HOUSTON, TX – It was another high-scoring affair for Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2, who found themselves on the wrong side of a 3-1 scoreline against Houston Dynamo 2 despite a strong showing on Sunday at SaberCats Stadium in Houston, Texas.
The match began with WFC2 almost getting an early lead. A mistake at the back allowed Mateo Clark a chance to loft a ball over Houston goalkeeper Xavier Valdez, who was 20 yards out of his goal, but was just unable to dink it into the net. Houston then had a great chance to open the scoring just shy of the 15th minute mark, when Mattheo Dimareli burst down the right side and almost squeezed a shot past Alexander Miloševic in goal.
Houston ultimately took the lead in the 29th minute through Diego González from the penalty spot after Gabriel Segal was deemed to have been brought down in the box.
Segal then made it 2-0 in the 40th minute, after turning inside the box and firing a low shot into the near post.
The young 'Caps tried to rally in the final minutes of the first half but went into the halftime interval down by a pair.
It didn’t take too long before WFC2 halved the deficit in the 57th minute. Darko Ilić made a marauding run into the box and after dancing past his marker, slipped in forward Rayan Elloumi, whose first time effort slotted into the far post for his very first MLS NEXT Pro goal.
However, Houston made it 3-1 just five minutes later. Exon Arzu, off the bench, drilled a cross towards fellow substitute Isaiah Reed in the box for a simple tap-in.
Miloševic was forced into a big save moments afterwards, diving at full stretch to deny a curled effort from Andy Batioja.
Antoine Coupland nearly made it 3-2 after finding himself with a glorious chance in the box, but Valdez did extremely well to deny him.
The young ‘Caps tried to find even more chances throughout the rest of the match but were held off by a stubborn Dynamo side, who were able to hold on for the 3-1 victory.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Alexandra Billeter
Scoring Summary
29’ – HOU – Diego González (penalty)
40’ – HOU – Gabriel Segal (Sebastian Rodríguez)
57’ – VAN – Rayan Elloumi (Darko Ilić)
62’ – HOU – Isaiah Reid (Exon Arzu, Jefferson Valverde)
Statistics
Possession: HOU 62% - VAN 38%
Shots: HOU 15 - VAN 10
Shots on Goal: HOU 6 - VAN 2
Saves: HOU 1 - VAN 2
Fouls: HOU 8 - VAN 7
Offsides: HOU 4 - VAN 1
Corners: HOU 2 - VAN 4
Cautions
12’ – HOU – Jefferson Medina
56’ – VAN – Immanuel Mathe
87’ – HOU – Jefferson Valverde
Houston Dynamo FC
1.Xavier Valdez; 30.Isaac Mwakutuya, 6.Obafemi Awodesu, 3.Kieran Sargent, 14.Jefferson Medina (4.Ifeanyi Udanoh 89’); 21.Ousmane Sylla (13.Jefferson Valverde 49’), 19.Sebastian Rodríguez, 18.Diego González (50.Daniel Barrett 89’); 43.Mattheo Dimareli (7.Exon Arzu 61’), 8.Gabriel Segal (11.Isaiah Reid 61’), 20.Andy Batioja (9.Stephen Annor 74’)
Substitutes not used
12.Nicolas Defreitas-Hansen, 48.Josue Souza dos Santos, 70.Jordy Burbano Angulo
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
90.Alexander Miloševic; 56.Immanuel Mathe, 95.Joshué Ndakala (98.Luka Banović 80’), 51.Dembo Saidykhan (83.Finn Linder HT), 27.Giuseppe Bovalina; 97.Liam Mackenzie, 49.Malek Mehri; 46.Darko Ilić (43.Antoine Coupland 68’), 96.Mateo Clark (62.Luca Chen 68’); 44.Myles Morgan (71.Sahil Deo 80’), 63.Rayan Elloumi
Substitutes not used
80.Trystan Read
