HOUSTON DYNAMO DEFEAT SALT LAKE: FINAL SCORE 2-1
Written by Michael Thervil
[HOUSTON DYNAMO SALT LAKE] Tonight's matchup between the Houston Dynamo and Salt Lake FC is a match that appears to have begun with a lukewarm start as players took to the pitch. With the Houston Dynamo appearing to play with a more defensive tone, Dynamo fans are wondering if the Houston Dynamo will score a goal, despite playing “strategically”. Looking at the key stats of the first half of the match, the Houston Dynamo appears to have the better stats of the two teams; as the Dynamo takes the lead when it comes to shots taken and shots on target both standing at two and one respectively.
Salt Lake FC on the other hand have failed to attempt to take any shots and thus have no shots on target in the key stats. While Salt Lake did take the lead statistically when it came to ball possession early in the first half, by the end of the first half they fell to Dynamo in ball possession (46%) and passes (226). In contrast, by the end of the first half, the Houston Dynamo possessed the ball 54% of the time with 230 passes by the end of the first half. When it came to pass accuracy, it would be Salt Lake that would have the upper hand with a pass accuracy rate of 90% to the Houston Dynamo’s pass accuracy rate of 89%; a very marginal lead.
Between the 27’ and 32’ minute of the match both teams engaged in more aggressive play resulting in Salt Lake being issued two yellow cards for fragrant fouls by the end of the first half. While the Houston Dynamo picked up two fouls, Salt Lake picked up nine. To Dynamo fans, it looked like Salt Lake was fighting for their survival on the pitch. The live win probability at the end of the first half stood with the Dynamo having a 53% chance of winning against Salt Lake having a 22% chance of winning with a 25% chance of a draw between the two teams.
It can easily be said that the second half was better than the first with Houston Dynamo Striker Guilherme scoring the first point of the match at the 57’ minute of the match. With Salt Lake looking shaken by the Houston Dynamos goal, fans seem to be relieved that the Houston Dynamo will be sure to win tonight's match. but the smiles would only last so long until Salt Lake Midfielder Lobjanidze scored the second point of the match at the 76’ minute tying the score 1-1. With the match being extended by another six minutes, the Houston Dynamo was able to score another goal, this time by Midfielder Bogusz at the 87’ minute of the match.
Looking at the final scores for the match, the night belongs to the Houston Dynamo . The final key stats of the match stand with the Houston Dynamo taking a total of seven shots, with five shots on target. In contrast, Salt Lake took a total of five shots with only two of those shots landing on target. The Dynamo possessed the ball 52% of the time with 429 successful passes. Salt Lake possessed the ball 48% of the time with 468 successful passes, leading over the Houston Dynamo. Salt Lake also had a pass accuracy rate of 90% again leading over the Houston Dynamo who had a pass accuracy rate of 87%. A minor difference but it was enough to put Salt Lake in the lead.
The Houston Dynamo racked seven fouls, but Salt Lake triumphed in this statistic with a total of 18 fouls by the end of the match. When it came to yellow cards issued the Dynamo obtained one yellow card while Salt Lake issued four. Neither team were issued any red cards. Both teams were called for being offside once. The Houston Dynamo took only one corner for the entirety of the match while Salt Lake took a total of four corners for the match.
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