Houston Dynamo thrashed Columbus Crew 3-1 on Saturday at the rainy BBVA Compass Stadium through well taken goals from all three of their strikers - Alberth Elis, Erick “Cuba” Torres and Romell Quioto. Quito got the home team off to a dream start as he exploited a weak pass from Columbus Crew Sc goalie Zack Steffen to open the scoring two minutes into the encounter. Alberth Elis doubled the lead before half-time break with a quick taken side volley of a corner kick assisted by Dynamo's central midfielder Alex, who was dominant in the midfield. Erick Torres capped a festive night in the Bayou City with a beautiful transition strike, running one on one at Columbus Crew SC centre defender Connor Maloney and curved a cool finish into the top corner of the post.
Crew SC misery increased when Mensah received a late red card booking for an aggressive studs up challenge on Alex, however Ola Kamara stroke home a last minute consolation goal.
Dynamo's fantastic trio
It's still very early in the season, but Houston Dynamo's front-line is showing the abilities to be one of the most dangerous side in Major League Soccer. Romell Quioto and Alberth Elis are very fast, eager and skillful to beat defenders, while Erick “Cubo” Torres is doing everything needed from a modern Point-man. One thing is certain already; they are fun to watch.
The visitors dismay
Columbus Crew SC suffered some bad luck in this game, not least of which were these three great early saves by Houston Dynamo goalie Tyler Deric that blunted their vigorous response to Houston Dynamo's early lead.
But their efforts in central-midfield and the intriguing subs made by Gregg Berhalter hinted at some crucial problems that needed to be resolved.
Alex work rate
Most times good players get lost on bad sides, and so it may have been for the Houston Dynamo's central midfielder Alex, who appears re-born in 2017. Alex was commanding in the engine room, doing the dirty job off the ball, spraying defense and splitting long-range passes to spring up counters.
