New York City FC look to close out a perfect homestand with a victory over the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday.
Both Houston (4-6-5, 17 points) and New York City (7-5-3, 24 points) have a 2-0-1 record over their last three MLS matches, but the latter may have the advantage on its home pitch. NYCFC is 6-2-0 at home this season, including two wins in the last 12 days.
Last Sunday’s 3-1 win over the Chicago Fire saw NYCFC trail through the 57th minute before the home side rallied for three unanswered goals. The comeback was aided by a lack of discipline from the Fire, who were reduced to nine men after a pair of red cards.
Inserting Mitja Ilenic as a halftime substitute seemed to unlock NYCFC’s attack, after coach Pascal Jansen said his club “made it very hard on ourselves” with a lack of early finishing prowess.
“You could see once we had the equalizer, that’s when things started to settle down and then we could go and look for the second one,” Jansen said.
After scoring only 13 times in their first 13 matches, NYCFC have recorded five goals during their two-match win streak. Alonso Martinez is on a two-match scoring streak and has a team-leading eight goals this season.
The Dynamo, who own a 1-2-4 road record, emerged with a hard-earned point away from home in last Saturday’s 3-3 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes. Houston’s 2-0 lead through 65 minutes was erased by three Quakes goals in a 10-minute span, but defender Griffin Dorsey scored a late equalizer one minute into second-half stoppage time.
“It felt like I just rode like three roller coasters emotionally. … To give up three unanswered (goals) was brutal, but for the group to rally at the end and walk away with a result is huge,” Dorsey said.
The well-rounded Houston attack has seen 10 different players score at least once this season. Ezequiel Ponce leads the Dynamo with four goals.
–Field Level Media
