Houston 4-1 DC United (June 22, 2024) Match Analysis

Sebastian Ferreira scored twice in three minutes en route to a second-half hat trick and the Houston Dynamo won 4-1 on the road against a frustrated DC United team that finished Saturday night with nine men.

Ferreira’s first career MLS hat trick and first multi-goal performance for Houston (7-6-6, 27 points) since the 2022 MLS campaign helped coach Ben Olsen earn a victory in his first coaching match against the only MLS club he played for and one he also coached for almost a decade.

The first came from the penalty spot, and the second in a sequence in which referee Tim Ford refused to call Ferreira for a foul on Mateusz Klich after the two tangled.

It was the first in a series of crucial decisions by Ford, the most significant being the sending off of DC scorer Christian Benteke in the 66th minute, presumably for insulting the official.

Benteke gave DC (4-9-7, 19 points) a lead in the 38th minute from the penalty spot for his 14th goal, his team’s best. But when Ford whistled him for a foul and issued a warning, Beneteke argued vehemently, and Ford followed with a straight red.

It was already 2-1 at that point, and 3-1 when Matai Akinmboni was sent off for his second yellow card in second-half stoppage time before Gabriel Segal finished off Houston’s scoring.

Ferreira was Dynamo general manager Pat Onstad’s first designated player and scored 13 times in the league in 2022. But he fell out of favor with the arrival of Olsen, making just 11 appearances (two starts) in 2023 and spending part of the season on loan at Vasco da Gama in Brazil, where he was also rarely used.

He didn’t return to his starting role, but with Dynamo playing a third game in eight games, he got the nod.

Ferreira leveled the match from the penalty spot in the 51st minute when Ford Ford spotted a handball on Akinmboni, who had come on for the injured Tubbs Garrison late in the first half.

Three minutes later, Ferreira created enough space to finish into the bottom left corner after Artur won a challenge in the penalty area on Klich, who had protested for a foul.

Beneteke was dismissed 12 minutes later. Then Ferreira ended his day with his third in the 86th minute on the first of two assists from Brad Smith.