By Victor Araiza
The Tigres faithful in Houston were treated to a spectacle with a 4-1 victory from their favorite Liga MX side against the hometown Dynamo, in what was part of a capacity crowd at Shell Energy Stadium on Tuesday.
Ángel Correa opened his Leagues Cup account right before the end of the first half, in the 45’+3, receiving a Juan Brunetta pass with his left leg before spinning leftwards to strike with his right just outside the penalty arc.
The Dynamo got back on level terms to start the second half as Ondřej Lingr scored the equalizer in the 47’, meeting a knifing assist from 20-year-old Brooklyn Raines.
Diego Lainez capitalized on an erroneous clearance from Jonathan Bond, striking the second Tigres goal in the 63rd minute with a left-footed rocket from outside the box.
Correa put the game further out of reach in the 70 th minute after capitalizing on a one-on-one opportunity, where he shook off Bond a few times before picking his opportunity.
Nahuel Guzmán was key inside the box with saves in the 77’ and 80’ to deny the likes of Amine Bassi and Gabe Segal, respectively, and halting any chance of a Dynamo comeback.
Ozziel Herrera added a fourth goal seven minutes into second half stoppage time to put a bow on the victory.
REACTIONS:
- Tigres UANL coach Guido Pizarro:
- “Every time we come here, they support us, so we're really happy that we gave them a game like this, with goals, and that they saw their favorite players on the field.
- “As for Ángel, the quality he has, the amount of talent he has. We're very fortunate to have him here on the team. He's a guy who's doing very well, who's very humble, who came here to contribute and make himself available.”
- Houston Dynamo coach Ben Olsen:
- “I think you saw a different look from us tonight. We were more vertical. We had more runners. Dwayne's [Holmes] more willing to run. Lawrence's [Ennali] speed is real, Lingr’s constantly threatening the back line. So, there was more of a threat from us.”
PLAYERS OF THE MATCH:
- Tigres UANL:
- Ángel Correa has arrived! The 2022 World Cup champ scored his first two goals with Tigres in highlight-reel fashion
- Houston Dynamo:
- None
GAME NOTES:
- Ángel Correa was a major recent signing for Tigres and already in his 3rd game with the club he's made a statement.
- Diego Lainez scored an early candidate for goal of the tournament, a left-footed screamer from outside the box (his 1st ever Leagues Cup goal in his 6th appearance)
- Houston's Ondřej Lingr scored in his first ever Leagues Cup appearance to end a six-match drought
- Tigres improved to 3-1-1 when playing Leagues Cup in Houston
- A sellout crowd of 21,972 was announced at Shell Energy Stadium
CARDS/INJURY REPORT:
- Yellow Cards:
- Tigres: Juan José Purata
- Dynamo: Felipe Andrade, Jack McGlynn
- Injuries
- Tigres: Nicolas Ibañez (left with cramp in 30th minute)
LOOKING AHEAD:
- Tigres UANL next game: Aug. 1 vs. San Diego FC
- Houston Dynamo next game: Aug. 1 vs. Mazatlán FC
