The Houston Dynamo left it until late in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal, but they eventually got the goal they almost certainly needed if they wanted to advance against Santos Laguna when Brad Davis scored in the 89th minute to earn them a 1-0 win. Houston will now take their 1-0 lead to Torreon for the return leg on March 13, when they will try to pull off the upset against favored Santos and advance to the semifinals.
Houston Dynamo vs. Santos Laguna: Final score 1-0, Brad Davis delivers first leg win
Brad Davis’ 89th minute strike earned the Dynamo a crucial first leg win.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Neither team was especially capable of playing in their own half in the early going. They gave the ball away time and time again when trying to play out of the back and were atrocious tracking runs. Luckily for both teams, they were never punished because the finishing was absolutely horrendous. Each team had several chances to get on the board in the first half, but neither could find the net.
The second half saw both teams tighten up their play at the back and the match began to slow down.That isn't to say the two teams were devoid of chances, because they weren't and Will Bruin in particular should have scored, but the match remained scoreless.
Davis started the match, but came off the bench at halftime. Unfortunately for the Dynamo, the veteran midfielder didn’t do much to help the struggling Houston midfield for most of the second half. His normally excellent dead balls were inaccurate and his passes struggled to find their targets, but he made up for it all in the 89th minute.
Corey Ashe drove down the left and caused problems for te retreating Santos defense before dragging the ball back to Davis, who was all alone inside the box. From there, Davis just had to hit the ball hard and low to the corner, which he did to beat Oswaldo Sanchez and put the Dynamo in front.
Houston had a golden opportunity to add an invaluable second goal to their ledger a minute later when Andrew Driver was played in on goal, but the new signing stumbled over the ball and failed to get a shot away so the Dynamo settled for 1-0.
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