The Houston Dynamo surged to an early lead, but Minnesota United FC rallied late to emerge with a 2-1 win over the Dynamo Saturday night at TCF Bank Stadium.
Forward Alberth Elis moved into a tie for the team lead with his fourth goal of the year, giving him a goal or an assist in six of Houston’s seven games this year, and forward Romell Quioto notched his third assist in two games to go along with four shots of his own, but Minnesota took advantage of a penalty and a deft flick to take the three points.
The Dynamo struck first in the 10th minute as midfielder Tomás Martínez settled the ball in the middle and passed it wide to the left side of the field to Quioto. The Honduran international dribbled toward the end line before whipping a ball across the six-yard box to Elis, who slid in just in time to put the ball past the Minnesota goalkeeper for the first goal of the game.
Quioto and Elis proved to be a dangerous combination throughout the contest, as Quioto tied for the lead among all players with four chances created to go with four shots, with most of his crosses aimed at La Pantera.
Minnesota United drew level thanks to a penalty kick from Darwin Quintero in the 40th minute. Quintero was awarded the penalty after referee Ted Unkel whistled Dynamo defender Alejandro Fuenmayor for a handball inside the box when Quintero’s header deflected off the Venezuelan’s arm. Dynamo goalkeeper Joe Willis guessed right and nearly saved a penalty for the second consecutive week, but Quintero tucked his penalty attempt inside the right post and above the reach of the 6’5” Willis.
They Dynamo came close to adding another goal during the first half when Quioto got into the box once again and uncorked a laser shot that caromed off the woodwork so hard that it left the goal frame wobbling for several seconds thereafter.
Minnesota United took the lead in the 70th minute when Brazilian midfielder Ibson backheeled a pass from midfielder Miguel Ibarra that snuck past Dynamo goalkeeper Joe Willis and inside the far post. The goal came against the run of play as the Dynamo had been dominating possession, but was enough to put the hosts in front. Unkel utilized Video Review to get a second look at the play and upheld the goal after further review.
The Dynamo pushed valiantly for the equalizer over the final 20 minutes, including a desperate flurry in stoppage time that resulted in a pair of excellent chances, but were unable to find the back of the net before Unkel whistled an end to the match.
The Dynamo will return to BBVA Compass Stadium on Saturday, May 5 when they host the LA Galaxy at 7:30 p.m. CDT. Individual tickets for this game are sold out, but full season ticket memberships remain available at HoustonDynamo.com.
Minnesota United FC (3-5-0; 9 pts.) 2-1 Houston Dynamo (2-3-2; 8 pts.)
MLS Regular Season Week 9
April 28, 2018 – TCF Bank Stadium– Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 21,574
SCORING SUMMARY:
HOU: Alberth Elis 4 (Romell Quioto 3, Tomás Martínez 3) 10
MIN: Darwin Quintero 2 (penalty) 40
MIN: Ibson 2 (Miguel Ibarra 3, Collin Martin 1) 70
LINEUPS:
Minnesota United FC: Bobby Shuttleworth; Carter Manly, Jerome Thiesson, Francisco Calvo ©, Michael Boxall; Rasmus Schuller, Ibson (Alexi Gomez 78); Sam Nicholson (Collin Martin 67), Miguel Ibarra; Darwin Quintero, Christian Ramirez (Mason Toye 30)
Unused subs: Matt Lampson, Brent Kallman, Harrison Heath, Frantz Pangop
Total shots: 6 (Darwin Quintero, Christian Ramirez 2); Shots on goal: 3 (Ibson, Darwin Quintero, Christian Ramirez 1); Fouls: 15 (Rasmus Schuller 6); Offside: 1 (Sam Nicholson 1); Corner kicks: 4 (Darwin Quintero 4); Saves: 4 (Bobby Shuttleworth 4)
Houston Dynamo: Joe Willis; Andrew Wenger, Alejandro Fuenmayor, Leonardo, DaMarcus Beasley ©; Boniek Garcia, Tomás Martínez (Mac Steeves 77), Darwin Cerén; Alberth Elis (Arturo Alvarez 84), Mauro Manotas, Romell Quioto (Memo Rodriguez 87)
Unused subs: Eric Alexander, Luis Gil, Adolfo Machado, Chris Seitz
Total shots: 19 (Mauro Manotas 5); Shots on goal: 5 (DaMarcus Beasley, Alberth Elis, Mauro Manotas, Romell Quioto, Mac Steeves 1); Fouls: 9 (Darwin Cerén 3); Offside: 2 (Alberth Elis, Mauro Manotas 1);Corner kicks: 4 (Boniek García 4); Saves: 1 (Joe Willis 1)
DISCIPLINE:
HOU: Alejandro Fuenmayor (foul) 39
HOU: Darwin Cerén (foul) 55
MIN: Rasmus Schüller (persistent infringement) 65
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Ted Unkel
Assistant Referee 1: Adam Wienckowski
Assistant Referee 2: Kevin Klinger
Fourth Official: Rubiel Vazquez
VAR: Yursi Rudolf
