HOUSTON – Two mistakes in less than a minute.
That was the difference between Houston Dynamo FC facing Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami on Friday night to now having a — in Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen’s words — “much needed” four days off after its 2-1 loss to Charlotte FC Monday Night in Leagues Cup action.
Entering the 80th minute, Houston, nursing a one-goal lead, had looked more likely to get a second goal than to concede one. But Charlotte FC had other plans. A simple one. Route 1.
Charlotte FC right-back Jaylin Lindsey, from his own half, sent a long diagonal pass toward 22-year-old forward Patrick Agyemang. The Charlotte FC substitute bodied Dynamo center back Erik Sviatchenko to create space for himself and meet the ball.
Dynamo keeper Steve Clark came off his line to clear the ball, but Agyemang’s touch and dribble put the ball out of his reach. Agyemang calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net to equalize the game. Charlotte FC didn’t have to wait long for their second goal.
After the kickoff, Dynamo center back Micael dos Santos Silva found himself with the ball. The former Dynamo 2 player played a strong pass to Clark’s near side, but the Dynamo keeper was positioned on the opposite side. Clark made every effort to stop it from crossing the goal line but to no avail.
“That’s a tough way to go out of the tournament, but we had a few chances to put the game away, and we didn’t do it. Then we find a way to lose the game. Let’s put it that way,” Olsen said. “That’s not like us. That hasn’t been our identity this year, so we’re disappointed.
There’s no denying that Olsen wishes the club was moving on. The loss stings and, worse yet, cause it was self-inflicted.
“Nothing but disappointment for me,” Griffin Dorsey said. “We got a lot to learn from today, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Dorsey, who led the counterattack that led to the Houston early goal, said it’s hard to focus on the positives from that seeing as how the team conceded two second-half goals to lose the game at home.
The Leagues Cup loss ends Houston’s four-game unbeaten streak and extends their winless streak to nine games in all competitions.
While Houston exits one competition, it’s still in the race of two of them. The U.S. Open Cup and the MLS regular season, where Houston is aiming to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
“Our objectives this season are still the same, and that’s to make the postseason,” Olsen said. “We have a semifinal in the U.S. Open Cup looming, so there’s a lot to look forward to. The four days that we’re going to step away from each other are much needed. These guys have played every three days, and we looked tired.”
After the teams’ four-day rest period, Houston will reconvene in training to prepare for the return of MLS action. The Dynamo host the Portland Timbers on August 20th before taking on Real Salt Lake in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals on August 23rd at Shell Stadium.
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.
[…] a moment, it seemed like Houston would let another victory slip from their fingertips when Real Salt Lake leveled the game despite having few scoring opportunities. But Olsen’s faith […]