The Carolina Dynamo made things a little more tense than Houston Dynamo might have wanted, but the MLS side eventually survived and advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup with a 4-2 victory Wednesday night at Robertson Stadium.
Alejandro Moreno put in two goals in the first half, in the 29th and 33rd minutes, with veteran Ronald Cerritos adding a third in the 58th minute to seemingly send Houston on their way. Carolina bounced back with goals from Wells Thompson in the 62nd minute and Randi Patterson in the 71st, but the rally was short lived as Eddie Robinson put the match out of reach in the 82nd minute with a goal off a corner.
"First half our guys did pretty well," said Houston assistant coach John Spencer. "We created a couple of opportunities in the first 10 minutes that I thought we probably could have put ourselves two-zero up but Zach Wells makes a great save from a PK and keeps the game on an even keel to start.
"But overall they should be proud of themselves they came here and gave us a tough game but eventually we came out the winners."
The game could have taken a completely different turn as Wells -- the usual backup 'keeper for Houston -- came up with a huge save in the 21st minute, turning aside a penalty kick by Ben Hunter.
With the match still scoreless at that point despite Houston's early chances and an inspired opponent who had survived the early storm, Wells came up big and helped Houston avoid the early letdown.
"At the time it was 0-0 so the goalkeeper doesn't really have much to lose," said Wells. "I just had to trust my instincts -- that's all you can really do."
Carolina had two strong fast forwards in Patterson and Hunter, who tried to hassle the Houston defenders into a mistake. But the experienced Houston Dynamo backline was up for the challenge.
"They definitely pressured us a lot," said Kelly Gray. "We just didn't move enough for each other, when they are pressuring you if you move for each other you can pass out of it.
"I don't know if it was the heat or what but we just didn't move enough for each to give each other those options out of that kind of pressure."
Moreno hit for two goals in the Open Cup match after scoring just three in the entire MLS season to this point. In combination with Cerritos, Moreno made life difficult for the Carolina rearguard, eventually resulting in the solid win for Houston.
"Yeah, I certainly felt that we carried the game," said Moreno. "We obviously created most of the opportunities and in the end we made it difficult for ourselves, but obviously scoring two goals is always important."
Scott Joiner is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
