Late goal secures tie
As the waning minutes were fast approaching, time was running down for the Dynamo to make a push. Colorado had been locked down defensively and its goalkeeper William Yarbrough was closing in on his third straight clean sheet.
But in the 90th minute, Yarbrough strayed way in front of the goal and Tyler Pasher seized the moment. Pasher’s equalizer sparked an uproar among the 17,007 fans at PNC Stadium, giving the Dynamo a 1-1 draw on Saturday night.
It may have been an unlikely point secured by the home side but a result Houston found welcoming in spite of its slow start.
“We’re always pushing forward,” said Dynamo midfielder Memo Rodriguez, who assisted on the game-tying score. “It doesn’t matter if we’re losing. It’s a bittersweet feeling. We wanted a win. But it’s a good result.”
For the better part of the action, the Dynamo were outplayed, especially in falling behind 1-0 on a late first-half goal.
A fresh Pasher, who along with Rodriguez came off the bench, took advantage of Yarbrough being out of position. On Pasher’s goal, he received a ball from Rodriguez, and then rolled it past Yarbrough, for his first score of 2022.
“It’s an instinctual play,” Pasher said. “They made a mistake. Memo got it, capitalized on it. I was lucky enough to be on the end if it and slotted it through the goalkeeper’s legs.”
It was a stellar secondhalf performance from the Dynamo.
“It shows the fighting spirit, never gave up,” firstyear Houston coach Paulo Nagamura said. “We made some subs. We made some changes in the second half.
“Pleased with the performance of the second half, pleased with the mentality of this group.”
The Dynamo were looking to make it two straight winning results but considering what took place the first 89 minutes, they have to settle for a draw.
“We’re not completely happy with the performance,” defender Adam Lundkvist said. “But the second half is what we’re going to take with us. We’re always striving for better performances.”
Colorado is a dangerous side in possession and transition and displayed it.
A goal from Mark-Anthony Kaye off a corner gave Colorado a 1-0 lead in the 42nd minute.
The Dynamo were playing a zone at the top of the 6-yard box, leaving Kaye unmarked. Kaye was able to drift off, and following the ball hitting off the back of the Rapids’ Danny Wilson, Kaye simply tapped the ball into the back post past Steve Clark for his second goal in his last two games.
Colorado held a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal.
For the second straight game, the Dynamo came back from a goal down.
Last week’s 2-1 home victory over Vancouver ended a 29-game winless streak by the Dynamo after conceding the opening goal.
“It shows a strong character that we believe in ourselves, from who started to the players on the bench,” Pasher said. “We’re not afraid to come back. It shows a great building block.”