HOUSTON – A loss like this stings.
That was the feeling Houston Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen shared with reporters following his side’s 5-4 penalty loss to Toluca, which ended their League Cup run. Houston had one leg in the Round of 16, carrying a 2-1 lead into extra time, but a Toluca goal in the 96th minute brought La Naranja back to earth.
“I’m disappointed in the result, but I thought we played great against a very good team,” said Olsen. “There are definitely some positives, but it still stings.”
Latiff Blessing, starting in the place of an injured Coco Carasquilla, sat on the bench after being subbed out in the 59th minute. As Toluca pushed for a tying goal in the waning minutes to send the game to penalties, Blessing and the bench discussed the Leagues Cup Round of 16.
“As soon as we saw that they equalized, we all felt bad,” said Blessing. “That’s what happens in these games, so we just put it aside and [now] focus on the league.”
Houston had outplayed Toluca for most of the game, their lone goal aside that took a deflection off a Griffin Dorsey. The feeling Houston had done enough to get the win.
The Dynamo had eight shots on goal to Toluca’s four, including two disallowed goals due to VAR in the second half. As Toluca pushed forward, it left itself vulnerable in the back. Houston found opportunities to seal the game — including a breakaway opportunity from Sebas Ferrerira— but failed to capitalize on them. In the end, they needed on more score.
“This is the game. It’s beautiful, and it’s heartbreaking,” said Olsen. “When a team is that risky and continues to throw the type of numbers they were, sometimes the best way to win the game is to hit them the other way. And we had a couple of chances. We should have seen that game out.”
Dynamo center-back Erik Sviatchenko has won and lost finals and says Friday night’s game “feels like one of the tough ones.”
Olsen and other Dynamo players, including midfielder Artur, expressed disappointment after the game. The Brazilian said the team now needs to look inward.
“We need to look in the mirror now, each one of us, and decide what we’re gonna do,” said Artur. “If we wanna keep lifting trophies and getting the Dynamo up where it deserves to be. We need to keep the level the [full] 90 minutes. We cannot play well for one-half or 75 minutes. We need to finish the games.”
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.