How Houston Dynamo beat Lionel Messi-less Inter Miami 2-1 in U.S. Open Cup final

Houston Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen spoke to the media after the win: "All year we've been trying to build something, and we've got a long way to go...but this helps, this speeds up some things.

"They were missing a player or two, but I don't really care."

With Lionel Messi not playing tonight, Inter Miami lacked decisiveness in the final third until late in the game, when they put pressure on Houston’s goal and finally found a goal in extra time. If Messi misses a few games, Miami is going to need someone to step into more of a playmaker’s role. The obvious choice would be Facundo Farías, who had a couple good moments in the second half.

Martino’s move to two forwards with Martínez and Leonardo Campana also added some danger in the final third. With five games left in the regular season, Miami’s playoff hopes are still alive, but the team also looked like it had tired legs against the Dynamo. Inter Miami is going to have to find a way to get results in three key games over the next 10 days in order to stay alive in the playoff picture.

While much of the attention will be on Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami failing to win a trophy while an injured — or fatigued — Messi watched from an on-field luxury box, unavailable for selection, we should note how big of a win this is for Houston. The Dynamo, a club struggling for some time now, have undergone massive changes in the last two years under a new owner, Ted Segal; new sporting leaders, Pat Onstad and Asher Mendelsohn; and a new coach, Ben Olsen.

The Dynamo were the better team on the night for long stretches and now have a trophy to celebrate their turnaround. Houston also currently sits in fifth place in the West and in solid position not only for a playoff spot, but potentially home-field advantage. This win was undoubtedly a validating moment for the Dynamo organization.

I hate to belabor the point but it is very weird to see James Harden, yes that James Harden, in a bright orange Dynamo jersey up on the trophy stage alongside Jorge Mas plus U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson and USSF president Cindy Parlow Cone.

The Inter Miami players are somberly receiving their runners-up medals from the dignitaries on the temporary stage built on the field.

This is Hector Herrera’s first trophy since winning La Liga with Atletico Madrid in 2021.

I’m sure those two titles carry the exact same weight for him.

Dynamo minority owner James Harden is on stage to give out medals alongside majority owner Ted Segal and Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas.

Harden and Mas have been chatting on stage as Houston celebrates and the Inter Miami players patiently wait to get their runners-up medals and get into the locker room.

It's taking a cruel amount of time to get this ceremony underway for the Inter Miami players and staff.

Credit also goes to Houston's general manager Pat Onstad, who was brought in after the 2021 season. He inherited a roster that had finished last in the West in back-to-back seasons.

It took a few windows, but he whittled down the holdovers from the Matt Jordan era, persuaded Héctor Herrera to leave Atletico Madrid, activated the purchase option on Coco Carrasquilla, and brought Ben Olsen in to build a new Dynamo ideology around the midfield tandem.

That’s as rapid as turnarounds get in this league.

Ben Olsen (D.C. United, Houston) has become the third coach to lead two different MLS teams to U.S. Open Cup titles.

He joins Sigi Schmid (LA Galaxy, Seattle) and Óscar Pareja (FC Dallas, Orlando City).

When Houston first won this competition in 2018, it was a silver lining in an otherwise grim season.

This time, it feels like they may translate this momentum into a playoff run. Hell of a turnaround under Ben Olsen.

It was too little, too late for Miami but here's a look at the goal that made second-half stoppage time much more dramatic:

It's a second U.S. Open Cup title for Houston, after they won the 2018 edition as well.

They're 2-0 in the final of this tournament.