Ben Olsen had to hold a few "tough conversations" to get the Houston Dynamo out of their slump, with Saturday's Texas derby at Austin FC offering them the chance for back-to-back wins.
The Dynamo approached Saturday's trip to Sporting Kansas City both winless and goalless in three MLS matches (one draw, two defeats), while they were also dumped out of the U.S. Open Cup by Detroit City FC.
However, goals from Hector Herrera and Ibrahim Aliyu handed them a 2-1 road win and lifted them into the top seven of the Western Conference – above Austin by a single point.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday's grudge match against a team that won the reverse fixture less than a month ago, Olsen credited his players for coming through a tough patch.
"I think some people were questioning us, and we've had a few tough conversations, particularly with the U.S. Open cup knockout. This was just a really good response," he said.
"We have to figure out when we are at our best, to think, 'who are we, at our best?'
"It was our defensive effort that we hung our hat on last year, so it's a bit of a renewed feeling of that being there."
Austin, by contrast, were on a run of four wins in six games before they were beaten 2-1 by another Texas rival in FC Dallas on Saturday.
Despite that reverse, centre-back Julio Cascante has praised the defensive work done by coach Josh Wolff, with Austin looking far more competitive than was the case in their dismal 2023 season.
"Despite everything, we've worked very hard on the defensive side," Cascante said.
"Emphasis has been placed on the defensive side, but defending is done as an entire team. It starts with the number nine. I think that makes the difference."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Austin FC – Sebastian Driussi
Driussi scored a consolation from the penalty spot at Dallas on Saturday, his third goal of the season in eight MLS starts.
Only Diego Rubio, who has started three additional games, has matched that tally for Austin this year. The Argentine will be looking to carry his team's attacking hopes again here.
Houston Dynamo – Amine Bassi
Bassi recorded his third assist of the season by teeing up Hector Herrera's 31st-minute strike against Sporting on Saturday.
All three of Bassi's assists have come on goals from outside the box this season – Houston's only three strikes from outside the penalty area.
MATCH PREDICTION – AUSTIN FC WIN
Houston have won three of their first five road matches this year, having only recorded more than three regular-season away wins in one of the last 10 campaigns, winning four times on their travels in 2022.
However, Austin have won all four of their previous home matches against Houston, netting multiple goals in each contest. The Dynamo are one of two teams – alongside Kansas City – that Austin have hosted more than once while posting a 100 per cent record.
Austin have also won three straight at home after only winning once in their previous 10 outings at Q2 Stadium. Back on home soil after Saturday's derby loss, they will expect a different result.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Austin FC – 44.9%
Houston Dynamo – 26.9%
Draw – 28.2%
Gen Sec Dennis Chung defends JFF’s decision to rehire Busby; labels media allegations as “witch hunt”
Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) General Secretary Dennis Chung has defended the decision to rehire Hubert Busby Jr as the senior Reggae Girlz Head coach, as he pointed out that the country’s governing football body conducted due diligence before moving forward.
Chung’s declaration is in response to an article published by British daily newspaper The Guardian, alleging that the JFF misrepresented Busby’s reinstatement, stating that he was cleared of sexual misconduct allegations by Fifa’s Ethics Committee.
He dismissed the article published on Friday and headlined “Jamaica FA falsely claims women’s team coach was cleared of alleged sexual misconduct” as a “witch hunt” and accused the outlet of distorting facts and overlooking critical details.
This, as the article cast doubt on Busby’s “clearance,” noting that Fifa’s Ethics Committee had closed the preliminary investigation due to a statute of limitations without formally exonerating him.
Busby was reappointed Reggae Girlz Head coach earlier this year, after he was initially suspended by the JFF in 2021, when the allegation of sexual misconduct was brought against him by former player Malloree Enoch.
Enoch alleged that Busby made sexual advances towards her during his time in charge at the Vancouver Whitecaps women’s outfit between 2010 and 2011. Busby denied the allegations.
“Do you think that the JFF, which is the organisation that dismissed Busby when the allegation was made, wouldn’t have done our due diligence? The technical committee received information to say that the investigation has closed and there was nothing based on the information that they had; there was nothing to support what was alleged,” Chung told SportsMax.Tv.
“The letter had stated that Fifa closed the investigation based on the information available. They never referred to any statute of limitations, as the article said. In addition to that, there was an email that Busby forwarded from Fifa stating that he could share it with us for employment purposes,” he added.
Chung clarified that contrary to the statement that he declined multiple requests for interviews and comments, he only received one call from a Guardian journalist, whom he directed to Busby or his legal representatives.
“They said that they reached out to me multiple times; that is not true. They called me once, and I told them, just like any organisation would, that Busby is a staff member and I am not at liberty to discuss his situation or give out any information on him. I told them they should call Busby, as it is he they need to get that information from,” Chung shared.
Since the article surfaced, SportsMax.Tv has been reliably informed that Busby is in the process of filing a defamation lawsuit against someone in the UK. It is not clear if the individual is an employee at the British newspaper.
Chung also rubbished the claim in The Guardian article that several witnesses—including Enoch—were not interviewed by Fifa’s Ethics Committee.
“Does that make sense? If she is the one that made the allegations, do you think Fifa wouldn’t interview her? So what it is, it’s a witch hunt that they are on; it is almost as if they are saying he is still guilty even though the investigation is closed, and that is totally ridiculous,” Chung opined.
Finally, Chung said he is deeply disappointed by the article, which he believes unfairly targets Busby. He also expressed the view that the report adds unnecessary scrutiny to an issue that the JFF and Fifa have already addressed through established protocols.
“I don’t understand what it is about, but there is obviously something behind it. Because the letter never said the investigation was closed based on the statute of limitation, it said the investigation was closed based on the information that they had,” he noted.
“Not because an allegation is made means you’re going to hold it against a man for the rest of his life. Allegations are made against politicians all over, and they are still in positions of authority. You can’t because an allegation is made against a man; hold it against him, and there is nothing to prove that it happened,” Chung ended.
Marmoush makes Frankfurt history with 10th Bundesliga goal of season
Omar Marmoush made club history with his goal in Eintracht Frankfurt's 7-2 win over Bochum.
The forward was on target and provided two assists as Dino Toppmoller's side leapfrogged reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen to third place in the table.
Marmoush notched up his 10th goal of the season, becoming the first Frankfurt player to achieve the feat in the opening nine matches of a Bundesliga season.
The Egypt international broke Tony Yeboah's record of nine goals in as many matchdays, set during the 1993-94 campaign.
With his two assists, Marmoush took his tally of direct goal contributions for this season to 16, the joint-most in the Bundesliga along with Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane.
In fact, Kane is the only player to have previously registered more direct goal contributions after the first nine games of a Bundesliga campaign, with 17 last term.
Southampton 1-0 Everton: Late Armstrong strike seals Saints' first win
Adam Armstrong's late goal gave Southampton their first Premier League win of the season as they beat Everton 1-0 at St Mary's.
Armstrong’s first league strike of the season came in the 85th minute of Saturday's tightly fought contest, while lifting the Saints off the foot of the table.
Aaron Ramsdale had earlier kept the scores level with a fine save from Michael Keane's close-range header, while substitute Beto nodded against the crossbar.
Southampton broke through five minutes from time when substitute Yukinari Sugawara's low centre was superbly swept home by Armstrong.
Everton thought they had an equaliser when Beto raced in behind and finished brilliantly beyond Ramsdale.
However, a VAR review showed that the Brazilian had strayed offside, and the goal was overturned, to the delight of the home fans, who celebrated a Premier League victory for the first time since March 2023.
Data Debrief: Saints off the mark
Southampton finally have their first victory on the board courtesy of Armstrong's strike which, timed at 84 minutes and 33 seconds, is their latest Premier League winning goal since Charlie Austin struck six seconds later against Arsenal in December 2018.
The Saints also recorded their 14th Premier League win against Everton at home, now their outright most against a single opponent in the competition.
As for the Toffees, their five-game unbeaten league run comes to an end, and they have now lost 11 of their last 15 league games in November.
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