Two goals up, then rescued at the end: San Diego FC draw Houston 3-3
San Diego led 2-0 inside 22 minutes at Snapdragon Stadium on Wednesday night, trailed 3-2 by halftime, and rescued a point in the 86th minute. The draw stretches the winless run to seven with five points now between SDFC and the playoff line.
SAN DIEGO: San Diego FC scored twice in the first 22 minutes, conceded three times in the next 15, and still came away with a point on Wednesday night, drawing the Houston Dynamo 3-3 at Snapdragon Stadium in one of the wildest first halves of the club's season.
Anders Dreyer opened the scoring in the 20th minute from the penalty spot, after a VAR review determined that Houston goalkeeper Jonathan Bond had fouled Cedric Bakambu inside the box. Two minutes later Bakambu doubled the lead himself, taking a feed from Onni Valakari at the top of the box and firing a right-footed shot off the underside of the crossbar and in.
The lead lasted two minutes. Lawrence Ennali played the ball to Guilherme at the top of the box in the 24th minute, and the Brazilian fired a left-footed shot into the net for his 15th goal of the season. In the 33rd minute Guilherme turned provider, finding Mateusz Bogusz in the center of the box, where Bogusz controlled the ball with his chest and scored with a bicycle kick into the bottom left corner, his seventh goal of the season.
Three goals conceded in 13 minutes
Guilherme struck again in the 37th minute after a San Diego clearance fell to him outside the box, completing his brace and giving Houston a 3-2 halftime lead. Houston's three goals in one half were the club's first three-goal half since July 25 against Austin, according to the Dynamo's match report. Bond finished with three saves, including a stop on a close-range Bakambu effort in the 10th minute and a late header from Manu Duah in second half stoppage time that preserved the draw.
San Diego's equalizer arrived in the 86th minute. Duah's backheel attempt struck the post and fell to Gabriel Pirani, who guided the rebound into the net. The point rescued something from a night that had promised much more after 22 minutes, but it did not end the slide: San Diego is winless in seven straight matches.
The standings math is now unforgiving. San Diego (8-12-9, 33 points) sits 12th in the Western Conference, five points below the playoff line, while Houston (13-9-7, 46 points) finished the night fifth with five regular season matches remaining. San Diego plays at the LA Galaxy on Saturday, and Houston hosts FC Dallas the same day.
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