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