Omar Cummings hailed the character of the Houston Dynamo side after helping the team reach the Eastern Conference final for the third year in a row.
The 31-year-old Jamaica international, who joined Houston from Colorado Rapids in December 2012, found the net in the 104th minute of the Eastern Conference semi-final second leg to finally end the New York Red Bulls’ challenge.
Cummings had scored a stoppage-time goal in the first leg as Houston hit back from two goals down to draw 2-2 and came off the substitute’s bench in the second leg at the Red Bull Arena to score the decisive extra-time goal as Dynamo sealed a 4-3 victory on aggregate.
Cummings had failed to score in the regular season when he struggled with knee, groin and hamstring injuries, but has come up with the goods at the most important time.
According to the bet365 betting page, he said, after his latest goalscoring exploits: “I’d say that, even before I got here, one thing I noticed about the team was that they always find a way to win. They find a way to get back into games.
“Even when it’s not pretty and even when you’re not playing well you find out what it takes to get back in those games. When it comes down to the dying moments until the referee blows that whistle, never give up on the Dynamo. Ever.”
The Dynamo now face Sporting Kansas City in the two-legged Eastern Conference championship, an occasion that is already attracting a lot of interest from people who bet on soccer.
Kansas City were also involved in a thrilling semi-final, winning the second leg 3-1 as they edged to a 4-3 aggregate success against New England Revolution.
Sporting’s Argentinian striker, Claudio Bieler, who had not scored for two months and started the match as a substitute, came off the bench to grab the winning goal from the penalty spot in extra time.
