Houston's 23 shots came to nothing as St. Louis won late

Houston Dynamo created more chances than usual and still lost to a late St. Louis City winner.

A goal in the 90th minute decided this match, and it went to St. Louis City, the side that created the weaker chances across the game. Houston Dynamo finished with 23 shots, the most of either side and close to double the 12 St. Louis City managed, yet they lost at BBVA Compass Stadium.

Houston Dynamo had only 41% of the ball, short of the 50.3% they average at home, so the match began without the possession they usually enjoy. The chances were a different story. Those 23 shots are more than double the 10.4 they take on average in home games, and their expected goals figure, a rough measure of how likely each chance was to go in, came to 1.3 against a usual 0.88.

St. Louis City were the reverse. They had 59% of the ball, a little above their usual 55.1% on the road, but only 12 shots, which left them close to the league figure of 12.8 per team, and an expected goals figure well short of the 1.29 they average away. Their goalkeeper, B. Lundt, made six saves and finished with the highest rating on the pitch, 8.1 out of 10, which says how much of the match ran through him.

Houston Dynamo's defence was the other half of the story. It usually concedes chances worth 1.78 in expected goals, yet St. Louis City's chances this time came to less than half that. The visitors scored once, against 2.3 goals on average in their away games, and the league as a whole averages 3.2 goals a match, so goals were scarce on both sides.

The pressure showed in other places too. Houston Dynamo's shot count sat well above the league average, and 12 of their attempts came from inside the box, against seven for St. Louis City. The hosts also won nine corners to three, a sign of how often they got into the visitors' half with the ball.

Both sides arrive at the table on the same footing. Houston Dynamo are fifth and St. Louis City fourth, each on 51 points from 33 matches, with identical records of 14 wins, nine draws and 10 defeats. Houston Dynamo's last six games produced four draws, while St. Louis City's contained four defeats, a draw and a 6-2 win.

Houston Dynamo made five substitutions, the last of them in the 89th minute, and the winning goal came a minute after it.

Player of the matchB. Lundt6 saves8.1

L. MacNaughton1 goal7.8

F. Fall7 duels won7.2

Guilherme5 chances created7.2