HOUSTON DYNAMO
Héctor Herrera on playoff win: “Celebrate this, it’s been a great year”
The Houston Dynamo captain was delighted to have made it to the semi-finals of MLS Cup Playoffs and praised goalkeeper Steve Clark.
Houston Dynamo secured passage to the semi-finals of the MLS Cup Playoffs with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Real Salt Lake.
Club captain Héctor Herrera recorded his 18th assist of the season in the first half, nodding the ball down for Corey Baird to open the scoring.
After the game, Herrera told journalist Favian Renkel that he had hoped to win the game without needing penalties.
The Mexican midfielder said: “We should have won in regulation, but what can you do? That’s soccer. Sometimes you suffer more than you need to.”
“All the work that we have done through the season is starting to yield results. We have made a very important step in reaching the semi-final, and we’re happy.”
Herrera added: “We should celebrate this because it’s been a great year.”
Steve Clark rescues Houston with crucial save
At the age of 37 there are few players in the league who can match Steve Clark for playoff experience. Ahead of the game the Houston stopper spoke exclusively to AS USA, saying that he feels at the very top of his game.
Clark was one of the heroes for Houston as he made an acrobatic save from Diego Luna’s penalty attempt. Speaking after the game, Herrera said that the team owed thanks to Clark for their playoff victory.
“We were fortunate to be able to count on Steve Clark in goal tonight. He was able to guess correctly on the penalty kick and stop it,” he said.
The November international break ensures that Houston now have a two-week pause in playoff action. When they return later this month Ben Olsen’s side will face Sporting Kansas City, the lowest seed remaining in the playoffs.
As the higher seed Houston will host the single-legged eliminated match. If they advance past Sporting KC, either LAFC or Seattle Sounders await in the Western Conference Final.