Saturday 11th November 2023 – MLS Western Conference Play-off – The Shell Energy Stadium, Houston

Despite the efforts of British Airways to ruin my first ever trip to Houston, I was in the Shell Energy Stadium to see the Dynamo’s win a second successive penalty shoot out to progress into the next round of the MLS Play-offs.

There’s been a lot of criticism for the formats of the recent Rugby and Cricket World Cups which seemed to last forever.  There was a joke that some of the best English rugby players playing in the domestic game in late October weren’t even born when the tournament in France started.  Whilst it isn’t strictly true for the MLS in the United States, the expansion of the end of season games has probably gone a step too far in trying to elongate the season and keep the fan interest alive.  The top nine clubs in each of the two divisions, or conferences, out of 29 sides who took part in the regular season.  In the Eastern Conference, FC Cincinnati finished top of the pile, with a 26 point difference to Charlotte in the final play-off spot.

In the Western Conference, the top spot wasn’t decided until the final weeks of the season, with St Louis City winning the division in their first season as a MLS club.  Houston Dynamo finished fourth, but only five points off top spot.

Aside from the “wild card round” which isn’t a wild card at all – it is simply a play-off between the 8th and 9th place sides, all sides enter the play offs at the same stage.  Games are played as a 3 match series, with any drawn games settled by penalties.  Only two of the first round games went to a third, deciding game and one of those who be in Houston as the Dynamo faced Real Salt Lake for the right to play Sporting Kansas City in the next round.

Fortune favours the Football Tourist sometimes and I was in Houston for a work conference.  Always trying to save my employer money, I requested to travel on Saturday, where the flights were half the price they would be on Sunday or Monday.  At the time of booking there was the possibility of a Dynamo final play-off game – all I needed was for them to lose at Real Salt Lake in the second game.  And they did, losing 5-4 on penalties.

My hotel was a 10 minute walk from the Shell Energy Stadium and even better, had two highly rated taprooms on its doorstep.  My flight would land in Houston at 1.30pm, leaving plenty of time before the 5pm kick off.  In fact, we all know that in the US just because everyone says it is a 5pm kick-off, it will be 10 minutes, or more, later before they get all the pomp and circumstance out of the way.

All good, until at 5pm on Friday, 15 hours before departure, BA emailed me to say they had cancelled my flight for “service operability issues”, which often translates to “we haven’t sold enough seats so we aren’t going to run a loss making service”.  They did kindly rebook me on a new flight, which now required a change in Dallas.  I would arrive in Houston at 5.30pm.

If I could exit the plane quickly, get a cab, tip him to ride like the wind and dump my bags at the hotel I could possibly make the start of the second half.  Not ideal but at least I’d get there for some of the game.

Alas, whilst the flight landed on time in Dallas, and we were boarded on the flight to Houston early, we sat on the tarmac for nearly an hour.  The flight time was just 44 minutes, but we spent longer waiting to take off, then taxiing to the stand on arrival than the time in the air.

The taxi driver did what he can, and Real Salt Lake did their part too, with Diego Luna equalising Corey Baird’s first half strike, taking the game to penalties.  The stewards on the gate at the stadium allowed me in, although it was very surprising to see so many fans leaving before the penalties.  

The Shell Energy Stadium is on the edge of Downtown Houston, just a five minute walk from the Baseball stadium, Minute Maid Park.  It opened in 2012 as a 22,000 capacity stadium and was designed with some unique features, none more so than the west stand which as a unique part roof thing going on, and superb views of the Houston skyline from the south stand.  I simply ran into the nearest entrance and found myself right on the edge of the El Battalion, the hardcore Dynamo fans.

Penalties would be taken in front of these fans and they made it as uncomfortable as possible for the Real Salt Lake players, with bottles of water, handily passed out by a sponsor, were being thrown onto the pitch.  The visitors took first, successfully, as too were the next three, making it 2-2.  Luna’s spot kit was then saved, giving Dynamo the advantage, but when Nelson Quinones missed for Houston, it was 4-4 with one more to take.  Daniel Musovski stepped up for the visitors and his spot kick was tipped onto the post and it bounced to safety.

The weight of 17,000 fans fell on 24 year old Griffin Dorsey’s shoulders and he didn’t disappoint.  The fans went wild, streamers, water, beer and shoes (!) all flew through the air.  The orange dry ice pumped out from the front of the stand (sorry, no pyros here), Diesel the Fox mascot moonwalked across the penalty area and Real Salt Lake trooped off.

The club progressed, hoping still to “do the double” having beaten Inter Miami in the Open Cup final in September.  It has been too long since Dynamo won the MLS Cup (2007) but could this be their year once again?  Only (more) time will tell and it will be another month before that would be determined, some 7 weeks after the play-offs started.