Three Thoughts on Houston’s 1-0 loss to Columbus Crew

HOUSTON – The Houston Dynamo welcomed the Columbus Crew to Shell Stadium for the first leg of the Round of 16 CONCACAF Champions Cup. Columbus, the defending MLS Cup champion, found a goal in the waning moments of extra time to secure the victory and take a one-goal advantage to the second leg.

After the game, Houston Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen shared his frustrations with conceding later but alluded that his side had plenty of chances to secure a win.

“There were a lot of chances at both ends, but Columbus ended up making the one that mattered. Our effort for large stretches of that game proved to be a good performance against one of the best teams in the league, but it still hurts us and the fans to lose games that late after the guys give so much for each other,” said Olsen.

“We have a little bit of a break now, which is nice because these guys have played every three or four days for the last few weeks.”

Here are three thoughts on the Dynamo’s second loss in a row at home.

Houston concedes a late goal

Houston Dynamo fans know all too well the pain of seeing their team concede a goal late, and on Wednesday, at the final whistle, a fan reminded them.

The fan, seated above the media press box, screamed out in Spanish something to the effect of:

“It’s the same thing every time. That’s why this stadium is never packed!”

Had the game finished nil-nil, it would have put Houston on a better path to advance to the tournament’s Elite Eight. Instead, it enters the second leg knowing it has to win by two goals to advance.

“It hurts, and it stings to lose that way. We did not play our best, but we definitely got a full effort from everyone that was out there. Giving up a goal on the last kick like that and losing really hurts,” said Ethan Barthlow, who replaced Erik Sviatchenko in the first half after the Danish defender picked up a knock.

Good first half, less than stellar second

Olsen is correct in that his side had opportunities to score, especially in the first half, where Houston found itself in good spots after stringing passes together, but the final pass always eluded them.

Houston stifled the Crew’s advances in the first half and held them at bay, something Columbus head coach Wildre Nancy pointed out in his post-game conference.

“The first half was not easy for us to play in the game. We were in between, and they forced us to be in between instead of usually we are on the front foot in a smart way, but they gave us problems and always found the free man,” said Nancy.

In the second half, the Crew picked up the pace of play, and its aggressiveness pushed Houston further back into its half. The game flow reflected the Crew’s aggressiveness in the second half, and they were rewarded with the late goal.

Of Houston’s lackluster second half, Olsen chalked it up to a bit of fatigue, which caused Houston to get stretched.

Too much respect for the Crew

Dynamo left-back Franco Escobar made his first start of the season and had a different take on Houston’s performance against the Crew.

The Argentinian defender said the Dynamo gave the Crew too much respect on the field.

“They’re a great team, but we also have a playing style, and I think that sometimes you have to be brave to face these types of matches if you want to be a competitive team — a winning team,” said Escobar.

Escobar adds that the team needed to come out and attack more and not settle for the draw, which he thinks the team was settling for.

His head coach sees it a bit differently.

“Everybody’s emotional. You lose a game, and we come in, and we all have our initial thoughts. But we’ll watch the game back, and I thought overall it was a good performance, and we just fell short in some moments to see it out,” said Olsen on Escobar’s assessment.