The Houston Dynamo’s winless run came to an end on Saturday night as they beat the Chicago Fire 2-0 at PNC Stadium.
They took the lead relatively early on thanks to a deflected Thorleifur Úlfarsson strike, and then Darwin Quintero made it two right before the half-time break. There were a bunch of chances in the second half, but the scores ultimately stayed the same as Houston held on to secure a clean sheet and all three points.
Story of the match
Chicago nearly jumped in front at the quarter-hour mark. A number of fortunate bounces led to Kacper Przybyłko getting the ball a few yards out from goal, but he just couldn’t control it, and his quickly-taken shot was blocked away.
Instead, it would be Houston who opened the scoring. The goal was an ugly one, as a cross towards the back post fell kindly to Thorleifur Úlfarsson, who went for a Paolo Di Canio-esque jumping volley. He made clean contact on the strike, but the reason it ended up going in was because of a deflection off defender Carlos Terán.
The Dynamo had the ball in the back of the opposing net once again a bit later on, but this goal would not stand. Sebastián Ferreira tapped-in a cross/shot from Darwin Quintero, but the latter was offside before he got the ball, so the sideline official’s flag correctly went up.
Not much else happened in terms of the rest of the first half until the final few minutes. Houston nearly made it two moments before the break after a lovely move led to Ferreira unleashing a strike from close range, but he was denied by a spectacular save from Gabriel Slonina.
That save would be for naught, though, as the hosts doubled their advantage right after anyway. A cross wasn’t dealt with at all by the Chicago defense, and Quintero made them pay by settling the ball, turning past his marker, and burying a low shot into the back of the net.
It was almost three just minutes into the start of the second half. Ferreira was slipped through on goal, and he converted the chance with ease, but a VAR review wiped the goal off the board for offside, which was the right decision.
Ferreira was in behind once again minutes later. However, instead of being denied by VAR, he was stopped by an onrushing Slonina.
Chicago finally got back into things, and they started to keep the ball in the final third. They really should have halved the deficit as a result, as a cut-back picked out Chris Mueller on the edge of the area. He made a mess of the finish, though, and his attempt didn’t even end up being a shot on target.
There were some more close calls before the night was over, but the Fire just couldn’t find the back of the net, which meant that Houston ended the night with the win and all three points.
Takeaways
As a neutral, Chicago games are not fun to watch. They’re woeful going forward, and they barely create any chances. Things are usually a bit better defensively, which means that the opposition doesn’t do much either. As a result, the ball just kind of aimlessly bounces around the midfield for most of proceedings.
That was a bit different tonight thanks to the Fire’s defensive disasterclass. The backline just couldn’t deal with any of the crosses lumped into the penalty area, and every loose ball became a fight for their lives. They got beat too easily off the dribble, and it ended up costing the team when all was said and done.
It might be time to worry about Brian Gutiérrez. Fans had some hopes for the 19-year-old this season after some promising showings the previous campaign, and he’s actually played a decent amount this time around because of Xherdan Shaqiri’s injury issues. However, he’s not done much of anything, and he’s mostly been an invisible figure during games. There’s plenty of time to turn it back around, of course, but there’s a chance that the American might not be as good as people thought.
I did not realize Paulo Nagamura was Houston’s head coach. I still remember him as a midfielder for Sporting Kansas City. He’s not doing a bad job, to his credit, and if he can improve soon then his side might be able to sneak into the playoffs.
Man of the match - Darwin Quintero
It was a team effort from Houston on the night, so it’s hard to highlight anyone in particular, but Darwin Quintero will get the nod here.
That is because of his moment of magic that ultimately sealed the result. With his team up 1-0, the Colombian settled a high ball in the area before turning past a defender in a crowded penalty area. At that point it was simple, as he calmly slotted a low shot into the back of the net.
His performance was more than just that contribution. He got on the ball often, and he did well to drive forward with it himself or find a teammate in a good position. It was a showing that Quintero and his side needed, as both had been struggling as of late.
Will this be enough to turn around the season for both? Only time will tell, but at least fans will be able to celebrate the victory tonight.