The Houston Dynamo saw an apparent victory turn into a draw on a controversial goal in stoppage time by LA Galaxy midfielder Romain Alessandrini Saturday night at StubHub Center.
Alessandrini appeared to be in an offside position as he began his run into the Dynamo six-yard box to slide onto the end of a cross from defender Bradford Jamieson in the fifth minute of additional time.
The Dynamo appeared headed to their first road victory of the season thanks to a swift counterattack in the 74th minute. Midfielder Boniek GarcÃa picked up the ball at midfield under pressure and played a left-footed diagonal pass to forward Alberth Elis. The young Honduran headed the ball into his path, took a touch to settle, and chipped a shot over LA goalkeeper Clément Diop and into the back of the net.
Houston opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when forward Erick Torres played a ball to defender DaMarcus Beasley, who blasted a left-footed shot that was deflected by goalkeeper Clément Diop. Forward Mauro Manotas was close the deflection and tapped the rebound into the open net.
LA tied the game on a counter attack in the 35th minute on a counterattack of their own. After a Dynamo attack was cleared out of danger, LA midfielder Romain Alessandrini collected the clearance and stumbled before playing a ball into the path of midfielder Emmanuel Boateng. The speedy Boateng rounded Dynamo goalkeeper Tyler Deric at the top of the penalty area and slid a left-footed shot into the net.
Just prior to Elis’ goal, the Dynamo had a chance to put themselves ahead in the second half when GarcÃa played a quick ball to Manotas, who dribbled into the box and sent a low cross to Elis, but the Honduran’s shot whistled over the crossbar.
The Galaxy nearly leveled the game late on. In the 85th minute, LA earned a corner kick that resulted in several headed balls across the six-yard box before Ariel Lassiter fired a headed shot that ricocheted off the crossbar before defender Adolfo Machado was able to clear the danger.
The Dynamo will continue the 2017 season, presented by 76, on Friday, June 23 at 8:00 p.m. CDT against FC Dallas at BBVA Compass Stadium (TICKETS).
LA Galaxy (5-5-4; 19 pts.) 2-2 Houston Dynamo (7-6-3; 24 pts.)
MLS Week 16
June 17, 2017 – StubHub Center, Carson, California
Attendance: 25,667
Scoring Summary:
HOU: Mauro Manotas 4 (unassisted) 22
LA: Emmanuel Boateng 2 (Romain Alessandrini 7) 35
HOU: Alberth Elis 6 (Boniek GarcÃa 3) 74
LA: Romain Alessandrini (Bradford Jamieson 1, Jose Villarreal 1) 90+5
LA Galaxy: Clément Diop; Nathan Smith, Dave Romney, Hugo Arellano, Ashley Cole(C); Rafael Garcia Bradford Jamieson 83), Joao Pedro; Gyasi Zardes (Ariel Lassiter 66), Romain Alessandrini, Emmanuel Boateng; Jack McInerney (Jose Villarreal 61)
Unused Subs: Jack McBean, Jon Kempin, Jaime Villarreal
Total shots: 7 (Romain Alessandrini 3); Shots on goal: 3 (Romain Alessandrini 2); Fouls: 13 (Nathan Smith 4); Offside: 1 (Jose Villarreal 1); Corner kicks: 3 (Romain Alessandrini 3); Saves: 2 (Clément Diop 2)
Houston Dynamo: Tyler Deric; A.J. DeLaGarza, Adolfo Machado, Leonardo, DaMarcus Beasley (Dylan Remick 64); Ricardo Clark (C), Juan David Cabezas, Alex (Boniek GarcÃa 46); Romell Quioto (Alberth Elis 46), Erick Torres, Mauro Manotas
Unused Substitutes: Joe Willis, Jalil Anibaba, Vicente Sánchez, Andrew Wenger
Total shots: 13 (Mauro Manotas, Alberth Elis 3); Shots on goal: 5 (Alberth Elis 2); Fouls: 17 (Alberth Elis 4); Offside: 1 (Erick Torres 1); Corner kicks: 3 (Boniek GarcÃa, Alex, Romell Quioto 1); Saves: 1 (Tyler Deric 1)
Discipline:
HOU: Alberth Elis caution (unsporting behavior) 58
HOU: Leonardo caution (unsporting behavior) 69
HOU: Mauro Manotas caution (dangerous play) 73F
HOU: A.J. DeLaGarza caution (dissent) 90+1
LA: Nathan Smith caution (unsporting behavior) 90+7
OFFICIALS
Referee: Hilario Grajeda
Assistant Referee 1: Ian Anderson
Assistant Referee 2: Mike Rottersman
Fourth Official: Alejandro Mariscal
