Loons pull out 2-1 comeback win over Houston Dynamo

Andy Greder, Pioneer Press
·3 min read

Minnesota United called out Saturday’s game 13th-place Houston Dynamo as a classic trap game. They stepped right into it — until their Paraguayan pair pulled them out.

Coming off a thrilling 2-1 win over Austin FC last weekend and with two matches against two more MLS Cup Playoffs contenders next week, the Loons trailed the struggling Dynamo through nearly 80 minutes.

Minnesota didn’t have a shot on goal for the first hour, but were brighter in the second half. A Houston own goal got the Loons level and then Luis Amarilla’s winning goal came off an assist from fellow countryman Alan Benitez in the 84th minute.

Minnesota (13-9-5) left it late but took all three points in a 2-1 win over Houston (7-15-5). The Loons have seven games with multiple goals and a seven-game unbeaten run against the Dynamo.

Five minutes before Amarilla’s finish, Emanuel Reynoso’s free kick from outside the 18-yard box took a deflection off the knee of Fifa Picault and into the back of the net. The own goal got the Loons level at 1-1.

The Loons had lost mainstay left center back Bakaye Dibassy to injury in the fourth minute and he was replaced Brent Kallman. Kallman and fellow right-sided center back Michael Boxall were culprits in Houston taking a 1-0 lead just before halftime.

Corey Baird was somehow left alone at the far post and chipped in a goal in the first minute of first-half stoppage time.

With games against Real Salt Lake and Dallas next week, manager Adrian Heath had a “good long chat” Friday morning with players about not getting complacent against the 13th-place team in the Western Conference.

“We will underestimate at our peril. It’s my job to make sure we don’t,” Heath said.

Heath recalled Friday how the Loons won 3-1 at Vancvouer on July 8 and how they played “really well” but struggled in a 1-1 draw against a depleted roster put out by down and out Sporting Kansas City.

“(We) came back and played like (expletive) against Kansas,” Heath said. “And at halftime it takes me nearly having a heart attack to get a response.”

Minnesota went 60 minutes without a shot on goal, with Amarilla not testing goalkeeper Steve Parker to benignly break the drought.

The Dynamo played without star midfielder Hector Herreira, who was out of the gameday roster with a right leg injury. The Mexican men’s national team regular played 90 minutes in the Dynamo’s last game Aug. 20.

Minnesota was forced into one change to its starting XI, with left back Kemar Lawrence out with a knee injury and D.J Taylor filling in.

Heath made one substitution at halftime, with Wil Trapp returning to central midfield and fill-in Robin Lod moving up to his more regular right-sided attacker spot.

With injuries and absences, Lod had started eight of the last nine games in midfield, but without a shot on goal he went back to his more regular spot and Bongi Hlongwane came out.

Chasing a goal, Mender Garcia subbed in to be alongside Amarilla. But it was Amarilla who made the difference Saturday.

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