A header from Argentine defender Franco Escobar gave the Houston Dynamo a 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City on Sunday and a place in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference final.
Escobar rose to firmly head in a corner from Hector Herrera in the 39th minute as Houston kept alive their hope of winning a US Open Cup and MLS Cup double.
The Dynamo will face the winner of Sunday’s other Western Conference semi-final between the Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles FC.
Houston have not featured in the playoffs since 2017 and have endured some miserable seasons since that run to the conference final six years ago.
But under former US international Ben Olsen, the Dynamo have been transformed into a team that plays attractive, attacking football and they started in that fashion.
Winger Nelson Quinones went close twice in the early stages, cutting in from the left with his first effort flashing just wide of the far post and his second forcing Kansas City keeper Tim Melia into a full-stretch save.
Then Escobar, who has won the MLS Cup with Atlanta and LAFC, found the breakthrough and forced Sporting to chase the game.
Within minutes they went close to levelling when Alan Pulido’s shot was saved and the ball fell to Hungarian forward Daniel Salloi, whose goalbound shot was blocked on the line.
Television replays raised the question of whether the ball had struck defender Erik Sviatchenko’s arm or his chest but the video review ruled the play was fair to the frustration of Kansas City coach Peter Vermes.
Houston managed their lead well, but Kansas City had a great chance to level when Johnny Russell found Salloi but his close-range shot was well saved by Houston keeper Steve Clark.
Pulido then missed a glorious chance when he sliced an Erik Thommy cross wide and Houston’s desperate defending did well to block William Agada’s effort in stoppage time.
On Saturday, Columbus Crew beat Orlando City 2-0 and FC Cincinnati defeated the Philadelphia Union 1-0 to set up an all-Ohio Eastern Conference final.
