HOUSTON – First half goals by Joseph Ngwenya and Corey Ashe and second half goals by Dominic Oduro and Luis Angel Landin gave the Houston Dynamo a 4-0 victory against Salvadoran club CD Águila in the second annual Charities Cup match.
Coach Dominic Kinnear talked earlier this week about wanting to use this match to evaluate the three trialists on the roster. As a result, all three started the match along with a mix of younger players like Tally Hall and Francisco Navas Cobo and veterans like Ryan Cochrane and Craig Waibel.
Of the three trialists, Juan Manuel Quevedo looked shaky early giving up some turnovers, but the Argentine midfielder bounced back in the 16th minute. After dribbling past multiple CD Águila defenders, Quevedo coyly slipped the ball off to Ngwenya near the top of the box and Ngwenya finished easily into the side netting to give the Dynamo a 1-0 lead.
Not to be outdone, Ghanaian midfielder Anthony Obodai let fly his own effort moments later from the top of the box. The ball seemed headed into the back of the net, but was deflected at the last minute by the Águila defense.
In the 28th minute, Ashe extended the Dynamo lead in impressive form. The midfielder blew by two defenders before doing his best Landon Donovan impersonation and blasting the ball into the roof of the net from a short angle to give Houston a 2-0 halftime lead.
Kinnaer took full advantage of the substitution rules and brought on several of his starters in the second half, but it was the Salvadoran club who would threaten first in the complementary period.
Seven minutes after halftime, Águila’s Nelson Reyes was on the receiving end of a beautiful give and go and easily got by trialist Kendall Waston, but his shot went straight to Dynamo keeper Tally Hall.
In the 67th minute, midfielder Brad Davis picked out a wide open Dominic Oduro near the penalty spot. The Dynamo forward collected the ball quickly and ripped his shot into the side netting to give Houston their third goal of the game.
With more of the regulars into the match, Houston began to dominate possession. Landín took advantage of that possession when he received the ball at the top of the box and ran past his defender, forcing Águila goalkeeper Miguel Montes to come off his line. On his attempt to reach the ball, Montes took Landín down and the Mexican stepped up to the penalty spot to extend the Dynamo’s lead to 4.
Next for Houston will be the Colorado Rapids. The Dynamo will receive the Rapids at Robertson Stadium as they return to MLS play next Saturday night.
Proceeds from the second annual Dynamo Charities Cup will go to the Horizon Relief Corporation which provides assistance to residents of the Gulf Coast impacted by the recent oil leak.
Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Joseph Ngwenya (Juan Manuel Quevedo, Richard Mulrooney) 16
HOU -- Corey Ashe (Francisco Navas Cobo) 28
HOU -- Dominic Oduro (Brad Davis, Corey Ashe) 67
HOU -- Luis Landín (penalty kick) 74
Águila -- Miguel Montes (Benji Villalobos 70), William Cabrera, Miguel Hernandez, Isaac Zelaya, Francisco Jovel (Irving Alvarez 71), Shawn Martin (Guillermo Marin 89), Kevin Moreno (Luis Perla 59), William Torres, Ernesto Iraheta (Darwin Bonilla 46), Rudis Corrales (Jonathan Aguila 70), Nelson Reyes (Patricio Gomez Barroche 59).
Houston -- Tally Hall, Richard Mulrooney (Andrew Hainault 46), Ryan Cochrane (Eddie Robinson 46), Kendall Waston (Bobby Boswell 69), Craig Waibel (Mike Chabala 69), Francisco Navas Cobo, Anthony Obodai (Lovel Palmer 61), Juan Manuel Quevedo (Brad Davis 63), Corey Ashe (Sammy Appiah 69), Cam Weaver (Dominic Oduro 46), Joseph Ngwenya (Luis Landín 60).
Attendance: 11,843
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