HOUSTON, TX – It was a dramatic end to a dramatic evening, as Whitecaps FC 2 defeated Houston Dynamo 2 by a score of 4-2, with three goals coming in added time of the second half.
It was a cautious start to the match, with neither side committing too much in the opening stages. Nelson Pierre almost caught out Dynamo ‘keeper Pedro Cruz in the 15th minute, after he closed him down and got a deflection on the his clearance, but the redirection didn’t have enough juice to go across the line.
Rayan Elloumi then turned the jets on a few minutes later, almost getting one-on-one with Cruz, but a defender managed to catch up to make the crucial tackle before the forward could take the shot.
Houston did end up taking the lead just past the half-hour, after Mattheo Dimareli cut inside from the right and fired it past young ‘Caps ‘keeper Isaac Francoeur. Whitecaps FC 2 didn’t wait long to level the affair, however, as Nikola Djordjevic drew a foul in the box for a penalty in the 35th minute, allowing Jackson Castro to expertly dispatch from the penalty spot to make it 1-1.
Elloumi got his fifth goal in as many games just before the half-time whistle. Johnny Selemani put in a great ball in behind for Elloumi to run onto, and the forward was composed as he chipped it over the onrushing Cruz after a great first touch, thrusting the young ‘Caps into the lead for the second half.
Dynamo 2 pushed hard to start the second half, with Francoeur having to make an early save to keep the lead intact. After 15 minutes of tense football, Antoine Coupland nearly curled a shot into the top corner, but his effort just went over the bar. Both Francoeur and the WFC2 defence had to be resilient in the last half-hour, blowing back any Dynamo attack that went their way.
Right near the end of the match, Cyprian Kachwele came close to chipping the ‘keeper after a ball went in behind the Dynamo 2 defense, but Cruz did just enough to gather it before it could go over his head.
With the home side throwing everything forward in stoppage time, the young ‘Caps were able to counter, with Yuma Tsuji winning the ball back and sending through Elloumi. The forward then scored his second on the break, slotting it past Cruz to make it 3-1.
Houston did get a consolation through David Garcia just minutes later, but it proved too little too late as WFC2 got their fourth in the eighth minute of added time, with Kachwele whipping it towards the far post from a close angle to finish the contest.
Whitecaps FC 2 are back in action at home on Thursday, July 31 as they face Sporting KC II after a long stretch of road games. The young ‘Caps then host St. Louis CITY II on Wednesday, August 6. Both matches kick off at 6 p.m. PT. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/wfc2.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Kaitlyn Trowbridge
Scoring Summary
31’ – HOU – Mattheo Dimareli (Isaac Mwakutuya)
35’ – VAN – Jackson Castro (penalty kick)
44’ – VAN – Rayan Elloumi (Johnny Selemani)
90’+6 – VAN – Rayan Elloumi (Yuma Tsuji)
90’+8 – HOU – David Garcia (Juan Viveros, Gavin Wolff)
90’+8 – VAN – Cyprian Kachwele (Rayan Elloumi)
Statistics
Possession: HOU 63% - VAN 37%
Shots: HOU 18 - VAN 11
Shots on Goal: HOU 5 - VAN 6
Saves: HOU 2 - VAN 3
Fouls: HOU 15 - VAN 11
Offsides: HOU 0 - VAN 1
Corners: HOU 4 - VAN 2
Cautions
12’ – HOU – Sebastian RodrÃguez
27’ – HOU – Stephen Annor Gyamfi
87’ – HOU – Michael Halliday
89’ – VAN – Cyprian Kachwele
90’+1 – HOU – Lionel Gitau
Houston Dynamo FC 2
1.Pedro Cruz; 8.Juan Viveros, 23.Daniel Barrett, 28.Isaac Mwakutuya, 2.Michael Halliday; 16.Erik Dueñas (44.Lionel Gitau HT), 14.Joshua Bolma, 19.Sebastian RodrÃguez; 33.Mattheo Dimareli (20.Gavin Wolff 73’), 9.Stephen Annor Gyamfi (17.David Garcia 60’), 10.Tomas Romero (35.Myles Gardner 60’)
Substitutes not used
43.Roman Kerimov, 34.Micah Harris, 37.Omar Bolaños, 45.Jayden Puna,
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
80.Isaac Francoeur; 62.Luca Chen, 48.Adrián Pelayo, 53.Mark O'Neill © (54.Daniel Russo 78’); 41.Nikola Djordjevic (66.Sahil Deo 77’), 68.Yuma Tsuji, 44.Jackson Castro, 63.Johnny Selemani (71.Carson Rassak 73’); 42.Nelson Pierre (43.Antoine Coupland 61’), 75.Rayan Elloumi, 64.Mateo Clark (55.Cyprian Kachwele 73’)
Substitutes not used
99.Sam Rogers, 73.Ryder Sewell
