Houston Dynamo FC earned a point from a 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy tonight at Dignity Health Sports Park.
The match was Houston’s first at the Galaxy’s home park since April 19, 2019, and the Dynamo have now won or tied in three of their past four trips to Carson.
The Dynamo struck first through forward Fafà Picault in the 13th minute. Forward Maxi Urruti won a header near midfield off a long clearance from Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann and the ball fell to midfielder Darwin Quintero. Quintero quickly turned and slipped a ball through the Galaxy back line to Picault, who ran on and rolled it past the outstretched leg of Klinsmann.
For Picault, the goal continued his red-hot run of form over the last month. The forward has scored or assisted on a goal in seven of Houston’s last nine games dating back to August 4, with seven goals and an assist in that time span.
The Galaxy leveled things on the hour mark through a goal from forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez. The striker leapt to head in a cross from forward Dejan Joveljic, powering his shotjust past a diving effort from goalkeeper Michael Nelson and into the upper right corner of the net.
Houston had a pair of dangerous chances to grab a second goal after halftime. In the 57th minute, forward Griffin Dorsey raced down the right flank and played a perfectly-weighted ball across the face of goal to Picault, but the ball just skipped over his outstretched foot. Then in the 72nd, midfielder Matías Vera ran onto a low centering pass in the middle of the box but his shot from six yards fizzed just wide of the near post.
Chicharito had three looks at a second goal for the home side. Five minutes after scoring, he drew a foul just outside the area, but his free kick just missed the top left corner. Then in the 83rd minute he got onto the end of a pass from forward Kevin Cabral, but Dorsey hustled back and blocked his shot, allowing Nelson time to gather the rebound. In the 88th he worked himself free at the six-yard box to get on the end of a cross, but his headed shot sailed over the crossbar.
Houston will cap off a busy week with its third game in eight days as it hosts arch-rival FC Dallas on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. CDT at BBVA Stadium. The match will be the third and final regular-season meeting in the 2021 Texas Dery, with the season series hanging in the balance after a pair of draws in the first two contests. Tickets are available at HoustonDynamoFC.com/SingleGame and the match will be televised live on UniMás Ch. 67.
