Latif Blessing lifts Atlanta United to draw with Dynamo

Latif Blessing made the most of his 30 minutes as a substitute by scoring the equalizer in the final moments of the second half, lifting the visiting Houston Dynamo to a 2-2 draw against Atlanta United on Saturday in the first meeting. between the teams since 2019.

Dynamo (6-6-5, 23 points) has played tied in consecutive matches, while Atlanta (4-8-5, 17 points) has won just once in its last 12 matches (1-6-5, 23 points). 5). Rob Valentino made his debut as interim coach on Saturday for Atlanta United.

Houston scored the game’s first goal in the fifth minute after Griffin Dorsey headed a corner kick off the crossbar. The rebound bounced straight to Franco Escobar, who headed a header into the center of the net to give Dynamo the lead.

The Dynamo had two more chances to increase their lead in the 24th minute when Amine Bassi and Coco Carrasquilla both had shots that Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan saved. Atlanta United responded quickly, with Daniel Rios beating Dynamo defender Micael dos Santos Silva deep in the area before using his heel to pass the ball to Luke Brennan.

Brennan then passed the ball across the goalmouth to Thiago Almada, whose close-range shot was deflected by Dynamo goalkeeper Steve Clark and returned straight to Rios, who made short work of his opportunity to tie the match at 1-1 in the 25th minute. .

Houston pushed for the lead early in the second half, with Ibrahim Aliyu forcing Guzan into a save in the 48th minute. Derrick Williams answered for Atlanta, spurring Clark into action in the 54th minute.

Xande Silva then dribbled past two Houston defenders and headed towards the goal line before firing a shot from an extreme angle into the upper right corner of the net that gave Atlanta United the lead in the 55th minute. Caleb Wiley and Almada had assists on the count.

Houston applied pressure again, but Blessing was stopped by Guzan on a great chance in the 84th minute. Blessing then equalized in the 89th minute, turning in a pass from Carrasquilla after a secondary pass from Dorsey.

–Field level media