Dynamo fail big test on the road to Sporting KC

 

Ugh....

On a night where the Dynamo were matched up with rivals SKC in a packed Children's Mercy Park, they somehow clung to a 1-0 lead at the half.  That game shortly turned right after the break, when Peter Vermes' squad began to completely expose flaws in this Dynamo squad.  Yes, Gianluca Busio's strike was perfection on the free-kick, but the foul that led to it was indicative of the problems that the Dynamo were having in the defending third all night.  The cracks were apparent early.  Sporting found their way through on their very first possession of the game.  It took .22 seconds for Gadi Kinda to find a way through on the wing, and the Dynamo were lucky that Zarek Valentine drew a foul. Immediately you could see that Sporting KC's press was going to cause problems, and without a player capable of breaking them down through the middle on the pitch we had to hope that Tabs team could hold them off the scoreboard. At 2:55, Khiry Shelton blew by Boniek only to find the pass from Ille Sanchez a foot too long.  The Dynamo managed to connect one pass before Adam Lundkvist gave it back at midfield. KC was dominating possession and finding gaping wholes that led to a numbers advantage on literally every attack.  In the first 5 minutes of play, the Dynamo connected on a grand total of 4 passes, and never held the ball across midfield. 

It wasn't until the 10:47 minute mark when the Dynamo finally found their way across midfield and formulated some semblance of an attack.  When Fafa won the ball in the corner, and fired a ball that ended up to a streaking Mattias Vera (after a bad touch from Urruti) the Dynamo found their way in front 1-0.  The goal completely went against the run of play, because the Dynamo were really struggling at the time.  Vera made a great effort to get the ball and put his left foot on it.  It was the Dynamo's first real threat of the game, and Vera put a good finish on it for his first career MLS goal.  

Kansas City was completely unfazed, they simply went right back to work.  Sporting was methodical, they moved the ball, they found open space, and if they didn't get what they wanted from a possession they simply went and got the ball back.  The Dynamo didn't cross midfield again until the 22-minute mark, and that was off an errant pass by Sporting KC.  They didn't connect on a single pass across midfield until Tim Parker found Vera on a 30-yard strike at the 33-minute mark,(which Vera couldn't control and gave back). They didn't enter the attacking third until the 37-minute mark when Derrick Jones finally won a challenge just right of the box but that possession ended with Jones being stuck in the corner and giving it back after he crossed the touchline.  There was no attack in the attack.  The Dynamo didn't complete a pass in the final third again until the 41st minute, and in reality it was only their second completed pass in the final third for the entire half.

The second half began the same, with Sporting winning 3 straight corners in the 1st minute of the half.  On the third, Urruti played a deep ball to Fafa, but Graham Zusi chased it down with a wonderful sliding tackle.  Down 1-0, Sporting was in no hurry to change the game plan.  They were methodical, moving the ball and moving the Dynamo like a chess match.  That all culminated from minute 50-60.  KC didn't just win this 10 minutes, they had dominated the game in every way and were losing 1-0.  When Busio hit that amazing free-kick (and make no mistake, it as a tremendous strike), you knew we were in trouble.  On back-to-back plays: (1) Derrick Jones had gotten the ball taken away from him in a bad position leading to Salloi's run (2) The ensuing corner, Valentine had a terrible header into the middle of the field that led to Vera's foul. The Dynamo simply couldn't connect anything or get the ball across midfield.  They won their first corner at the 53rd minute. Tim Parker got a nice head on it, but Melia was in the right place to knock it away.  The Dynamo looked like they were going to break ahead off the counter at the 57-minute mark. Fafa had chased down a deflection by Vera and had a 2 on 1 with Urruti.  He played a really nice chipper over the defender leaving Urruti alone with the keeper.  Urruti took too many touches, got chased down from behind, and had the ball taken away from him by 2 KC defenders.  Soon after Pulido got the go-ahead instead on his penalty, then Kenda got free on the counter.  This was the first counter-attack goal the Dynamo have given up this year, and it couldn't have come at a worse time.  Lassiter came on for Memo shortly thereafter, and the combination of fresh legs and some speed opposite Fafa seemed to spark the team a little, but Lassiter immediately gave the ball away trying to take on Zusi and whiffed at a tremendous chance off a pinpoint cross from Fafa. Darwin Ceren helped hold down the midfield and was the best Dynamo player in the midfield at stringing passes together on the night.

The Dynamo attack looked better after Lassiter and Ceren came on, Bajamich came on at the 79-minute mark for Vera and gave a little spark.  He earned a corner on his very first touch and got his head on the ensuing corner.  He got the assist on Urruti's goal and really put some pressure on KC's backline both going forward and in the press.  Urruti got the late consolation goal, but it was too little too late.  The Dynamo are a terrible road team, and this year has done nothing to change that.  They are (and excuse me if I use the European style here) 0 (wins) 1 (draw) 3 (losses) on the year, after going 1-4-7 last year and 1-0-15 the year before.  In 2018 they went 2-5-11 on the road, making them 4-9-36 on the road over the last four years.  

It was worse than the final score, and your eyes said:

Sporting KC was better, faster, stronger, more physical, quicker on the ball, literally whatever you want to say, Sporting was it.  They dominated all the key stats: 69% Possession, 21 Shots (9 on target) to 10 by the Dynamo, 665 passes to 328, 20 interceptions and 23 tackles, and 11 corners to 4.  Sporting simply dominated this game, yet the Dynamo had a real chance to pick up points.  Urruti and Lassiter both had real chances to get goals.  Urruti took too many chances and let the defense catch up, and Lassiter swung and missed at a sure-fire goal after a great cross from Fafa. 

Marco Maric kept the Dynamo in it for a half:

His save on Roger Espinosa's attempt at the 39th minute was superb. His diving save on Khiry Shelton's header at the 41st minute was also tremendous. He got just enough on Daniel Salloi's 49th-minute attempt that Ludqinst was able to knock it away.  After a tremendous through ball by Gadi Kenda, Salloi was alone with Maric streaking down the right flank.  Maric just got his armpit on it and slowed it down just enough for Adam to get there.  He had another tremendous save on yet another free-kick strike from Busio in the 82nd minute keeping the Dynamo somewhat in the game.

He didn't even try to play the ball from Busio, but honestly, he had no chance if he had.  He guessed wrong on Pulido's penalty kick, but Pulido is a bona fide goal scorer with experience, not many keepers are stopping that.  His distribution was actually good, and you know that because you didn't notice it. Marco is showing consistently that he is a good keeper, but he needs more help in front of him.

Vera and Jones were surprisingly terrible in possession, and Corona disappeared:

Jones' soft lay down in the 48th minute was somewhat indicative of his game. He gave the ball away on the play that led to Salloi's attempt, he gave the ball away on the play that led to Kenda's goal.  What made the play worse is he pouted and trotted back while Vera was scrambling trying to set in between Parker and Boniek.  This compressed the defense and left Kenda all alone on the left flank.  Busio actually had 2 to chose from. Memo beat him back to the midfield, even Maxi Urruti beat him there.  After several weeks of glowing reviews, this outing as a major disappointment.  He had moments, but he wasn't there going forward.  He got frustrated and it looked like his frustrations got the better of him.

Vera's foul on Kenda was the spark that ignited the fire.  You can say what you want about the call, but it looked like an unquestionable foul to me.  It was Vera's second foul, and while I applaud his effort he was already sitting on a Yellow and was lucky he didn't get a second one.  He had uncharacteristically given the ball away several times in bad positions in the first half, and couldn't find open space in the midfield.  When he got the ball, Busio was on him like glue. Memo only attempted 19 passes through his 79 minutes of play, and while he was his usual accurate self (16/19), only one of them was a progressive pass (downfield of more than 10 or more yards).  He had a season-low 1 recovery.  He was second to the ball more often than usual, and it wasn't for lack of effort.  He didn't even get credit for trying to dribble past a single KC defender. While Vera strings things together nicely at times, he looked like he was fending off a swarm of angry bees for most of this match.  He also committed 5 fouls in the midfield altogether.  Just not a great night from Matias.

I don't even know where Corona was, the only times I noticed him, he was giving the ball away. 0 tackles, 1 interception, 18 pressures, and was owned by Busio for most of the night.  

Boniek was no match for KC's front line:

He was beaten early and often by everyone who matched up against him.  He was drawn up high on Khiry Shelton's header, leaving a wide-open space for the big man to run into.  His clearance right after halftime almost ended up as an own goal. Boniek was soo bad, if you took the foul that led to the penalty away, he still played a terrible game.  While the stats show that he was busy (4 interceptions, 6 clearances, 90% Passing Rate), he committed 4 fouls and was routinely beaten or out of position. Part of that stat accumulation is just simply because of how much Sporting had the ball in their attacking third. Sporting was targeting him, and the way they were creating movement on his side was putting him in really bad spots.  Khiry Shelton would drop deep, creating space for Espinosa to run in behind.  This was putting Ludkqvist in a bad spot, and creating a 2-1 between Espinosa, Pulido, and Garcia.  When the ball was opposite, Pulido would hold Garcia while Shelton ran into the space behind him in the box. This was what led to the penalty.  Pulido cut across in front of Boniek, who reached for the ball poorly.  You can't make this foul in the box.  It's a foul every single day, every single time, at every level.  A vet like Boniek should know better. He had another terrible foul on Johnny Russell in the 81st minute that led to a yellow card and Busio almost banged home another one. He got beat badly by Russell again in the 86th minute, trying to track down a ball and completely left Tim Parker hanging out to dry 1 v 3 with an entire half-pitch of grass at Sporting KC's disposal. That one took Maxi Urruti tracking all the way back to stop. This was by far Boniek's worst game of the year.  

Other notes:

• Where was Memo? In the first half, Memo had a total of 6 touches.  Of the touches he got, 5 were on the wrong side of midfield and resulted in a back pass or a turnover, and 1 touch was in the final third and resulted in a cross.  His first touch in the second half, he dribbled into a trap, tried to split it, and gave the ball back instead. On his second touch of the second half, he fell down and got a handball call.  He was subbed off in the 65th minute, but was nonexistent most of this game.
• Maxi Urruti was unbelievable tracking back.  He raced back to stop a goal in the 87th minute, and constantly throughout the game you saw him race back to take a midfield position after someone was caught too high.  It was nice to see him get the goal, but his defensive work was tremendous in this game. Also, Urruti now has more goals than Manotas had last year.
• Busio and Kenda combined for 62 pressures, 5 interceptions, 7 tackles, 4 blocks, and 117 passes completed.  Oh, and they also nabbed 2 goals and 1 assist.  
  
  
  

Yellow Card Watch:

Thanks again for reading, 

#HoldItDown and remember to stay #ForeverOrange

Houston Dynamo FC 2:1 Vancouver Whitecaps - Recap

 

I love a rainy night.

I love a rainy night.

I love to hear the thunder, Watch the lightnin'...........when it lights up the ski-i-ies.

You know it makes me feel good.

I love a rainy night, It's such a beautiful sight.

I love to feel the rain on my face, Taste the rain on my lips,

In the moonlight shadow.

Showers wash all of my cares away. I wake up to a sunny day...

Dear Vancouver, welcome to our beautiful city.  Sometimes we have beautiful weather, just not when the Dynamo play at home this season.  When Naranja grace the pitch at BBVA, it rains like God is mad at us.  Saturday night it rained like we all needed to start gathering animals two by two.  The atmosphere however was poppin' before the game. There was good energy in the stadium despite the torrential downpour.  People were dressed up, dancing, and you could see a lot of smiling faces.  Dynamo Klaus was in full effect, and so was the supporters' section.  There was one small change in the starting lineup. Memo moved back to the midfield with Ariel Lassiter taking over at the wing.  With Tyler Pasher nursing a muscle injury and a wet field, Tab decided to go with the speedy Lassiter outside.  Mattias Vera gave way to Derek Jones, who made his third consecutive start. Four Dynamo players have started all seven games this year.  Memo, Marco Maric, Adam Lundkvist, and Tim Parker.  Only Parker and Maric have played every minute so far.  BBVA has been a safe haven for Tab Ramos and the fellas this year.  They were 2-1-0 at home coming into the game, even though the goal margins were slim.  Houston has been one of the better defensive teams in the league outside of the 3-1 loss to Colorado last weekend.  Glad this was a win for the good guys, since we won't see them back here for a month.

Before the game:

There was somewhat exciting news before the game. Multiple reports are stating that Todd Segal of EJS Group is set to buy the Dynamo.  While this could potentially be exactly what the soccer community of this city needs, it could also be much more of the same.  Segal is based in New York, and my fear is that he'll be just another disconnected owner.  I can't name a time I've actually seen Gabriel Brenner at a game.  I know Oscar De La Hoya has been to one, and James Harden before he even bought in.  Hopefully, he brings resources to the club and allows whoever the GM is to run this team like an actual club.  This team made some strides this offseason, but there is still a long way to go in running things like a professional organization around here.

Tab Ramos also had some interesting words on Memo Rodriguez in Thursday's edition of the Houston Chronicle. “I’m not going to hold back,” Ramos said. “I think Memo needs to do more because he can. I think he can be an elite player in MLS. Those elite players that play in those positions in between lines, they’re the ones that make plays — not just shots on goal, but get assists and all those things.  I think Memo is capable of that. So, I’m going to keep pushing him.”  While the numbers speak that Memo has been better at creating scoring opportunities this year, he still has a long way to go.  More on that later.

The Dynamo dominated the first 60 minutes of the game.

The Dynamo didn't just look like the better team, they looked like a legitimate quality team through the first 60 minutes of play.  They were defending, creating chances, and winning the majority of player matchups.  Derrick Jones has been a difference-maker.  He gobbles up balls in the midfield.  And when he snatched the ball away from Lucas Cavallini at the 7:44 mark and fired it 30 yards downfield to Fafa on a dime, the break was on.  Fafa found a streaking Maxi Urruti right in front of the net, and although he was squeezed by 3 White Caps defenders, and Goal Keeper Maxime Crépeau pushed it away, Memo never gave up on the ball. Memo hammered a left-footer square in the back of the net to put the good guys up 1-0.  You could see the pressure mounting, as the Dynamo had been attacking in waves from the get-go.  Lundkvist had lobed several deep balls downfield to Fafa, who was completely owning the left flank in the early going.  Jones, Memo, and Joe Corona were chasing down and winning every ball, and Lundkvist and Zarek Valentine were closing down the corners.  Urruti was running all over the field, and Lassiter was pushing on the right side. Vancouver couldn't stop the Dynamo from getting in behind, and Maxi Urruti had a great run off a terrific deep ball by Lundkvist that ended in a shot that was barely saved. The Dynamo lobbed three or four dangerous crosses in before Memo finally got on the end of one. We actually looked.....good. I'm trying to keep this in a proper frame of mind, as I really can't see what the White Caps are going to be this year, but they are a team that we should beat at home.  The Dynamo were prepared and exploiting gaps in Vancouver's defense and were shutting down everything they tried to do going forward.

This was especially highlighted by Zarek Valentines save (of a goal and the win) on a play that had gone horribly wrong.  Initially, the defense was solid.  After a nice through ball by Cristián Dajome found Deiber Caicedo on the run, Caicedo fired one across the goal.  Maric did a good job reacting to the ball, but he knocked the ball into a really bad position.  The ball found the big left foot of Lucas Cavallini, and with Maric scrambling to recover it seemed like a for sure goal.  How Zarek managed to slide, catch it with his backside, then clear it with his left foot while sitting is amazing.  The play didn't end there, however.   The rebound was chased own by Caio Alexandre, and his shot was blocked by the left foot of Memo.  Zarek turned the next one away and conceded a corner that turned into nothing.

Urruti broke the game open at the 41st minute with a right-footed volley off a corner to push the game to 2-0.  When Memo originally hit it, I honestly rolled my eyes because I thought it was horribly off.  At the last second, I saw Urruti stretch on the back post and thought......hold up. Wait a second.....and then Urruti beat Crepeau at the near post. I couldn't believe that the ball actually went in. After I watched it again on replay I still can't believe it went in. Maxi got a decent foot on the ball, but it just snuck by Crepeau.  Fafa had a chance at a breakaway right after but just couldn't control the ball.  The Dynamo went into the half up 2-0, and you had to genuinely feel that it could have been a four-goal half. Urruti had two other solid chances and Jones had a decent look as well.  The first fifteen minutes after the half were all Dynamo. Memo had a couple of decent chances, one of which was a free-kick that narrowly missed. Lassiter had a nice cut back inside and blasted a left-footer that went off the crossbar. The first 60 minutes the Dynamo simply outplayed Vancouver by a wide margin.

The next 20 were very even, but the last 10 went to Vancouver.

It would be obvious to say this simply because the Dynamo gave up a goal, but over the last 10 minutes of the game, the Dynamo didn't really seem to pose a threat.  Tyler Pasher came on for Lassiter, and although he was good couldn't get people to stay with him.  The tides had turned and we were showing tired legs.  I have to ask again........why didn't we use our last two subs?  Corona and Jones were both sitting on yellows, and Darwin Ceren was warming up on the sidelines.  We held on, but what should have been a convincing win got way too hairy.  The entirety of section 203 was calling for the ref to blow the whistle, and about 10 of us had our timers out.  I'm thankful for the win, but we could really use some depth late in games.  Corona and Jones where outstanding, but fresh legs are fresh legs.

Notes:

Derrick Jones will be tough to take minutes from:  

First off, he's huge.  He's long, rangy, and surprising quick.  He has a good burst in short spaces and just beats people to the ball.  It's being seen with regularity his long legs stretch out and just snatch balls intended for other people.  When we are going forward, it seems that everyone on the team knows that you can simply toss the ball somewhere in the midfield and Jones will go get it.  He's not only a dangerous defender, he's a safety net. He is really spraying the ball around the pitch too. He allows Corona, Vera and Memo to push higher and be more direct.  He covers up teammates' mistakes, and he forces them on the other end.  He's looking like a steal this offseason.

Ariel Lassiter played a solid game:

I'm hard on Ariel, he's made a lot of mistakes and had some brutal play.  He has to be better taking on defenders, he's too straightforward and lacks deception and ball handling.  However, he played solidly against Vancouver.  He was really aggressive and had didn't hurt us.  I still haven't figured him out, but maybe he's starting to put things together.

Lundkvist and Valentine put out another solid outing:

I actually thought they both put together really good games.  Lundkvist (4 blocks, 3 interceptions, 10 pressures) defended well, and hit Fafa on several deep balls in the first half.  Valentine was also solid defensively outside of his goal-saving block. Valentine (2 blocks, 2 tackles) hit on 8 passes of 30 yards or longer and was routinely where he was supposed to be.  When these two play with a defense-first mentality and hit on deep balls like they did last night, the Dynamo are a tuff egg to crack.

We have to avoid disastrous giveaways in the defensive third:

It happened again last night and seems to happen every single game. While Boniek was the one responsible for it, Lundkvist made a pass that put him in a really bad situation.  It cost us a goal, even though it turned out to be a harmless one.  This is professional soccer, and giving the ball away like that is fatal.  There's no recovering and you are relying on miracles at that point.  Just bang it deep, kick it out of bounds, do something that lets the defense recover and set.  

Thoughts on Memo:

While Memo (1 goal, 1 assist) was named man of the match and this game was a good one for him, it also showed how much work he has left to do.  It's not that I dislike Memo or his game, but Tab's comments about him before the game are about him becoming that guy.  Memo is a good player, but he has flaws.  He's one of the worst in the league at taking on defenders (35%) and the Dynamo are the worst in the league at taking on defenders (50.8%).  Memo is a "guts and glory" type of player.  The goal he scored last night was an effort play, not a skill or technique play.  And while I love his effort, he still has to be better on the ball.  Through seven games, Memo doesn't have an assist in open play yet, and often times his passing in the final third finds the wrong color jersey.  While his shooting percentage is steadily rising, his goal per Shot on Target % (0.29) ranks 105th in MLS.  I wrote several weeks ago that Memo seems to have plateaued, and I stand by it.  He's not a creative playmaker.  In his career, spanning both USL and MLS, Memo produces 1 assist every 10 games.  At the MLS level, he's never created more than 2 in a season. I'm not saying he has to go, and I'm not saying he needs to be benched.  The Dynamo need Memo to step up, or we need to find that creative playmaker who can step in.  I hope Tab is right, because I love watching Memo play, but I'm afraid those are shoes that Memo can't fill.

Yellow Card Watch:

Next Up:

Away @ Sporting KC, Next Saturday.

Thanks again for reading,

#HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

Brian

Houston, we have a problem: The Darwin Debacle Continues

 

He was the face of our franchise.  El Científico del Gol is a chance creator, a wizard with the ball, and a dynamic offensive player.  He has a skill set no one else on the team possesses and yet......he can't see the field.  It's left me with so many questions, many of which I don't know if they'll be answered.  Last year, Quintero was the lone bright spot in the Houston attack after the departure of Alberth Elis. He lead the team in goals and assists.  His 7 assists placed second in the league in 2019/2020, and he was passing to a bunch of guys who couldn't finish.  He was 5th on the team in minutes, made 20/22 starts, and played the full 90 eighteen times.  This year, he's managed 52 minutes in 6 games (3 appearances). How did he go from shining star to.....well....playing 52 more minutes than me?  How has he played fewer minutes than Nico Lemoine and Ariel Lassiter?  I've read reports about how his age is holding him back, but that can't be the case.  Boniek is 35, and Maynor is 38.  Both have played 5x the minutes he's played.  Think about this again.....Nico Lemoine made 1 appearance........and has played more minutes than our only designated player.  What's more concerning to me is you don't hear anyone in the organization talking about it.  Even more so, I don't hear anyone asking Tab about it.

A quick Google search netted zero results, dating all the way back to the beginning of the season.  There are some speculative reports from the preseason, but I don't see anyone directly asking Tab Ramos why the team's most influential offensive talent isn't playing.  While a lot of attention was paid to the midfield this offseason (Joe Corona and Derek Jones have been quality additions soo far) it was hard to think either of them would supplant Quintero as a starter, much less as a focal point.  Matias Vera is a nice player.  He plays hard, is a decent defender, and a smart passer but he offers little going forward.  Memo is Memo.  Memo has guts and grit and plays well.  But when he makes a play it's more from determination than skill (see his week 1 goal as example).  Rodriguez is a willing defender, but is his defending up top more valuable than what Quintero can create offensively?  I think we are at the point in the season where this question has to be asked.  I'm not going to deep dive into Memo on this one, but I do want to deep dive into Quintero's usefulness and how I think Tab is missing an opportunity.

Is Darwin as bad defensively as we think?

When the season first started, I had two trains of thought. (1) Darwin is just being held out of preseason games to keep his legs fresh.  (2) Darwin has to have some nagging injury we don't know about.  Now, things have switched to (Positive thought) We are just keeping his legs fresh for the summer and for the second half of the season. (Negative thought) He's done here and we are looking to get rid of him.  It's no secret, Tab wants to press high and defend from the front.  He wants teams to earn every inch of the pitch against his team. I've read where Quintero doesn't fit into this, but last year he had more attempted tackles (31) than Memo (26), and a higher pressure success rate (28.6% - 26.3%)  In 52 minutes this year, he has more tackles (4)  than Tyler Pasher (2) Maxi Urruti (1) and Ariel Lassiter (1). He's outperforming Pasher (28), Lassiter (30) and Christian Ramirez in the number of pressures (30) and his success rate is only slightly behind Derek Jones (30.2%) even with Lassiter (30%) and higher than Fafa Picault (28%).  I'm fully aware that Darwin isn't a defensive stalworth, but he's outperforming guys in this area who can't come close to what he brings offensively.  Darwin isn't great at getting his foot on the ball, he's not great at chasing down balls and getting recoveries, but he's also (historically) on par with others that are playing in front of him.  So truthfully, the answer is we lose some defensively if we switch him out with Memo. We lose a lot if he takes minutes from Corona, Vera, or Jones.  

How effective is Quintero offensively?

Do we really need stats to back this up?  The answer is, at creating goal-scoring chances: extremely. If you look at the top five players creating goal-scoring chances from last year, he was #1 by a pretty decent margin. His goal-scoring actions off of Live Passes was #2 in the league (80) and only 8 behind leader Alejandro Pozuelo and 20 more than third-place Christian Espinoza. His number this year is actually higher than last year despite his limited playing time.  End of the day, he's the best shot creator in MLS.  Not only do our eyes back it up, the data does too.

Last Year's Team - Comparable Statistics. 

2021 Possession and Goal/Shot Creation Stats.

Even though Memo has really improved in that area this year, and the addition of Tyler Pasher has added another layer, neither can produce these actions at the level of Darwin Quintero.  The Dynamo are actually down 4 shot-creating (23 in 2020 vs 19 in 2021) actions per game with Darwin out of the lineup, and with an offense as anemic as they have had this year they could use those extra chances. The Dynamo have gone from ranking 5th in Shots/90 in 2020 to 20th this year.  Without Quintero's creative playmaking ability, the Dynamo offense is at times stagnant.  Tabs system is a timing-based, ball movement and people movement attack.  It requires crisp passing and well-timed/executed runs.  As some guys (Vera, Corona, Memo) are logging heavy minutes, that movement and crispness have fallen off at times.  It's hard to run to open space AND defend the length of the pitch for 90 minutes every game.  Quintero can help take the pressure off of this by simply utilizing space, finding his way through the defense, and allowing tired legs to get through.  

Many times this year we've seen Fafa or Pasher streaking the flank with the ball, only to  yell "Somebody get with him!" It's my buddy Wade's rallying cry during games.  While Quintero doesn't help with this, he gives a second layer to that attack.  He helps open up the pull-back pass.  He helps to create up the middle through the teeth of the defense where your only option isn't hoping that Fafa can just outrun everybody.  He helps balance out the "lob it into 5'8 Memo or 5'6" Vera" attack we see at times. He gives the attack another dimension.

How bad has it gotten?

There was one interview where this was topic was brought up recently.  It was an interview that Darwin did with Jorge Clará from Deporte Total USA.  Not sure how many of you saw it, and if you're a Spanish speaker click the link and tell me if I got this wrong. Now, admittedly, I speak zero Spanish and I'm relying on translations, but things seem unlikely to turn around in terms of playing time.  Darwin said that he understands he doesn't fit what Tab is trying to do from the wing.  His size and two-way ability are lacking compared to the others on the team.  He said the locker room is good, and he has a good relationship with Tab, but that if he isn't playing as a starter or as a sub that he would have to sit down with the team at the next transfer window.  There were also reports that he had told Tab that if he wasn't in the plans for Saturday against Colorado, he'd rather not make the trip.  These aren't good circumstances, and while I understand that Tab is trying to win through building up the defense, leaving your most efficient creator on the bench is creating a bad situation.  I know that Darwin is 33, but using him as a situational starter, or flipping roles with Memo needs to be considered.

Why is this important?

Don't let the "He's the only DP" language distract you.  Yes, that's important.  But Urruti and Parker make DP money, they just don't have the tag.  Christian Ramirez almost makes DP money too, and Fafa makes more than Elis did (who was labeled a young DP).  Personally, I think the DP tag is stupid and needs to be gotten rid of, but that's a whole other topic.  However, if you're treating your only Designated player this way, why would anyone else want to come here under that label?  You're running the risk of running guys away before they even sign, and then you have to look for "Potential DP's" (i.e. Alberth Elis and Mauro Monatas).  We are pretty much down that road already.  But......this is professional sports.  Word gets around, and while we have made a habit of signing guys who are from small leagues in South America on frees, is that really how we want to continue in perpetuity?

I'm a coach myself, and by no means am I suggesting that you play a guy simply because of a label.  I believe in playing guys that give you the best chance to win regardless of reputation or label.  We know that some players don't fit certain systems, and being that Darwin is on the wrong side of 30, and is severely undersized, this could be a bad fit for him.  However, he's still the best option you've got at creating something out of nothing.  He's still one of the best the league has, and you have to find a role for him somewhere on this team.  

It matters organizationally long term.  If we ever want another player of his caliber, we have to treat him with the respect that he's due.

Summary:

I find it shockingly absurd that the Dynamo played 3 games in 8 days against solid opponents and Darwin managed to not make the rotation.  I don't understand how, in a desperate need to rotate the squad, (with Tyler Pasher out of action for the entire swing) Darwin DNP'd in two games and managed only 7 minutes as a sub in the first game.  I don't understand how Pasher goes down to injury, and Darwin gets less playing time.  I completely don't understand why Ariel Lassiter is the first man off the bench in many games. And even though they play different positions, how do Jose Bizama, Darwin Ceren, Alejandro Fuenmayor, Christian Ramirez, and Nico Limoine all have more minutes than Quintero?  This team could use an offensive spark.  They don't have to look for the summer transfer window to get it.  They don't have to look for Free Agents hanging around after this season is over in Europe (even though they need to dig through that junk drawer).  They have that spark on the bench and just need to figure out how to utilize it.

Thanks again for reading,

#HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange.

Brian

Colorado Rapids : Houston Dynamo - Recap

I had a bad feeling about this one before we every got started. The Rapids are a decent squad, and being that we were playing our 3rd game in 8 days while Colorado had 7 days in between two games at home it was going to have to be perfect.  With some positions aging, the lack of oxygen up in the Denver area, and being the Dynamo were also going to be without our coach (Thanks for that red again.....Penso) I was holding out hope we could at least hold onto a point here on the road.  When I saw the opening lineups and formation, I was pretty worried about it. 5 new starters, a formation I've never seen us play, and some of these guys haven't seen the field all year. I can't even remember the last time I saw Nico Lemoine play (much less start). I was curious to see what Alejandro Fuenmayor would looked like, same with José Bizama.  I really thought that starting with (basically) a back five would help keep us solid in defense, maybe we could keep them off the scoreboard, and maybe Ramirez could sneak one in for us. Colorado was coming into the game scoring only 5 goals in 4 games but was the more rested team.  Colorado is a good team, Kellyn Acosta, Sam Vines, and Michael Barrios are really good players, and although we hadn't lost to them in 5 straight games dating back to 2018, I didn't think this was a good situation.

It didn't take long to see this was going to be bad.  Colorado found cracks in the early going and completely destroyed us from minute 10-45.  The first half was awful defensively, Marco Meric had 10 good minutes then fell apart, and we didn't generate a single shot for 27 minutes.  It wasn't until Adam Lundkvist blasted one on target from about 40 yards out that we finally tested William Yarbrough.  What happened directly after this pretty much sums up the game.  Yarbrough hit Barrios on a dime about 70 yards downfield, who in turn left one in a gaping chasm right in front of the goal.  On a ball that seemed like it was in slow motion, and took about 5 hops to get there, Sam Vines blasted it in the top right corner.  What's most disappointing about it was no one reacted until after the ball was in the back of the net.  The second one 7 minutes later showed how much Alejandro Fuenmayor needs to grow to be a full-time defender.  When Christian Ramirez pulled one back soon after, you kinda thought we had a puncher's chance.  But Marko Marić's mistake was just unbelievable and deflating.

The second half was much better, and I actually felt like we were the better team for much of the half, but it was all for naught as we couldn't close the score down.  There was a lot working against us in this game, but good teams have to be able to overcome those things.  It's kind of a sign of where we are right now.  Our best 11 aren't bad, and are actually pretty solid defensively.  We have little depth, and if we have to rotate the squad it means trouble. While it's not all fire and brimstone, and you just have to chalk it up to Colorado being the better team on this night, there are some things you can take away from this game.

Alejandro Fuenmayor is not the answer:

Not with the way he played on Saturday night. He had several bad moments, including whiffing on a cross soo bad he did a 360 and fell on his rear end.  He got beat soo badly on the second goal, Tim Parker threw up his hands in frustration. Fuenmayor didn't even bother to fight for that ball. While his stat line reads 8 interceptions, 6 clearances, and 9 recoveries he was beaten several times and was out of position or not moving often.  While we need another center back, Fuenmayor might need to move on.  I've been asking for him for two years, but I wasn't impressed by his performance against the Rapids.

Remember when I said Marić's distribution would come back to bite us?

Yeah, not a lot of commentary on that, and the bad news is there's more to come.  While he was slightly better in the two previous games this gaff was inexcusable. 

Bajamich looked ok:

Not a glowing endorsement here, but Bajamich has a little something.  Had a couple of nice runs and a really nice back heel on a play that he was called offsides on.  He looks a little green, but between he, Lemoine, and Lassiter, I'll take Bajamich from the 30 minutes I've seen right now.  I'm hoping he earned a little more time.  He basically outperformed Lemoine in 1/2 the minutes statistcally.

I'm interested in seeing more Bizama:

I'm not a huge fan of Zarek Valentine, but not knowing what's behind him it's been hard to clamor for someone else.  I thought Bizama was decent, but I don't know he possesses the deep passing ability that Valentine flashes at times.  Both of these guys are limited, but I think Bizama earned at least another look.

We need Tyler Pasher back so we can stop seeing Memo on the wing.

Memo isn't fast enough to play there in Tab's system, he doesn't cross particularly well, and he can't cut back inside to his right foot.  While Memo is a decent defender, there was a noticeable difference when Fafa Picault came on for him.

Sorry this is a quick one, not a lot to say after that one.  I'm hoping this is an aberration, and not the norm going forward.

Thanks again for reading,

#HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange.

Dynamo vs. Sporting KC - A hard earned and well deserved three points.

 

It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it:

Before the game, Jimmy Mack from SBC Nation wrote:

Houston always gave Sporting KC fits in years past due to their speed. With winger Alberth Elis no longer in the picture, who is Houston’s primary offensive weapon and do they have the speed they used to?

Former Sporting KC man Tyler Pasher has been a revelation for the Dynamo so far this season on the wing. He missed Saturday’s Texas Derby with an injury, but Tab Ramos has suggested he will be available against SKC. I would look for the Canadian to come off the bench, with Fafa Picault and Memo Rodriguez likely on the wings. Picault has loads of pace to make up for the speed Elis had, but his other abilities aren’t as refined as La Panterita.

You could tell from the announcement of the starting lineups that this was going to be an ugly game. With Pasher out yet again and Memo on the wing, the Dynamo have very little punch going forward.  Tab instituted Derrick Jones again in the midfield. Once Johnny Russell went down, you kind of expected the free-flowing nature of this game to disappear.  This was an old-school boxing match, designed to go the full 12 rounds.  The teams were testing each other out, throwing jabs, but looking to drop that haymaker when the defense was down.  As the game set in, Sporting set in high and compact daring the Dynamo to try to beat them deep. Urruti nearly cracked them open in the 3rd minute of the game but was caught just offside.  The Dyanmo were trying to draw them out and kept pulling the ball back into their own half trying to stretch KC enough to find Memo or Joe Corona in the pocket between lines. One minute later, Derrick Jones turned a well-timed interception into a fast break the other way.  Fafa got in behind Luis Martens and fired a shot to the back post.  Houston finally landed one but spent plenty of time rope-a-doping in the corner absorbing and deflecting body blows to get it.   The first big shot came just before the 10:00 mark when Tim Parker narrowly missed the goal off Joe Corona's cross.  A large portion of the first half was played in the midfield. It turned into a tactical defensive half that resembled something out of Serie A.  It was a slow-paced game, with both teams really trying to find a way through.  Houston began finding Urruti in the wide areas to the right of the box, cutting Fafa and Memo back inside.  While Urruti got a couple of decent crosses off, it wasn't really posing a danger.  Urruti lobbing balls into Vera and Picault isn't ideal, but we were finding cracks and slipping through.  

The move to Figueroa in the second half was a smart tactical decision.  Maynor has a good leg and decent accuracy on the deep ball. Figuroa hit several guys through the lines in the opening minutes, and the Dynamo began to look a little more dangerous and controlled at the same time. He opened the second half with a blasted diagonal to Fafa that found it's mark. Fafa should have made it 2-0 after an amazing deep ball by Zarek Valentine.  Fafa was the most active player out there by far, and his work rate was tremendous all the way through the 95th minute. In the end, we sealed all the cracks uptight for the last 25 minutes of the game.  KC wasn't much of a threat, especially after they pulled Pulido off.  There was some late-game controversy, the game got a little chippy, and when the whistle blew people actually booed thinking it was another bad call. There was a wave of relief when it was finally all over, and we were happy to walk out of that with 3 well-earned points.

Jones and Vera spearheaded the win.

Derrick Jones (5 tackles, 1 Interception, 1 assist) was standout in his performance.  Jones is best known for his defensive capabilities and has been searching to find footing in Tab's system and rotation.  While his pass to Urruti for the goal is what everyone will look back to, what no one's talking about is how he just took the ball from Gadi Kenda before he dribbled split two KC defenders and found Urruti in the slot.  The play seemed to develop at a snail's pace live but turned out to be perfectly timed.  Jones led the Dynamo with 4 players dribbled past, and he really made life difficult for Gadi Kinda and Gianluca Busio.  While Marić was named man of the Match, Jones was the most noticeable player in the field.

Vera was flying around making plays all over the field, and even when he wasn't making the play he forced several mistakes by Sporting players just through effort.  While he only gets credit for 1 tackle and 3 interceptions, he forced several mistakes that he didn't get credit for.  He won 3 fouls, he was aggressive with his runs, and he was a 90% passer once again.  Vera is a solid, calming player for us.  He's not upper echelon MLS, but he works hard and gets the job done every single game.  He chased down Khiry Shelton in minute 77 to knock away a chance at a counterattack. He just turns in 90 solid minutes every game out right now.

The best game by the fullbacks yet.

It only took Zarek Valentine 3 seconds to intercept a pass and find Maxi Urruti downfield. He turned another downfield lob away only a minute later. While neither were spectacular, they did exactly what needed to be done.  There weren't many positioning mistakes, and they didn't try to do too much.  They played tonight like I've been asking them to play all year: Just doing their job, and not trying to do too much.  It's an addition/reduction reaction.  When they extend themselves, they hurt those around them.  Valentine (0 Tackles, 1 interception, 6 clearances) also fired a pass downfield which should have ended the pains in my intestine over the last 15 minutes of play but Fafa just couldn't finish off the play.

Lundkvist (2 tackles, 0 interceptions, 4 clearances) has been really bad at times this year, but last night he just played things easy and simple.  He didn't try to make difficult plays or passes, he just played things solid and simple.   That's part of why we were able to keep a clean sheet.  It helped him greatly when Russell went down, but regardless he was where he needed to be and did what he needed to do to help us win.  Don't take this as too big of a compliment from these two.  But if they can play like this week in - week out our defense has a real chance.

Marko Marić earned his clean sheet.

While he only gets official credit for 4 saves, Marco was exactly where he needed to be. The diving slide tackle he made at the 47th minute that ended up deflecting around and landing in Valentine's lap was great.  His 1 v 1 save vs Daniel Saloi in the 50th minute was about anticipation, timing, and being a big target. Marco got low and was able to block the ball with his foot as it came between his legs.  This was probably the best defense that Marić had in front of him to date, but he made plays when he needed to.  He had a diving stop on Pulido's only clean look of the game. The blast in the 65th minute was a laser into the upper right corner, but Marić got both hands on it and knocked it away.  I understand that Marco has limitations, but he's been really solid back there so far this year and is much improved over last year.  I'd like to see him lay on the ball a little more in late-game situations though.  With a one-goal lead and 10 minutes left, he was in far too much a hurry. 

Fafa came to play, but he has to finish off possessions better.

You saw it early in the game.  In the first five minutes, Fafa was extremely active up and down the right touchline.  Tracking back on defense, and making runs down the wing, he was the spark plug early on.  Fafa had a good night, but not a great one.  He made impacts in the press (3 tackles, 2 Interceptions), the counter-attack, and by flat outrunning Kansas City several times, especially late in the game.  He had several crosses on target, but the problem was Vera or Memo were often on the other end of them. He blew right Martens (with the help of a tremendous through ball by Jones) in the 64th minute and found a wide-open Memo on the run at the back post.  Memo botched the header, and he had time to control it and take a shot.

Fafa was having trouble staying onside.  6 offsides in one match is too much for anyone and add to that the three fouls he committed.  Those are aggressive mistakes, however, and I'll take it.  Fafa knew he could beat Sporting KC with his speed, and he was actively trying to do so.  He dominated the right-wing in the second half. Martens had no answers for him. It was in the 74th minute when he found himself alone with John Pulskamp, and left it too far left and too far in front of Ramirez.  He won a key ball in the 83rd minute, deep in the attacking third, but fired it out of bounds when Ramirez was down after a Pulskamp elbow to the back of the head on a jump ball.  He had a big run in the 87th minute. We all know what happened in the 88th minute, when he had an angle on Martens and instead to a forearm to the back and lost the ball.  He won a ball and blew out of the Defending third in the 90th minute.  He looked tired, but he was still moving faster than anyone else on the pitch all the way through the 95th minute.  He wasn't great, he missed some easy plays, but he definitely came to play and had an impact on the wi.

Final Thoughts:

Dear Tab, if you get fined for this, start a GoFundMe, we'll get your back.  The linesman on the near sideline was simply awful.  There were several questionable calls over the last ten minutes (i.e. the foul called against Fafa, then the no-call on Fafa, and a couple of out-of-bounds calls) that seemed to boil things over.  Then to get red-carded for being upset about it is ludicrous.   As a coach (although in a different sport), I understand that sometimes you just have to stand up for your guys.  I didn't think anything Tab did warranted a red.  On the replay, it looks like all he said is "Hey! You're right here" and pointed at the spot. It should have been a no-brainer foul.  It could have been a Yellow because he made no attempt at the ball.  Instead, our coach gets tossed.  In fact, it happened soo fast I almost missed it.  I looked to the video replay boar to see what happened on the Fafa tackle, and how that was possibly a KC throw-in, I looked back, saw Tab with his hands up, and immediately saw Chris Penso flashing red.  Wade Dowden loves to talk about how much Penso hates us, I actually thought it was a fairly decently called game until about the 90'th minute.  Then the wheels fell off.  Right after that Fafa made another run that obviously deflected off Martens, but instead, KC got the throw-in.  There was a really bad foul call in the 95th minute. As Tab said in the post-game, I'm sure the Dynamo will get a letter of apology, how about we just get better officials? 

Lastly, I do have to question why (in a game where we are clinging to a 1-0 lead) we left two subs unused.  Why did we not turn to Darwin Quintero at all?  Joe Corona looked exhausted after the 70th minute and Memo has logged heavy minutes this week.  With another game Saturday, why would we not get some fresh legs out there?  I understand that playing the final few minutes without Tab might have disrupted substitution plans, but at the same point, we have to have a rotation better prepared.  This is two games in a row where we have gone into the 80th minute with subs available in a close game.  With 3 games in 8 days, and mostly using the same starting 11, I feel the rotations could have been better.  That being said, we played Frisco and The Wiz (I still think this game is cooler than Sporting KC) and ended with 4 points.  Even though it's fun to play armchair coach, I'll take the results so far.

Stat Notes

• The Dynamo are currently 8-6-3 (30 points in 17 games) at BBVA dating back to August 2019.  
• Despite being undefeated at home, the Dynamo have a negative expected goal differential (-0.5) at BBVA.  
• Marco Marić currently ranks 8th in Shots on Target against, is tied for 7th in Goals Against per 90, and is tied for 9th in Save Percentage among qualifiers. He's been very solid, and one of the reasons why the Dynamo have drastically dropped their GA average this year.  He's performing as a top ten keeper in goal, and his distribution has slightly improved the last two games. It's not hard, he's been awful through the first five in that department. Marco's completion % is 4th worst among all MLS goalkeepers, and his distance per kick is 3rd highest.  He needs to be quicker, and find better options after recovery.
• Fafa Picault ranks 4th in the number of times failed to dribble past an opponent in the final third (16).  Fafa is lightning quick, but his slight build means he's often knocked off the ball or knocked down.  He's drawing attention, but he has to improve in this area and either pass and run, or use his angles and speed better.
• Max Urruti currently ranks 150th in the league in times Targeted with a pass (132).  That ranks him just behind Adam Lundkvist (134) and Joe Corona (158) as well as Memo (160) and Fafa (187 - 42nd in the league).
• This isn't a stat, but this is my favorite Tweet of the year so far.
  
  
  
  

Next Up:

Colorado @ Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

Thanks again for reading

#Hold it down and stay #ForeverOrange

Dynamo vs. Frisco - Recap

 

So, to all the readers out there, I have a confession to make.   I'm not a lifelong Dynamo fan, I was late to the bus.  I grew up in North Richland Hills, nestled in between Dallas and Ft. Worth, and I'm a lover of (almost) all things Dallas.  Growing up, it was all Cowboys, Mavericks, and Rangers, then we latched on to the Stars when they came.  It was also the Dallas Sidekicks of the old MISL, and we all wanted to be Tatoo. I was super excited when we were chosen to get an MLS team, and I fired up the popcorn and turned it to whichever UHF channel the Dallas Burn were playing the San Jose Earthquake on.  What I saw, was terrible and boring soccer. I tried really hard to get into that team, but I just never could.  

When I moved to Houston in March of 2009, I decided I needed to latch onto a team from here.  There was no way I was giving up my Mavericks, the Cowboys, or the Rangers.  I had spent 32 years of my life loving these teams, and too much time (and money) in those stadiums.  Around 2001, I had completely stopped following MLS except for the occasional check of the box scores.  When I got married, I needed something to connect with my stepsons about as well.  One was a big Dynamo fan, so I chose to give them a try.  It wasn't love at first sight, but it was love at first sight of Alberth Elis.  I know I talk about him a lot on here, but I loved watching La Pantera play.  I decided to start getting tickets and start taking my stepson to some games, and I completely fell for this team.  The point in all of this is, it's hard for me to hate Dallas-based teams, but I gladly support the distaste for Frisco coming out of Houston.  I may have been late to the party, but now I wanna be in this party like Frank the Tank.

Anyway.....ON TO THE GAME!

Before that....

Is it too much to ask that we get a game broadcast on an English channel?  I have an SAP button, it for some reason never works.  I understand 3 languages, none of them are Spanish, and it's extremely infuriating that we are playing any game, much less playing against FC Fisco Burn, and I can't understand a single word of the broadcast. I finally found it on Twitter, but why do I have to watch the game on my phone to hear the English broadcast?  It's a Saturday afternoon game.  Why isn't this on Quest?  Why did Fox only pick up El Traffico (trash by the way)?  Also, to all of MLS, is it too much to ask that we start the game relatively on time?  It says the game starts at 2:30, it's currently 2:48 and the game still hasn't started.  As a person who stresses over punctuality and is somewhat OCD, this wears me out.  I totally don't understand.

Ramos Rotates the squad.

Not many differences in the lineup today.  Maynor Figueroa gets the start, Derrick Jones gets a start at the 6, moving Joe Corona as a quasi-10 and moving Memo right wing.  With 3 games coming in 8 days, Ramos had to give some guys a break.  Boniek can't play the minutes over that side, and Figueroa is a nice move.  Would have loved to see Ethan Bartlow here, but I understand how Tab wants a left-foot dominant player on the left side.  Bajamich and Bizama made the squad, and Pasher (the only player who's had a hand in all of the Dynamo goals this year) was left out.  It seemed like the Tab was trying to play clean sheet ball here because I don't know why else you'd push Joe Corona up behind Urruti and leave Darwin Quintero on the bench.  I don't like Memo on the wing, but I like him more than Ariel Lassiter, and at this point, all I can think is that if Mateo Bajamich is this much worse than Ariel Lassiter, we wasted $1.2 Million in the transfer market.  I'll chalk it up to James Harden money.  

The first thirty minutes were ug-uh-ly:

It seemed like the game was going to go gangbusters from the kick.  With both teams coming out aggressively, and Maxi Urruti winning a foul deep in Dallas Territory 0:19 in.  Maynor blasted it, and it wasn't a serious threat, but you felt like that was going to set a tone.  It didn't. Seriously, the first 1/3rd this game looked like a pee wee game.  There were packs of guys running around turning the ball to each other.  Even Eddie Robinson said during the broadcast "it's just kind of been ugly and boring.  Tanner Tessmann's lobbed through ball to Andrés Ricaurte at the 27-minute mark began to open things up.  Ricaurte got a good head on the ball, and Marco Meric made a nice diving save.  

That all changed with a fortunate pinky:

The Dynamo were trying to answer back after Frisco had found their way through.  After some ping pong action and a decent build-up, Memo fired in a cross to Joe Corona who had found space directly in front of the 6-yard box.  Corona's header deflected off Bressnan's hand, and the Dynamo had won their first penalty of the season.  Phelipe guessed wrong, Fafa Picault hit it true, and the Dynamo were up 1-0.  The Dynamo really pulled back after this.  Urruti, Memo, and Fafa sat back in their own half and allowed Dallas possession with their backline.  Tab basically dared Luchi Gonzalez's side to build an attack, and after seeing Franco Jara trying to finish I don't blame him.  The problem is we lose all opportunities to attack when we play this way.  Without Quintero, we can't build an attack either.  Dallas began finding cracks and Jáder Rafael Obrian's chance with just under ten minutes left in the first half went just off the side net.  Houston immediately knocked back, as Mattias Vera found a wide-open Urruti inside the box.  Urruti fired a left-footed banger that was deflected by a Frisco defender, and Memo fired the rebound back only to it turned away as well. Derrick Jones eventually won this ball back and a foul from about 25 yards out.  From minutes 32-40, the most exciting moment was when the Announcer screamed "PENALTY GIVEN.....oh, no wait.....that's offside." on a corner that was called off because the ball went out of play.  

Then things changed.   At the 40 minute mark, Vera had given away a free-kick at the 30-yard mark.  The free-kick and the following shot were no threat, the Dynamo had posted a wall of eight men in front of the goal, and Valentine put a good block on it.  The rebound found  Ryan Hollingshead, fired a diagonal across the field.  Lundqvist didn't see him a streaking Freddy Vargas who completely blew by him.  Vargas fired one across the goal and Meric just barely got a hand on the ball. Nobody chased Obrian on the back side, he was the only man to the ball, and the game is now level.  It seemed like Meric was the only person who was fighting to keep this ball out of the net, and both Fullbacks got beat on this play.

The second half was a sloppy snoozefest:

I actually went back and watched it to make sure.  I was right the first time. Outside of a few decent chances, the game never really turned. Urruti had a nice run and a decent strike on a ball early in the first half, but there wasn't much here.  This was a disappointing and frustrating game because it didn't seem like we were ever pushing for a goal.  Not only were we sitting back, but in a game where we are struggling Tab's first sub is.....Darwin Ceren? At the 72nd minute?   Then we don't sub again until the 84th minute?  What in the world Tab?  Like serious man (I know he doesn't actually read this, I'm venting), we'd like 3 points here.  Can we please put on the only guy we have on our roster that can break a defense down?  I don't understand why Quintero is on the bench in the first place, much less on the bench until the 84th minute against a really poor FC Dallas team.  This is a game we should have won, but it seemed like Tab was more worried about wearing the guys out for Wednesday than he was about winning today.  We can't take games for granted like this.  I've been really excited about Tab being here, I've given him plenty of credit, but I was really disappointed in him today.  This wasn't a winning lineup or mentality.

Derrick Jones' first start was decent, but he has to improve his passing:

Honestly, at first glimpse, I thought Jones was terrible.  I was focused on the couple of times he fired balls into the sideline while generally under no pressure.  At second glance, he won some headers, drew some fouls, and got his feet on some interceptions.  He's big, he's athletic, and he's a solid defender.  Should be a decent mix with him, Corona, and Vera.  Not saying he was terrific, but he was decently solid.  Was actually the Dynamo's highest-rated player according to WhoScored.com.

Meric secured the point.

He did it last week, he did it this week.  He's playing really well in goal, and his distribution began to look better when he was throwing out instead of booting it into the stands.  His distribution is suspect, his goaltending hasn't been.

https://twitter.com/HoustonDynamo/status/1391142983467212802?s=20

After being encouraged for two weeks, and confused last week, I felt like we moved backward this week.

This game was just bad.  It looked bad, the attack looked sloppy, and we just didn't look crisp.  I felt like we should have sat back less, and sought out the second goal.  Despite all their speed, the Dallas Burn don't have much in terms of quality finishers.  Darwin Quintero should have come on much earlier, and we need to find ways to get him the ball in space.  At this point, I don't care if that's on the wing or behind Urruti, just get him the ball in space.  Fafa played well, it was good to see Maynor out there and he held up, but I was really disappointed in today.  

That being said, never turn down a point on the road.

Thanks again for reading, 

#HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange.

Brian