Dynamo beat Lionel Messi-less Miami to win US Open Cup

Griffin Dorsey and Amine Bassi scored before halftime and the Houston Dynamo won their second US Open Cup with a 2-1 victory over Inter Miami on Wednesday at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Inter Miami played the final without injured stars Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba.

Houston goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell made three stops to preserve the victory as the Dynamo repeated a feat they previously accomplished in 2018, this time under first-year manager Ben Olsen.

Houston becomes the seventh MLS team to win the US Open Cup on multiple occasions. Olsen becomes only the third manager to win the nation's oldest surviving national soccer competition with two different clubs, having guided DC United to the title in 2013.

For the fourth time in five matches, Miami played without Messi, who has been nursing a lower-body muscle issue since he went to play with the Argentina national team earlier this month.

Josef Martinez scored a late consolation goal for the Herons, who won the 2023 Leagues Cup led by Messi's 10 goals in that competition last month.

Via their respective trophies, both Miami and Houston will compete in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Houston was dominant in the first half and held a deserved 2-0 lead before Miami even managed its first shot.

Dorsey opened the scoring in the 24th minute on a well-worked team attack that began with Corey Baird cutting in from the left flank, and then playing the ball to Artur in the center channel.

Artur worked the ball further to the right into the overlapping run of Dorsey, who took one touch to control and then hammered his finish through goalkeeper Drake Callender and into the net from about 10 yards out.

Seven minutes later, Nelson Quinones got behind the Miami back line and was taken down by DeAndre Yedlin just inside the 18-yard box.

In the 33rd minute, Bassi stepped up and cooly converted his penalty past Callender, who guessed incorrectly.

Bassi appeared to have set up Quinones for a third goal in the second half, but referee Jon Freemon ruled Quinones had been fractionally offside following a video review.

Martinez made the final stages interesting when he took Facundo Farias' throughball and drove a low finish through Tarbell's legs in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.