Story by Raynald Ngwarati
Warriors defender Teenage Hadebe played a crucial role as Houston Dynamo lifted the US Open Cup in the early hours of today.
Dynamo beat Inter Miami 2-1 in the final to win the US Open Cup, although the former Barcelona duo of Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba did not feature for Miami.
Playing before a packed house at DRV PNK Stadium, Hadebe’s Houston Dynamo were clinical from the get go as they went on to beat Inter Miami 2-1 in the final to win the US Open Cup.
Evidently, Dynamo led by the warriors star defender kept it water tight at the back, to silence Miami’s strikers and block their penetration into the final third.
With Lionel Messi ruled out due to an injury, Miami were on the backfoot earlier on, with goals from Griffin Dorsey and Amine Bassi thrusting Dynamo into a two-nil first half lead.
Things were not easy upfront for Miami in the absence of Messi, as they barely threatened the Dynamo goal registering only a single shot in the first half of the game.
While Messi was out injured, his ex Barcelona temmate Jordi Alba was also missing from action as Hadebe and company made sure they left no loose end.
Miami’s coach Gerado Martino made some crucial second half changes, which brought an improvement, but Hadebe was at the centre of it all, making sure that Miami do not crawl back into the game.
However, Miami pulled one back as Josef Martinez scored a 91st-minute consolation, but his efforts were too little, too late as Dynamo bagged their second U.S. Soccer National Championship.
