Wilmer Cabrera and the Houston Dynamo made a calculated decision to put out a lesser side in their US Open Cup match on Monday against Minnesota, who played a full strength XI. Cabrera, who historically has not been fond of giving his starters significant Cup minutes, had an eye on Saturday’s game against Sporting KC.
The decision paid off about as well as Cabrera and co. could have expected. Mauro Manotas’ flick header a couple of minutes into the second half proved to be the winner, as Darwin Quintero hit the post on a last-second PK and Houston escaped with a 1-0 win.