CITY2 move up in the Western Conference following convincing win over Houston
St Louis CITY2 (5-2-3) blanked Houston Dynamo 2 (7-2-1), 2-0, on Saturday, June 4 at Ralph Korte Stadium. CITY2 moved into fifth place in the Western Conference following their fifth win of the season.
CITY2 controlled the first part of the first half and saw back-to-back saves in the 26th minute from Ian McGrane to keep the scoreless draw. Following McGrane’s second save, CITY2 pushed the game into Houston’s defensive third and Ezra Armstrong forced a turnover deep in Houston’s territory. Armstrong dished off to Célio Pompeu into the 18-yard box, who then one-touched back to Armstrong and found Vitor Dias in the middle of the box. Dias took one touch and beat the goalkeeper for the early 1-0 lead in the 28th minute.
Holding onto a 1-0 lead early into the second half, CITY2 put more pressure on Houston in their defensive third and created another turnover. Akil Watts gained possession on the far sidelines and swung a pass to the top of the box for Pompeu. Pompeu settled the pass, took two touches, and beat the goalkeeper to the far post to double the lead, 2-0, in the 55th minute.
CITY2 held on for the final 35 minutes to improve to 4-2-1 at home and hand Houston just its second loss of the season. It was the first time this season that Houston was held scoreless in 10 matches while CITY2 recorded its fourth clean sheet of the season.
Dias tallied a goal for the third consecutive match and raised his season total to four. Pompeu doubled his season goal and assist totals to two and two with a goal and assist in the match. With four saves, McGrane recorded his first career clean sheet. Watts tallied his first assist of the season.
CITY2 will take their three-match unbeaten streak on the road for two matches, beginning with Colorado Rapids 2 on Wednesday, June 8 at the University of Denver. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. CST with coverage on MLSNextPro.com.
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