Written by: David Garcia

The Houston Dynamo have defeated the Columbus Crew by a score of 2-0. Corey Baird scored his fourth goal in five games and Ibrahim Aliyu scored his second MLS goal.

In the initial instances of the match, the match was even. Columbus would receive an early Yellow Card when Yevhen Cheberko brought down Griffin Dorsey in the fourth minute. The Dynamo would have a shot and corner in the next minutes and in the 14th minute they would open the scoring. Dorsey found Corey Baird wide open in the box and although his initial shot was saved, the rebound would fall to him to open the scoring. The Dynamo would nearly double their lead in the 25th minute when off a save, the ball fell to Hector Herrera but his shot rocked the crossbar. The Dynamo had another opportunity in the 33rd minute after Amine Bassi escaped his defender and found Nelson Quinones for a counter-attack but his shot went wide. Four minutes were given for stoppage time and at the half the Dynamo were ahead 1-0.

During the half, Columbus would make a couple of substitutions to try and tie the match. Houston would begin the half by having possession in Columbus's final third but caused no danger. In the 58th minute, Dorsey would be issued a Yellow Card. The Crew would make two subs in the 67th minute and the Dynamo would counter that by bringing in two of their own two minutes later. Brad Smith would come in for Quinones and Luis Caicedo would come in for Bassi. In the 73rd minute, HH’s corner would find Smith but his header would go just wide. Ibrahim Aliyu came on for Baird in the 81st minute. Coco Carrasquilla would be booked a minute later. The Crew would have two corners and could not find the back of the net. Erik Sviatchenko would be booked in the 87th minute and due to Yellow Card Accumulation, he will miss next the match. In the 90th minute, Aliyu would start the counter-attack near the halfway line, and his perfect shot would double the lead for Houston. 7 minutes were added for stoppage time and during these minutes, Daniel Steres would come in for Coco. Columbus would keep attacking to at least score one but after some great defense from the Dynamo, the clean sheet was kept.

We asked Ben Olsen about the team's recent defensive success. He stated that it has been collective and that everyone is playing both sides of the ball. He also praised the defensive back line and Artur for their performances. He added that as a group they defended together and looked after each other. We also asked him what has changed during the streak. He answered by saying that not much has changed. He said the team is deep and that they are doing the same things and are getting good performances.

The Men In Orange will now travel to face LA Galaxy on Saturday, September 2. After this match, the Dynamo will get a small international break and host St. Louis on September 16.