Houston Dynamo FC fell 3-0 to St. Louis CITY SC at CITYPARK tonight in the second game of a three-match road trip.
St. Louis was awarded a penalty in the seventh minute after a challenge by defender Chase Gasper sent Indiana Vassilev tumbling to the ground. Eduard Löwen’s attempt found the top left corner for his fifth goal of the season, despite goalkeeper Steve Clark diving in the correct direction.
St. Louis doubled their lead in the 51st minute off a set piece. Löwen found defender Tim Parker at the far post and the centerback headed the ball toward the opposite post for an oncoming Tomás Ostrák.
Referee Joe Dickerson consulted video review in the 81st minute and awarded a penalty to St. Louis after defender Daniel Steres tackled Aziel Jackson in the right corner of the penalty box near the touchline. Nicholas Gioacchini converted the attempt to extend the score to 3-0.
Houston’s first attempt on goal came in the 12th minute when midfielder Adalberto “Coco” Carrasquilla found forward Corey Baird at the far post. The forward’s headed attempt bounced just in front of goalkeeper Roman Bürki, who scooped up the danger.
Steres made two key interventions in the 21st minute, first to pressure Ostrák off the ball at the near post. The ball fell to Gioacchini near the six-yard box, but the veteran defender was well positioned to block the shot.
Baird played a backheel to forward Aliyu Ibrahim in the 28th minute, the 22-year-old received the ball in the heart of the box but could not capitalize due to pressure from the St. Louis backline. This is the fifth start of the season for the forward since joining the team in early May.
The Dynamo was able to get behind the St. Louis backline in the 38th minute on a breakaway run from Carrasquilla. The Panamanian international played the ball to Ibrahim but he lost possession before he could generate a shot. Carrasquilla created two chances against St. Louis this evening.
Clark tallied his first save of the evening in the final minutes of the first half when he denied Löwen’s free kick at the near post. Houston nearly went down to 10 players moments later following an altercation near the Dynamo bench. The referee consulted video review to rescind the red card initially shown to Iván Franco.
Houston’s first shot of the second half came off the right foot of Artur in the 48th minute. The Dynamo won the ball near midfield and Carrasquilla found Franco in space outside the box. Franco played the ball back to the Brazilian midfielder, but his effort was blocked by a defender.
The Dynamo had their first dangerous second half chance on goal in the 63rd minute when Franco played the ball back to Carrasquilla from the right side of the six-yard box. The midfielder managed to poke the ball towards goal, but Bürki was able to block the shot away from the net.
Houston almost pulled a goal back in the 86th minute, when forward Thorleifur Úlfarsson delivered a ball from the left edge of the penalty box. The ball glanced off Franco’s head, falling to defender Franco Escobar, who forced a quick save from Bürki and a defensive header off the line by Tim Parker.
The Dynamo next travel to face Chicago Fire FC on Tuesday, June 6 in the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at SeatGeek Stadium at 7:30 p.m. CT. Houston resumes league play to host LAFC at Shell Energy Stadium on Saturday, June 10.
