Ghanaian defender Kofi Sarkodie found himself on the losing side as Houston Dynamo suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer.

Adam Jahn scored the only goal of the game to secure the victory for Dominic Kinnear’s side in front of over 16,000 at the BBVA Compass Stadium. The victory was a significant one for the Earthquakes coach, who had been Dynamo boss for nine years before leaving the club last term.

Former Bolton Wanderers coach Owen Coyle is enduring a tough time in Texas, where the Dynamo sit eighth in the Western Conference. The club’s form has deteriorated over the last five matches, and they are on a four-game winless run. Having beaten Montreal Impact on Matchday Two they drew two and have now lost their last two matches.

Defensively, the home side largely kept the Earthquakes at bay, with Jermaine Taylor particularly impressive in the heart of the backline.

However, they were caught out by a quick free kick on 54 minutes when Matias Perez Garcia played-in Jahn to head home past Tyler Deric.

Houston had a fine chance to equalise four minutes later, but David Bingham saved Giles Barnes’s penalty.

Offensively, however, Houston were sub-par—despite being the joint-fourth highest scorers in the whole of Major League Soccer.

Playing at right-back, Sarkodie had a mixed afternoon.

He was booked on 79 minutes and was replaced four minutes later, but made an overall positive contribution—contributing nine clearances and two tackles, according to WhoScored.

24-year-old Sarkodie has been a regular for Houston so far this season, and is one of only five players to have featured in every one of the Orange Crush’s ten matches so far this season.

The player’s parents originally come from Kumasi, although Sarkodie himself was born in Dayton, Ohio.