The Houston Dynamo grinded out its second consecutive scoreless road draw against a ten-man Charlotte FC on Saturday night.
Charlotte (10-7-6, 36 points) captain Ashley Westwood picked up two yellow cards in a short span of time after arguing with a referee in the 71st minute, forcing it to play a man down for the final 19 minutes plus stoppage time. Houston (12-7-4, 40 points) amped up its attack afterwards but was unable to find the winning goal.
Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina ended the game with five saves, while Houston’s Jonathan Bond finished with two.
Charlotte extended its unbeaten run to five games (3-0-2) with the draw. This recent form has helped it solidify its playoff positioning, jockeying for a spot in the top four of the Eastern Conference.
Houston has now played 195 minutes without scoring a goal, leaving it winless in its last three games (0-1-2).
Both sides struggled to truly challenge the keeper until the later stages of the first half. Houston outshot Charlotte 6-5 and came away with the half’s only two shots on target in Mateusz Bogusz’s bouncing shot in the 18th minute and Lawrence Ennali’s tight-angle attempt just two minutes later, both saved by Kahlina.
Charlotte nearly scored from a set-piece situation when Pep Biel passed to Westwood on a free kick near the corner flag, but the midfielder’s long-range attempt slammed against the right post.
Charlotte had another opportunity to open the scoring just before halftime when Dynamo midfielder Artur mishit a chested pass to Bond. Bond was forced into an impromptu diving stop to keep Artur’s pass out of the net.
Biel forced an excellent save out of Bond in the 58th minute after winning the ball in the final third. Biel powered his outside-the-box attempt towards goal, but Bond met it with a diving save to preserve the deadlock.
After Westwood’s red card, Houston dominated the game but struggled to put continuous pressure on Kahlina. Houston’s best chance came through Bogusz, who was wide open in the box when he connected with Artur’s lofted cross but sailed his effort high over the crossbar in the first minute of stoppage time.
–Field Level Media
