Pachuca scores late to down Dynamo FC in Leagues Cup

HOUSTON – Although the Dynamo FC were eliminated from the Leagues Cup tournament before their showdown against Liga MX’s Pachuca, coach Ben Olsen still saw an opportunity Tuesday night against Los Tuzos.

Olsen viewed the home game against Pachuca as an opportunity to set a positive tone for the Dynamo as they prepare to return to MLS action. Unfortunately for Olsen, the result did not go his way.

Pachuca beat the Dynamo 2-1 at Shell Energy Stadium before a modest crowd of 9,383. The Dynamo finished 0-3 in the Phase One of Leagues Cup.

Los Tuzos currently hold the second spot in the Leagues Cup tournament with seven points. Olsen and his players will now focus on improving their MLS hopes. 

The Dynamo (7-6-11, 27 points) are in 11th place in the Western Conference with two months to go in the regular season. With 10 games left in the regular season, Houston is two points behind San Jose and three points behind Colorado, which currently holds the ninth and last playoff spot in the conference.

The Dynamo FC will resume MLS play against  Austin FC at Q2 Stadium on Saturday night.

Looking for a spark

“I do feel like getting the message to the group as we show up to HSP (Houston Sports Park) tomorrow with a different energy,” Olsen said. “If we’re going to go down and not make the playoffs, let’s go down swinging. 

“Let’s go with some bravado. Let’s go with some bite. Let’s make a run at this thing.”

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Pachuca and the Dynamo have a rich and fiery history against each other, dating back to their four grueling meetings in Concacaf Champions League.

The clubs had split their previous eight matches before Pachuca took a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series record. Pachuca eliminated Houston 5-4 in the 2007 semifinals of the Concacaf Champions League. 

In the 24th minute, forward Luis Quiñones got past center back Ethan Bartlow and put Pachuca ahead. The Dynamo tied the score in the 82nd minute when forward Amine Bassi converted a penalty kick awarded to the Dynamo through VAR.

The tie didn’t last long. Gaston Togni received a long ball from midfielder Alan Bautista in the 85th minute. He settled the ball and then attacked down the left wing before slotting the all in the back of the goal.

”We saw a lot of different guys play,” Olsen said. “Minutes for players helps, so it’s a lot of that stuff. “They’re all snapshots of this. The tricky part is doing that and still trying to win games.

“That is why I put some of that on me. Wanting to see things still at this stage in the game. That ends up costing the team some results.”