HOUSTON – The Houston Dynamo are out of the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after conceding three second-half goals to Minnesota United FC in a 3-2 loss at BBVA Stadium.
For Dynamo head coach Wilmer Cabrera, and Dynamo fans, this game was a case of Deja vu. The game followed the same pattern as in Houston’s first U.S. Open Cup match in the tournament — dominate the first half, fall asleep in the second.
Against the Loons, it started with an early Ronaldo Peña goal in the 8th minute. Later, Tómas Martinez doubled the lead when he capitalized on a Minnesota mistake in the 37th.
But then the second half happened.
“In the second half, we were horrible. We didn’t show personality. We didn’t show commitment and we didn’t fight and we allowed three goals in the second half—that’s really bad,” Cabrera said.
“And that’s why some players are starters and some others not because this is your opportunity to show that you deserve to play but the games are 90 minutes, not 45 minutes.”
Minnesota’s second half included three goals from sixteen shots and utter domination from the Loons.
“They had 16 shots in the second half — sixteen. Our players looked like [practice] cones,” Cabrera said. “If you let them shoot, and shoot, some of them are going to go in.”
Worse yet, two of the three goals came after the 80th minute. And while Houston is the team that plays in heat, it was the Loons that looked more comfortable in the dreadful Houston heat.
The Dynamo looked gassed and played like it.
Dynamo depth tested
Houston entered the game missing six players. If ever there was a game where the Dynamo’s depth was going to be tested, it was Tuesday against Minnesota. Suffice it to say, it failed.
Alberth Elis, Romell Quioto, Maynor Figuroa, and Darwin Ceren, are participating in the Gold Cup with their respective countries. While Mauro Manotas and Adam Lundqvist are dealing with paperwork and passport issues in their own respective countries.
And Memo Rodriguez is recuperating from a muscle injury. If there was ever a time to test the bench, this game was it. It’s safe to say those players did themselves no favors.
“The reality of this game was one where we thought, and they showed that they could beat this team because we were up 2-0 in the first half,” Cabrera said. “So why would we need other players. You have to have consistency, mentality, and personality to play 90 minutes.”
Because of the Orange’s failure to play a full 90 minutes, their U.S. Open Cup title defense ends with a whimper.
Houston now has to shift focus back on Major League Soccer and it starts Saturday on the road against the Portland Timbers.
Jesus Acevedo Jr. is the Editor-in-Chief of The Bayoucitian. He’s an award-winning bilingual journalist from Houston, TX. A graduate of the University of Houston, he has written for the Houston Chronicle, La Voz de Houston, MLSsoccer.com, and ProSoccerUSA.
Before becoming a journalist, Jesus spent his early 20s drumming his way across Houston with two bands — Shortcomings and InsertNameHere. The memories that Jesus made as a musician were the seeds that started the idea for the comedy, Houmans: The Series.