Ibrahim Aliyu's Strike Lifts Houston Dynamo Past San Diego FC 1-0 as Both Sides Finish With 10

San Diego FC completed 726 passes on Wednesday night. Houston completed 267. If soccer were scored on style points, this would have been a rout the other way. Instead, one ball in behind decided it.

Houston Dynamo FC beat San Diego FC 1-0 at Shell Energy Stadium, with Ibrahim Aliyu scoring in the 35th minute off a pass from Ondrej Lingr. San Diego held 71.5 percent of the ball and put one shot on target all night. Both teams finished with 10 men after Amahl Pellegrino was sent off in the 79th minute and Lingr saw red for violent conduct deep in stoppage time.

A Game of Keep-Away and One Sucker Punch

The early pattern was clear. San Diego passed, probed and recycled. Houston were happy to defend and look for space in behind. The Dynamo had the first shot on target in the 11th minute, when Mateusz Bogusz's right-footed effort from the middle of the box was saved by Duran Ferree. San Diego's best early look came from a set piece in the 25th, but Jeppe Tverskov headed over.

Then came the moment. Lingr slipped the ball through to Aliyu on the right side of the box, and Aliyu drilled a right-footed shot into the top left corner. It was his first goal of the season, and the club says the pass was Lingr's first MLS assist.

San Diego coach Mikey Varas knew exactly where it went wrong. "Houston didn't create very much at all, and we get caught a little bit flat footed on a ball in behind and not reading that situation well," he said.

San Diego nearly hit back before halftime, but Christopher McVey headed a Dreyer corner over from the left side of the six-yard box in stoppage time.

Pressure Without Punch

The second half followed the same script. Lewis Morgan and Alex Mighten both missed the target from inside the box, and San Diego kept shuttling the ball across the field without finding a final pass.

Houston, meanwhile, kept looking dangerous on the counter. Aliyu missed just wide in the 68th minute, and Lingr came closest to a second in the 74th, hitting the left post from the middle of the box after a run past the goalkeeper, according to the Dynamo. In the 76th minute, Antônio Carlos had a header blocked and then fired over after a corner.

The match tilted again in the 79th minute when Pellegrino, a 66th-minute substitute, was shown a red card. The Dynamo said he caught Felipe Andrade with a high foot while challenging for a ball in the air. Varas called it "very unlucky" afterward.

Down a man, San Diego finally forced Jonathan Bond into a save in the 90th minute, a left-footed Anders Dreyer shot from distance. The fourth official then put up nine minutes of stoppage time. In it, Franco Negri was booked for handball, Ian Pilcher was booked, and Lingr was sent off for violent conduct in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Ferree, San Diego's goalkeeper, even got up for a late header, which was blocked, before Héctor Herrera tried his luck from more than 40 yards and missed.

Who Stood Out

Ibrahim Aliyu scored the winner on three shots and was Houston's most dangerous runner all night.

Ondrej Lingr had a game that covered every emotion: an assist, a post and a red card.

Mateusz Bogusz forced the first save of the night, set up Aliyu's near miss in the 68th minute and kept probing until he came off in the 75th.

Jonathan Bond only needed to make one save, but it came late and it mattered.

Antônio Carlos and Houston's back line made 28 clearances, a number that tells you how much San Diego pushed without breaking through.

Anders Dreyer was San Diego's most persistent creator from set pieces and the only player on his team to put a shot on target.

Turning Point: The Ball in Behind

San Diego's whole game plan was built on control, and for 34 minutes it worked. Then a single pass split the defense and Aliyu did not waste it. After that, Houston could sit deeper, protect the box and wait for the counter. Varas put it plainly: "They took the chance that they got. This is football."

Stats That Matter

• Possession: San Diego 71.5 percent, Houston 28.5.
• Passing: San Diego attempted 791 passes to Houston's 317.
• Shots on target: Houston 3, San Diego 1, despite San Diego's dominance of the ball.
• Clearances: Houston 28, San Diego four.
• Cards: One red and two yellows for each side.

What It Means

Houston are 4-0-4 with 12 points, and they have now won back-to-back games 1-0, after Saturday's result at Orlando. The club says it was their second straight shutout victory and their third straight win across all competitions, counting a U.S. Open Cup win over El Paso Locomotive FC. Next up is a Saturday trip to Austin.

San Diego's skid is getting harder to explain away. They are 3-2-4 with 11 points after a fourth straight regular-season loss, and their club notes say they have gone six straight MLS matches without a win for the first time in club history. Their last MLS win came on March 7 against Sporting Kansas City. The notes also say San Diego have been shown seven red cards in their last eight matches across all competitions, and Pellegrino will miss their next MLS match.

Varas took ownership. "First thought is obviously very disappointed about the result, because we're in a tough moment right now, and there's no hiding from that. That's my responsibility," he said. San Diego host Portland on Saturday, their third MLS match in seven days.

The Closing Take

This game was a reminder that possession is a tool, not a trophy. San Diego played like a band rehearsing the perfect setlist and never getting on stage. Houston played three chords, hit the one that mattered and went home. "It's just the moment that we're in," Varas said. It is a moment San Diego need to end quickly.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by SanDiegoFC.com; additional details from HoustonDynamoFC.com.