The reigning Open Cup champions were having a comfortable match against Minnesota United, but the Looms had a historic comeback to eliminate the Orange in Houston. Darwin Quintero scored twice for United to lead the way for his side as Houston lost control of the match in the last minutes.
Indeed, controlling the possession of the ball and being effective in offense was the key for Houston, who scored two goals in the first half via Ronaldo Pena and Tomas Martinez. The home team was superior during the first 45. Even though they were missing some key players (due to the Gold Cup and injuries) the Space City team created many opportunities to score and therefore advance to the Quarterfinals.
The Looms had different plans and kept fighting to get back into the game. Quintero, who is the most dominant player in the United roster, scored at the 66’. Since that goal, Houston seemed nervous and tired. Bad passed and short ball possession started happening for the Orange. On the other hand, Minnesota looked sharp in their passes and began to create more chances to tie the score. Sure enough, at the 82’ Quintero scored his second of the night and tie everything up.
Penalty kicks were on the look, but at the 89’ Mason Toye, who came from the bench, scored the historic goal for United to qualify the team to the quarterfinals and eliminate the reigning champions of this year’s edition.
Now, the Open Cup title is open for a new champion who will be representing the MLS in the next CONCACAF Champions League.
Editor’s Note: All photos are courtesy of Jose Castellanos
Minnesota United FC
Houston Dynamo
