Croatia Dominates Mexico in Texas

Texas is like home for El Tri but on this occasion, Croatia would prove a point. In the sixteenth minute of play, Nestor Araujo suffered a major injury to his left knee and put his World Cup hopes in serious doubt. Mexico looked shaky in defence using three defenders in the back and would need to adjust in the second half if they were to impose their will upon the Croatians. The entire first half lacked a clinical finish from either side despite the Croatians looking more comfortable on the counter in front of a crowd just over seventy-nine thousand.

The introduction of Miguel Layun would prove costly for Osorio. His reckless challenge on Tin Jedvaj would gift Croatia a chance to take the lead. Ivan Rakitic would convert from the spot and secure his country a win over Mexico in Arlington. To make matters even worse for Mexico, Carlos Salcedo broke his clavicle after a hard fall. As a result, his World Cup status is now in question. Despite missing key players like Modric, Perisic,and Mandzukic, Croatia were the better team by good measure.

Dynamo vs Whitecaps

Dynamo hosted Vancouver on a pleasant evening where expectations were high for Houston considering last weeks’ thrashing of Atlanta. However, the Dynamo would find that the Canadian team was not as defensively weak as last weeks’ opponents. In fact, the Whitecaps produced the first goal when they were awarded a penalty in the twenty-seventh minute. Philippe Senderos was shown a yellow card for his reaction to the call and he would eventually be subbed off at halftime. Brek Shea would come off the bench to replace Marcel De Jong and this substitution would prove to be critical. Alberth Ellis drew the Dynamo level before the half when his convincing strike hit the back of the net.

Ellis was a threat to Vancouver every time he got a touch. He did very well to create chances for his team and looked solid in terms of fitness. Unfortunately, Shea ended up scoring shortly after the break. Despite having most of the possession and plenty of set pieces, Dynamo were unable to convert any of their chances. It must be said that Alphonso Davies and Kendall Watson were outstanding in terms of defense for the Whitecaps. Each player was able to deny Houston in the final third of the pitch and both looked relatively comfortable defusing each attempt on goal. It seems each cross Houston delivered was easily dealt with and there was no one present inside the box who could properly convert for the Dynamo. At the end of the day, I feel Senderos should have been left on the pitch because he might have caused problems for Vancouver considering how many corner kicks Houston had.

Thank You

It is with a mixture of excitement and sadness that I announce that I will be leaving San Antonio in September. But fear not this is good news, as I have accepted a role at the USL as staff writer, so need to move to Tampa Bay. This is something I’m sure almost all of you saw, as I already made this announcement on twitter but this website allows me to be more wordy, and more emotional, so if you’ll indulge me there are some things I need to say.

Ten man Dynamo Survive in Salt Lake City

Houston Dynamo had to play most of the second half with ten men but managed to hold on, getting a scoreless draw against Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday night.

The red card came in the 65th minute after Dynamo midfielder Alex was issued two yellow cards in one minute. The first was a push on Real Salt Lake midfielder Albert Rusnak, before earning his second yellow for a studs up challenge on Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman.

San Antonio FC Punished by bad Penalty Call

SAFC players celebrate Kris Tyrpak’s goal (Photo: Darren Abate/USL)

San Antonio FC was left frustrated again on Saturday night as a controversial penalty at the death gave Orange County SC a 1-1 draw at Toyota Field.

The penalty came in stoppage time, and was similar to the decision for San Antonio last week, although even more controversial. As Gustavo Villalobos appeared to run in to Michael Reed, who wasn’t stopping to block him but rather defending normally. But despite Villalobos initiating the contact, the referee pointed to the spot, allowing Jerry van Ewijk to step up and bury the penalty for the equalizer.

Ever Guzman Joins San Antonio FC

Ever Guzman

San Antonio FC has completed the signing of experienced Mexican-American forward Ever Guzman, the team announced on Friday afternoon.

Guzman is the first man with a FIFA title to be in the San Antonio FC squad, as he was a vital part of Mexico’s Under 17 World Cup winning squad in 2005. Guzman routinely came off the bench to score, managing four goals in the tournament, the second highest, including scoring the third goal in the final against Brazil.

Week 20 Preview: San Antonio FC V Orange County SC

Match Details: San Antonio FC v Orange County SC, Toyota Field, San Antonio, TX, Saturday August 5th 2017, 7:30pm

San Antonio FC Form: WDDDL

Orange County SC Form: LWWDW

MLS Still Progressing in San Antonio Despite Garber Snub

MLS Commissioner, Don Garber (Photo: MLS)

As is traditional, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber gave a big interview at the MLS All Star Game on Wednesday night, and in it gave San Antonio Soccer fans cause for concern by not mentioning San Antonio by name, and suggesting that MLS would not expand further than 28 teams.

One thing that is always asked of Garber at any such fan Q&A event is expansion, and it came up very early, with the first several questions relating to it. That allowed Garber a chance to clarify the expansion plans, and to scare San Antonio soccer fans.

Houston Dynamo Announce in match Ticket Upgrade Scheme

Houston Dynamo announced a unique ticketing system on Tuesday which will allow their ticket holders to upgrade their seats at BBVA Compass Stadium.

The new ticketing system comes through an agreement with ticketing platform PogoSeat which will allow the change. The system will now allow fans to upgrade their seats, even after they have entered the stadium.

Three Dash Players Involved in Thrilling Tournament of Nations Match

Three Houston Dash players all played in one match in the Tournament of Nations as Brazil took on the United States in a big match in San Diego on Sunday night.

It was a phenomenal match, with seven goals as the United States managed three late goals to come from behind for a 4-3 win. The result leaves the United States in contention for the title, but they will need Brazil to do them a favor in the final match day, a Brazil team that is now eliminated from contention.