Houston Dynamo FC close a three-game stretch on Saturday on the road against Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium. The Dynamo enter Saturday’s game with back-to-back draws after Wednesday’s midweek clash with the Portland Timbers at BBVA Stadium.
Dynamo defender Maynor Figueroa tallied his first assist of the season when he headed a ball toward goal that bounced off forward Fafa Picault’s head for the opening goal of the game. Picault sparked the second goal when he found Matias Vera late in the opening half of the match. Vera filtered a ball to forward Tyler Pasher inside the box for his second goal of the year. Houston was limited to one shot on target in the second half as a late strike from Jeremy Ebobisse gave the visiting side a split of the points. Picault will be unavailable for Saturday’s match due to yellow card accumulation.
The Dynamo return to national television for the fourth time this season and enter Saturday’s game with a 0-0-3 record on national TV. Houston’s last match on national TV was the 1-1 draw with Los Angeles Football Club last Saturday.
The Dynamo return to BBVA Stadium on July 3 to host FC Cincinnati in their first full capacity game since Feb. 29, 2020. The Dynamo will welcome former Dynamo defender Geoff Cameron and face their first Eastern Conference opponent of the season. For tickets and additional information, visit HoustonDynamo.com.
Here are three key points ahead of Saturday’s game:
- POSSESSION IMPROVES AFTER CHALLENGING STRETCH: The Dynamo held the ball for nearly 50 percent (49.5 percent) of the game on Wednesday, snapping a four-game stretch where the team was limited to less than 40 percent of the possession in the game. Houston posted 1-2-1 record in that stretch and head coach Tab Ramos looks to improve Houston’s ability to dictate the pace of the game.
- ROAD POINTS KEY FOR DYNAMO PUSH: The Dynamo will play on the road in four of their next five games beginning with Saturday’s match. Houston currently sits in sixth place in the Western Conference with 13 points. Of those 13 points, 11 points were won at BBVA Stadium. Houston will look to earn their first road victory of the season and build momentum for their largest stretch of the regular season away from EaDo.
- SALT LAKE LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK AT HOME: Real Salt Lake have one victory in their last five games and a 1-1-3 record since May 15. Salt Lake was minutes away from securing a point on the road against Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday, but a late second half penalty cost Salt Lake a share of the points. The team currently sits in seventh place and hold a 2-1-2 record at Rio Tinto Stadium.
