Through 92 minutes of play on Saturday at BBVA Compass Stadium, the Houston Dynamo thought they would be walking out of their match against Real Salt Lake as 1-0 winners.
But within 10 minutes, the tables were completely turned.
RSL pulled off a remarkable 2-1 win, courtesy of an Albert Rusnak brace, in the 93rd and 100th minutes, respectively, keeping the visitors in the middle of the Western Conference playoff race and the Dynamo wondering if maybe their hopes are dashed.
"We didn’t play well, and we didn’t get the three points so it’s my responsibility and I’ll take full responsibility because it’s not normal that today we played that bad," Dynamo head coach Wilmer Cabrera said after the match.
Cabrera didn't mince words, calling the loss "embarrassing" and admitting the Dynamo's goal -- a strike from Boniek Garcia which took a wicked deflection in the first half -- was fortunate.
Unsurprisingly, Cabrera's counterpart had a far rosier outlook following the match.
“I’m over the moon right now," RSL head coach Mike Petke told reporters. "It wasn’t an easy game. From the beginning, we took control. The game plan tonight was very specific like it always is. Tonight, it clicked as far as specifics that we wanted from our players, how we wanted to defend, where we wanted them to play the ball and capitalized in transition. I’m ecstatic for them to be honest with you.”
Rusnak hit a blast from the edge of the box in the 93rd minute to tie up the game, with the shot kissing off one post before caroming inside the other one. He then stepped up to take the go-ahead penalty, after Bofo Saucedo drew the spot kick foul on DaMarcus Beasley.
Petke gave credit to the Slovak international, noting his crucial role in grabbing the result.
“Everybody knows what he does. Everybody watches him. It wasn’t an easy thing go to him and the captain and say, ‘get a rescue tonight.’ They knew it was the right thing. They felt a little heavy, three games in a week, but I told them both, this is most likely a scenario where you’ll play a big part of this game. Albert got thrown in a little earlier than we wanted but look at the response he has."
Petke also noted that there may be something special brewing for his side when they visit Houston.
"It’s ironic that the last time we played Houston, Kyle [Beckerman] comes off the bench and scores the game-winner. Maybe that’s the recipe; I don’t know.”
