Houston Dynamo FC have emerged from Leagues Cup with a vengeance, earning a convincing 5-0 win Sunday evening over the Portland Timbers at Shell Energy Stadium.
The Dynamo raced out of the gates, scoring three times in the opening first 15 minutes and adding a fourth before the halftime break, more than enough for their first win over the Cascadia visitors since 2018.
In the end, "Hell in the Shell" saw another team wilt in the sticky Texas heat.
"At home, in particular in these elements, if you can get on a team and have some success, then it's deflating for the opponent, because it makes it that much more of a hill to climb for them," Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen said after the Matchday 27 clash.
"I think sometimes, here in the elements, it's deflating. I've been on the other end. I've come here in this type of heat, and it hurts ... so I think that is always the goal here at home, to be aggressive and try to get on the scoreboard early."
Olsen's counterpart in the opposing technical area certainly cut a deflated figure during his own postgame remarks.
"This is a performance that is not acceptable. And there's a lot of reflection that we have to make," Timbers head coach Gio Savarese said. "It’s just a very difficult day. There's no way to sugarcoat it. The reality is that this is not the level the Portland Timbers and not to the level of what the fans deserve from us."
Added Savarese, casting doubt on Portland's Audi 2023 MLS Cup playoffs outlook: "The reality is that we saw something growing during the Leagues Cup. But if we are going to just compete and get excited and ready and motivated when we play Monterrey, when we played Tigres and then we are not bringing the same level of competition in a game like today, then we're not ready to be able to make playoffs this season."
Quiñones gets high marks
A standout for the Dynamo was Nelson Quiñones, who doubled Houston's lead with a volley in the 11th minute.
Olsen praised the continued development of the 21-year-old, acquired on loan from Colombian first-division side Once Caldas in 2022 before being signed permanently in July.
"He's a handful. He's young, and we're going to keep working with him," Olsen said. "He's a lot of fun to work with because it's just nice to see where he's come from and how far he's grown over the last six, seven months, so it's rewarding as a coaching staff to see him doing well."
Open Cup semifinals next on deck
It's a quick turnaround for the Dynamo as their attention shifts to Wednesday's US Open Cup semifinal against Real Salt Lake. The two teams played to a 0-0 draw in an MLS regular-season contest at Shell Energy Stadium on May 6.
That said, RSL didn't have summer signings Chicho Arango and Nelson Palacio within their ranks during that fixture, adding another layer of intrigue to a match where the winner reaches September 27's final against either FC Cincinnati or Inter Miami CF.
Arango, specifically, has four goals and two assists in seven matches across all competitions since the former LAFC star's return to MLS in June from Liga MX side Pachuca.
"[We'll] take this in a humble way and understand that Salt Lake will come here with, I think, a different mentality," Olsen said. "[With] their additions that they have, I think they're one of the better teams in the league right now. So this will be a different task. They play in a different way.
"So we'll fix 'em up tonight and start prepping for them [on Monday]."
