Ondřej Lingr's heroic debut rescues Houston Dynamo  | OneFootball

By Alex Calabrese

Just 21 minutes into his MLS career, Ondřej Lingr is off and running.

Houston Dynamo FC's recently acquired Designated Player came off the bench to score on his club debut, heading home a last-gasp equalizer deep into second-half stoppage time in Saturday's 2-2 home draw against the Colorado Rapids.

“The feeling is amazing, scoring on my debut,” Lingr said postgame. “It was a tough game, but in the end we take it, we conceded and we had to go to the [96th] minute.”

The Czech international’s dramatic late goal undid an excellent Rapids comeback fueled by a 1g/1a performance from Djordje Mihailovic.

Much-needed addition

Houston’s two goals – courtesy of Lingr and Amine Bassi – were their seventh and eighth of the year, as the club sits 14th in the Western Conference.

Head coach Ben Olsen feels Lingr will be a difference-maker in that department, raising the ceiling for a developing Dynamo team that saw key pieces Héctor Herrera and Coco Carrasquilla depart during the offseason.

“He did exactly what he needed to do,” Olsen said of the 26-year-old, who arrived from Czech First League powerhouse Slavia Prague for a reported $2.6 million. “It’s nice to have a guy get on the end of something. I don’t think we’ve had that in a while. It’s one of the things we liked about him coming in.

"We needed someone to stretch the line and be a guy in the box who is fearless, that wants to get it. This will give us a dimension that we’ve needed.”

Houston host Copa Tejas rivals Austin FC on April 26 (8:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass), giving Lingr another chance to impress the Dynamo faithful at Shell Energy Stadium.

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