Andrew Driver and Giles Barnes delivered goals as the Houston Dynamo defeated Stoke City F.C. of the English Premier League in the BBVA Compass Dynamo Charities Cup on Wednesday night.
Both Driver and Barnes were born in England and the pair helped the Dynamo secure a win over Stoke City for Houston’s first win against an English Premier League club in two all-time meetings.
After Driver missed an early chance in the second minute, firing a shot from ten yards wide of the far post, the midfielder took his chance in the 11th minute. Driver curled a free kick from 25 yards directly over the Stoke City wall and into the bottom corner of the net for a 1-0 advantage.
It was Driver’s first goal since May 8 at D.C. United.
Barnes sealed the win in the 88th minute, receiving a well-weighted pass from Corey Ashe on the left side of the penalty area and driving toward the near post before slotting a tight-angled shot past Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland for a 2-0 win.
It was Barnes’ first goal since he scored against FC Tucson on May 29 in the U.S. Open Cup.
Former Dynamo defender Geoff Cameron returned with Stoke City and played 89 minutes in his return to Houston.
The Dynamo improve to 3-2-0 all-time in the BBVA Compass Dynamo Charities Cup, with victories over Stoke City, C.D. Aguila of El Salvador and C.F. Monterrey of Mexico.
Proceeds from tonight’s BBVA Compass Dynamo Charities Cup will benefit the “Building a Better Houston” initiative, a campaign led by Dynamo Charities, presented by the Halliburton Charitable Foundation, and BBVA Compass to make improvements in Houston’s East End. The program includes: a home renovation with Rebuilding Together in May; a Food Bank event during July’s Dynamo Charities Week; financial education programs for East End students in September; and the “Business of Sports” program with Junior Achievement this fall.
Houston Dynamo vs. Stoke City F.C.
BBVA Compass Dynamo Charities Cup
July 24, 2013 – BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, TX
Attendance: 14,123
Scoring Summary:
Houston: Andrew Driver (unassisted) 11
Houston: Giles Barnes (Corey Ashe) 88
Houston Dynamo: Tyler Deric; Warren Creavalle (Brad Davis 66), Bobby Boswell (Jermaine Taylor 46), Eric Brunner (Corey Ashe 66), Mike Chabala; Alex Dixon (Bryan Salazar 89), Adam Moffat (Kofi Sarkodie 46), Ricardo Clark (Boniek Garcia 46), Andrew Driver (Brian Ownby 46); Cam Weaver (Giles Barnes 46), Jason Johnson
Substitutes not used: Tally Hall
Stoke City F.C.: Asmir Begovic (Jack Butland 46); Geoff Cameron (Jordan Keane 89), Ryan Shawcross (Andy Wilkinson 66), Robert Huth (Ryan Shotton 67), Erik Pieters (Marc Muniesa 67); Michael Kightly (Matt Etherington 77), Steven N'Zonzi (Mark Wilson 46), Charlie Adam (Wilson Palacios 46); Johnathan Walters (Flo Cuvelier 77), Peter Crouch (Kenwyne Jones 46), Cameron Jerome (Glenn Whelan 46)
Substitutes not used: None.
Misconduct Summary:
None.
Referee: Mathieu Bourdeau
Referee's Assistants: Adam Garner; Mark Boyko
4th Official: Elie Aguilar
