What is there to say that hasn't been said already? At least this game was......different. Instead of a really solid defensive performance spoiled by 1 ridiculous error and a complete lack of finishing off possessions, it was a series of errors, a complete lapse in composure that led to being down a man and being consistently outworked to the ball through the course of a game. The Dynamo lost this game. Not because Austin FC was hands down better than us, but because we consistently shot ourselves in the foot. Look at the first goal. Everyone is going to point at Zarek. But the real problem started long before that. Joe Corona started the entire ordeal with an awful headed clearance that went six inches behind him. No Dynamo defender (and there were 6 of them) reacted to the ball, Berhalter simply spun, snagged the ball and fired it to the penalty arc. As the Dynamo were now chasing, and reacting late, they completely lost shape. Tim Parker was in the middle of 3 green shirts, and was the only one there. Cecilio Dominguez chested the ball perfectly past Parker to Pochettino, who took a good touch and fired one of the back post. Call it a terrible reaction, call it bad luck, (it was probably a little of both) Valentine reacted just well enough to blast it in the back of the net for his second own goal in 3 games. 6 minutes in, and we are now down 1-0 against a team that can't score. You're welcome Verde FC, you're very welcome indeed.
Darwin Cerén is a veteran. He's 31 years old with 8 years of MLS experience and has been playing professionally since he was 16. He just got back from having a really good run in the Gold Cup for El Salvadore and put in a nice 90 minutes against RSL. He has to know better than this. Yes, I know Sebastian Berhalter was tackling you. You go down. You draw a foul, maybe a yellow, and you fight another play. If you want to retaliate, you let him know who you are the next time he gets the ball. If you want him off you, you swipe his arms. You throw an elbow to the head and it's a straight red every time unless you play for El Tri and it's in a CONCACAF competition. 20 minutes in. 70 minutes + Stoppage time to be a man down is too long for any team. Twice in the first 20 minutes, the Dynamo did the inexcusable. They tried to fight back, only minutes later Corey Baird got loose behind the defense (which he's really good at by the way) and fired a left-footer that Brad Stuver was able to knock away. Tyler Pasher wanted it more than anyone else and was able to get his left foot on the ball. It went top corner, and the game tied 1:1.
The goal was actually a gift from Julio Cascante. I don't really know what he saw, but he passed the ball directly to Mattias Vera with tons of space and 3 Orange Shirts streaking towards the goal. Vera laid a nice pass out in front of Baird who went and got it. Austin really gifted us one back here, but props to the guys for actually making a play.
Of course, this ended in the third big blow of the night, as Tyler Pasher went down with an injury right after. The 45th-minute goal by Pochettino wasn't just him being in the right place at the right time. It was Austin FC beating us to not one, but two balls as Diego Fagúndez chased down the ball headed out of the box, and Pochettino snatched his shot and fired it to the near post between two Dynamo sliding defenders and Maric trying to second save. The Dynamo went into halftime down 1:2, although Brad Davis declared they were "within striking distance here" right after the second half opened, you didn't really feel that was logical. We can't score, and Austin's midfield and Wings were winning their battles convincingly. Berhalter, Pochettino and Ring were dominating the game. Valentine and Junqua (who have actually been solid defensively over the last three games) were getting run off the field by Dominguez and Fagundez. Even Parker and Hadebe were caught out of position and slow to the ball at times.
When Dominguez's header off the cross found the back of the net in the 56th minute, you knew it was done. Dominguez just beat Valentine to the ball, and got a good enough head on it to get it past Marco. There was no pressure on the ball as it came into the box, Fagundez dropped it in a perfect spot, and it was 3:1. Despite an amazing effort goal by Fafa to cut it back to 1, playing a man down for 70 minutes against a team that was just throwing guys forward was too much to overcome. We lost shape, Austin ran us to death with the possession game, and we couldn't hit a counter despite having the two fastest guys on the field up top. Baird was often all the way down in the defending corner, giving us no chance to counter effectively. Losing Pasher (again) really hurt, and while I like Griffen Dorsey and his effort.....he can't do what Pasher can do. This game was over long before it was over.
On another note (and feel free to comment), did anyone else think it was odd the way the game just ended with the ball at Memo's feet outside the box? I've never seen a game end like that, it was just.....strange.
Thoughts:
I understand Tab has to rotate the squad. 3 games in 8 days is a load, despite all the time off. Discipline scenarios and Gold Cup rosters have led to part of that as well. We have 3 guys on the Health and Safety list now as well (Urruti, Quintero, Lassiter). I'm still not on the "Tab Out" train yet. I'm not even on the "Matt Jordon Out" bus. There has been an insane amount of roster turnover on this team in 3 months. Their best offensive player has missed over half the season. They don't have a single midfielder who actually poses a treat with the dribble or the pass. Despite all this, I'm sick of saying "well, we almost......" or "we were right there if we just could have......" or "if it hadn't been for ______'s mental lapse" we would have won the game. It's a common thread, this team is constantly costing themselves points. Our fullbacks might be the worst pair in the league and our midfield is abysmal in attack. What do we do? I don't know. Hopefully, Adalberto Carrasquilla can actually play. It'd be nice if he could be to the midfield what Teenage Hadebe has been to the backline.
Despite all my heartburn, I'm still trying to #HoldItDown and I will always be #ForeverOrage
Thanks for reading,
Brian
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