He would not be the only Impact player sent off. Montreal would have only eight men left when the final whistle blew.

Beating Houston in normal soccer weather would be difficult enough. But when its 30-31 C at kickoff, with humidity hovering around 80 per cent, the Dynamo’s home-field advantage is exaggerated. Sure, it gets that warm in Toronto in the summer, but BBVA Compass Stadium has a very special way of holding in the heat at field level.

Coach Marco Schallibaum commented on his team’s performance in very positive terms after the match saying, “We came out like a fireworks display, especially in the first half. We could have had, four, five, or six goals but we didn’t get them and for that we have to congratulate Houston for that."

“Overall, I was actually very encouraged about the game,” said Vancouver head coach Martin Rennie. “It was a very young team from us – lots of inexperienced players. For most of the game, we were doing well. We were on top for quite a long time. Obviously, (we’re) disappointed that we lost the goals that we did. I thought we could have defended those a little bit better given that we hardly gave up any chances throughout the game.”