. In the first half, Houston trailed 1-0, on an own goal in the 28th minute by Dynamo midfielder Matias Vera. They led on shots (9-7) and corner kicks (4-1). and ended the first half trailing by one. Nagamura added to his comments when questioned about the own goal.

"Every time you go down 1-0, you know that team is going to wait for it and counter. To be honest, I think both goals are very soft goals by us. We could have done much better than we did on both goals and again it was just a bad day overall for us.”

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography, Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

In the second half, the Dynamo lost focus and could not find the focus and aggressiveness shown in the first 45 minutes. Charlotte added to its lead in the 74th minute when forward Andre Shinyashiki came off the bench and punched one past Houston goalkeeper Steve Clark straight from the top of the box. Seven minutes later, the Dynamo were able to get on the scoreboard when forward Fafa Picault (shown above) also came off the bench to score and prevent Houston from being shut out.

Houston captain Tim Parker also express his lack of satisfaction in the Dyanmo's performance when questioned by the press.

“It was disappointing. When teams come down to Houston, especially with the crowd we had tonight and the fans which we haven’t seen in a while - it is disappointing to obviously not get the three points, but also not play as well as we thought we were going to.” 

The Dynamo will play their next two matches against in-state rivals. They will first face FC Dallas on Saturday, July 9 at PNC Stadium. Three days later, they travel to Q2 Stadium to face Austin FC.

With the loss, Houston drops to 6-3-9 (W-D-L) with 16 games remaining in the season.