Amine Bassi and Kei Kamara were on target as the Houston Dynamo and Chicago Fire recorded 4-1 and 2-1 wins over San Jose Earthquakes and Portland Timbers respectively on Wednesday night.
The Dynamo were off the back of a 1-0 away win at reigning MLS Cup champions Los Angeles FC and were quick off the blocks against the Earthquakes when Moroccan Bassi scored in the third minute with a simple tap in from a defensive error.
Feel the pressure & feel the heat from Amine Bassi????#HoldItDown pic.twitter.com/Zmm3luUOkv
— Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) June 22, 2023
Corey Baird made it 2-0 for Houston two minutes later before Equatorial Guinea defender Carlos Akapo pulled one back for San Jose four minutes to the half time break with a header from a free kick.
Houston added two more goals in the second half courtesy of Iceland forward Thor Ulfarsson’s brace to hand them their third consecutive win after earlier back-to-back defeats against the Vancouver Whitecaps and St. Louis City.
Kamara meanwhile was the hero for the Fire in their 2-1 win over the Timbers. The Illinois outfit lost by one goal margins to FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew previously and went ahead against the Timbers when Fabian Herbers scored in the eighth minute.
144 for #23. ????
He's one away from Landon Donovan for second all-time. #cf97 https://t.co/yLh9z8IJWK
— Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) June 22, 2023
Ivory Coast forward Franck Boli however equalised for Portland in the 26th minute with a composed finish. The game remained level until the 83rd minute when former Sierra Leone international Kamara scored the winner for the Fire with a fine header. It was his 144th MLS goal, leaving him just one goal behind Landon Donovan in second place on the league all-time goalscorer’s list.
The victory was Chicago’s first win after four winless games (D2 L2) in the MLS.
