Vicente Sanchez moment of magic puts Houston Dynamo into next round after dull contest

HOUSTON — Vicente Sanchez wanted more. Just after setting up Alberth Elis for the winning goal in extra time of the Houston Dynamo's 1-0 triumph over Sporting Kansas City, he muscled his own teammate off the ball. With Tomas Martinez now to one side, the 37-year-old Uruguayan freed Romell Quioto down the left side. Quioto put his shot on frame but goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra made the stop.

Shortly after, in the 104th minute, Elis returned the favor and put Sanchez in for his own opportunity. The Uruguayan veteran missed the target. He got another chance, winning a penalty in a comical last minute fashion and sent that one right at the goalkeeper. It didn't matter. One was enough. 

Sanchez, a 37-year-old veteran in his second stint in MLS, created the only goal in a game where nobody created much of anything and sent the Dynamo through to the Western Conference semifinals. He had skipped past Sporting KC fullback Jimmy Medranda and kept the ball in play before finding Elis near the penalty spot.

FINALLY.@alberthelis17 gives @HoustonDynamo the lead in Extra Time. #HOUvSKC @audi #MLSCupPlayoffs https://t.co/j9xiVlbn47

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 27, 2017

The assist was Sanchez's second game-winning assist of the season, but seeing the veteran provide the setup came as no shock to the Dynamo's first-year head coach Wilmer Cabrera.

"I am not surprised about Victor Sanchez because that’s why I brought him and invited him to be part of this project. I’m not surprised," the coach said after the match. "He’s unbelievably talented, smart and he has an unbelievable quality. He’s sad because he couldn’t score those goals and those opportunities but what he brought throughout the 35 mins, the extra time and the five more minutes during the end of the game, it was outstanding and he gave us the possibility to counter attack, to create problems for them and create a lot of possibility and a lot of options to be dangerous."

Both DaMarcus Beasley and Elis called Sanchez one of the best players on the Dynamo's roster, with the defender praising how hard Sanchez works during the week to make sure he still can produce moments like Thursday's setup.

"He’s probably the best 37-year-old that I’ve seen play football. Seriously," said Beasley, himself just two years away from that milestone. "I’m talking about the way he moves, the way he takes care of himself, the way he trains. The way he plays is the way he trains. You guys don’t see that, but the way he plays out there is the way he trains every day. It’s phenomenal to see. Phenomenal.

"Sometimes, like today, the plays don’t all come off but the one play that did got us the goal. I mean, yeah, he couldn’t score more, but he’s a nuisance. He’s always around the goal, he has that knack to make the final pass, to score a goal, to pressure the midfielders. We’re very happy to have Vicente with us. He’s done it all season, not just today, not just the last eight games. He’s done it every game this season. We’re glad to have him and like I said he’s probably one of the best players on the team this year."

Cabrera may have gotten even more than he expected when he put Sanchez into the match for Ricardo Clark in the 87th minute. The idea, Sanchez said, was for him to keep the midfield clogged in a contest that had seen both teams struggle to create opportunities and was heading into an extra 30-minute period and try to find his teammates on the wings. Instead, he made the most of a chance he had down the right side.

"Wilmer asked me not to let them play in the middle, to try to win back the ball and make plays for the forwards out wide," Sanchez said. "I'm happy it came through. It was a very closed match until the goal was scored."

The Dynamo now face the Portland Timbers on Monday, and Cabrera said he'd be careful to manage Sanchez's recovery, as he would with all players against a Portland team that has a dangerous attack and plenty of speed. After adding color to a grim contest, getting Sanchez back on the field could be key for the Dynamo, whether in Monday's first leg or in the deciding match Nov. 5 in Portland.