True Colors shining through: Dynamo 0:3 Real Salt Lake

 

Thank goodness there's a break.  After the last few weeks' up and down roller coaster ride, both the Houston Dynamo and their fans need a break.  Losers of 5 out of their last 7 in MLS play, the Dynamo have struggled to find consistency (with the exception of L.A. Galaxy) and at the tail end of a heavy road schedule mixed at the tail end of an extremely compact schedule (8 games in 35 days), the Dynamo have faltered.  A lack of quality depth, passing, and finishing have bitten this team over that stretch, and the ugly head of switching off defensively at the worst times has reappeared.  Saturday night's loss was a combination of all three of these ingredients, with the added layer of Pablo Maestroeni pinpointing the weaknesses in the Dynamo defense. After an encouraging start to the season, the Dynamo are showing their true colors.  This team is exactly what the standings say they are, a team that can occasionally pull off a win, a team that can look really good at times, and awful at others.  As I've said all along, this team simply isn't good enough.  The reality is, however, that this team lacks depth, persistence, and consistency.

The game against Real Salt Lake was a game of "inches" and "ifs", both of which the Dynamo repeatedly came out short on.  Zach McMath was good, Michael Nelson wasn't and the Dynamo were chasing the game for 60 minutes.  If Tyler Pasher, Thor, or Memo just finish.....if Michael Nelson just covers the post.....if Michael Nelson just stays on his feet.......For #ForeverOrange and the Dynamo Faithful, it's been about a five-year process that we are trying to reset, and this is an extremely frustrating loss. But, despite the scoreline, the game was closer than it seemed. This was a very back and forth game that easily......with a little bit of "moxie", could have been a very different game.

RSL Repeatedly exposed the Dynamo Defense's biggest weakness:

Paulo Nagamaura wasn't helped by the fact that the two biggest additions of the offseason were unavailable for this game.  Steve Clark, celebrating the newest addition to his family, was out of the lineup.  Sebastián Ferreira was also a scratch from the start, with what Glenn Davis announced as a stomach virus (although, later it was reported by Sebas' national team he tested positive for COVID). You could see Maestroeni's plan from the start as on RSL's first possession they built down the wing, sent both strikers to the front of the net, and fired in a cross.  Justin Meram's cross found Bobby Wood's head just :34 into the game.  Fortunately for the Dynamo, Wood didn't get a good head on it and it went over the top of the net.  RSL was attacking repeatedly down Zeka's over the first 20 minutes of play, even though the ones that eventually found the back of the net came from the other side.

All in all, RSL simply overwhelmed the Dynamo with their passing into the penalty area.  Salt Lake got into the box almost at will. 16 Crosses went into the box, 10 of them were completed (to the Dynamo 3), and the Royals completed a total of 16 passes into the 18 (to the Dynamo 7).   Justin Meram found Sergio Córdova (11:25) right in front of the net, and immediately on the other end, Corey Baird (with tons of space) crossed one that no NBA player could have gone up and gotten.......to Memo.  Of RSL's 16 shots, 7 came within 8 feet (5 inside the 6-yard box) and 2/3rds of their goal tally came off wide crosses.  Justin Meram, although he didn't connect on one for a goal, repeatedly lobbed balls up to Wood and Córdova (3 Crosses Completed inside the 18, 3 other passes completed into the penalty area) as RSL took advantage of both their size (Meram - 6'1; Córdova - 6'2"; Wood - 5'11"; Chang - 5'10") and the Dynamo soft defense on the wings.  The first two goals came from the right (Lundkvist) side to the left back-post (Parker & Zeka).  Credit to Real Salt Lake for putting in accurate crosses, but as we've said before you can't let good teams pick and choose what they want to do with the ball.  

While the first goal opened the scoring, the second one broke the Dynamo's backs.  After subbing on at the half, Darwin Quintero and Tyler Pasher were pressing hard for the equalizer.  Quintero was really active for the first 15 minutes of the second half.  Pasher came out and went right after Real Salt Lake's defense, and while it looked good, nothing ended up in a goal.  The Dynamo really dominated the run of play from minutes 45-57, when Cordova scored the second goal.  Thor's header (50th minute) was just slapped away by McMath.  It was a tremendous header to the post, but McMath was about to read it and get a hand on it. Lundkvist almost found Thor on a header again on the very next possession. Pasher got in behind (54:24) after a steal by Coco and a tremendous pass from Quintero.  He had McMath dead to rights, but rushed the shot and fired it wide to the back post.  Zeka and Lundkvist had pushed all the way up to the opposing corner, really leaving the backline exposed.  It came back to bite them, and in the 57th minute the game was essentially over.

Difference Makers

Two things (in my opinion) changed this game.  (1) The absolutely ridiculous Yellow Card on Beto Avila.  It was the third time in the game Beto had been tackled from behind, none of which resulted in a card for RSL. It was the second time that Real Salt Lake weren't punished for hitting Beto from behind. The first hard challenge from a Dynamo defender in a similar situation (Coco-24:32) goes to immediate Yellow.

(2) Bobby Wood scoring the first goal.  The play actually started with a deep run by Zeka, who cut back into the middle of the field and laid off a lazy pass to Memo right on the edge of the attacking third. It was a slow build by RSL, but it seemed like the run took some wind out of Zekas sails. The Dynamo opened things up trying to score the equalizer, but couldn't find the net.  They eventually got caught in transition for the second goal, and at that point, the game was over.

There were actually a series of mistakes on the play.  (a) Lundkvist is late getting out the ball. (b) Teenage gets caught too far towards the near post, and doesn't pick up either forward leaving Parker to mark both.  (c) Zeka is late getting back. The two runs in the same area held Nelson for a bit, the ball took a weird deflection off of Bobby Wood's own knee, and just tucked into the corner.

The second goal was avoidable, and also saw a back trailing back late after pushing up, this time Adam Lundkvist.  Hadebe came out to cover Chang, who found a wide-open Cordova at the top of the box.  Zeka struck at the ball and missed.  Parker deflected the ball back to Cordova, and Cordova managed to put one in the net after several deflections and hitting Nelson's hand. 

Ramblings

No ramblings this week.  It's hard for me to point to any particular player that I thought was impressive, but the three that stood out to me where Thor, Memo, and Darwin Quintero.  Pasher made some great runs, but just couldn't hit it square in the end.  Thor had two tremendous chances (54th-minute header, Flying kick 66:09) that could have easily netted a goal.  Memo had 18 challenges on the night, was really active, and had the best chance of the first half.  Overall, the scoreline was worse than the Dynamo played.  While it's no excuse or consolation, this was a better performance than DC United or Austin FC.  Let's hope they have some time to regroup in these next few weeks and get back on the training field.

Thanks again for reading,

Remember to #HolditDown and stay #ForeverOrange.

Brian

After a 2:1 Loss to Sporting K.C., one thing is abundantly clear. It's time to change the focal point.

 

This isn't the first time we've seen this, and this isn't a snap reaction.  What we saw on Wednesday night was a litany of inefficient, ineffective play from the focal point of the attack.  Over the last few weeks, Coach Paulo Nagamura has hunkered down his defensive gameplay and looked to strike on the counter.  Even though the game plan has been thrown out the window twice in the last 4 games, you can see what he's been trying to build.  Some of this has been out of necessity due to squad rotation, Vera missing several games, and a lack of attacking creativity.  Some of it has been out of teams exploiting gaps in our 4-3-3 defense.  The plan, however, has inarguably worked.  Beating Nashville while down a man,  playing Seattle toe to toe (although coming out with a 0:1 loss at PNC), and trouncing L.A. Galaxy before heading into Wednesday night's matchup vs. Sporting K.C. in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.  

While it was ultimately the defense that faltered,  it was the inability to either hit on the counter or hold possession that really did the Dynamo in.  The focal point of that attack, Darwin Quintero, did little to change that.  We all know that Darwin can make plays nobody else on this team can make.  To be absolutely clear, when Quintero is at his best, he makes plays few in this league can make.  But those plays are becoming fewer and far between.  What's happening over the month of May with large amounts of frequency are several key things:

(1) Darwin is giving the ball away in key positions on the field.  There are too many flicks, punches, lobs, and dribbles that end up in possession of the defense.  Against Sporting, Darwin touched the ball 50 times and gave it back 15.  Against Seattle, 43 touches, 14 possessions lost.  He played pretty well against Nashville but still gave the ball away 12 times on 42 touches.  He was abysmal against DC United, giving up 17 possessions on 41 touches.  That basically equates to turning the ball over 1 out of every 3 touches (58/176).  On the year he's averaging 38.3 touches a game, and giving away 12.8 of them (33.4%). 

(2) DQ only plays hard in brief spurts.  While he's only playing about 60 minutes a game, he doesn't move often enough.  If you compare him to Nico Lodeiro, Darwin is mostly a statue up top.

(3) He spends too much time playing on top of Sebas, instead of underneath him looking to give him service.  This causes Sebas to break back to get the ball, hold up, and make the play to the forwards in front of him, or DQ.  

(4) When he does get under Sebas, he's not getting Sebas the ball often enough.  Darwin likes to shoot, DQ loves to make the fancy play.  Right now, he just needs to rely on the simple play of getting the ball to the right guy.  If it's not there, play it back and reset.

(5) DQ's passing accuracy is awful.  He's 232/336 (69.4%) on the season, and only hitting on 71.9% of his short passes.  For comparison, Memo (78.5%; 91.7%), Coco (82.7%; 86.7%), and Sebas (72.4%; 74.2%) all surpass his numbers.  The only regular with a worse passing efficiency is Thor.  While he's been better the last three games, Darwin needs to start finding the passing touch we saw his first year here.

What happens from here?

Honestly, the attack looks better without DQ on the field.  Against L.A. Galaxy, Paulo basically went without a #10 (playing Ceren at a 6/sweeper position, and almost playing Vera and Memo as double 8's).  This put Ferreira squarely at the focus of the attack.  Sebas responded beautifully, with a goal and 2 assists.  Memo did an amazing job getting on the ball and firing to guys ahead of him on the run.  While Sebas was by far the engine that drove that win, Memo was the ignition.  #8 hit Baird three times in the opening 10 minutes, knifing the Galaxy defense.  The attack has been at it's best this year when Sebas gets the ball in space at the top of the attacking third.  This gives him enough room to find guys ahead of him, chase and get back into the box.  Without DQ fighting him for the same spot, Sebas absolutely flourished.  Thor and Baird kept good space and made well-timed runs to really put pressure on Carson, California's back 4.  Memo simply did (and has been doing) what the Dynamo need Quintero to do.  Hit guys on the run.

With HH in tow, and all the fans speculating who's going to lose minutes, it could easily be Quintero. For this team to progress and make a push this year, Sebas has to be the focal point.  The most amazing point about Sebas' game against the Galaxy was how efficient he was passing the ball.  He only passed the ball 12 times (completing 10) the entire game, 4 of them went for point-blank shots.  HH will play under Sebas, giving him the room up top to operate.  If you've watched Herrera play, you know he can hit guys on time, on target, in space.  There is a high likely hood we see HH play with a rotation of Ceren/Vera at the 6, and Coco/Memo opposite him.  To give Sebas more space, simply take the #10 out of the picture and let your 8's connect up.  This let's you drop an extra defender in defending, get's good triangles all over the field, and let's Sebas be the primary focus of the attack.

Some notes on Wednesday night:

Wednesday night is a super frustrating loss.  I was absolutely sure at the half we were going to win.  I mean, Corey Baird scored a goal for Pete's sake.  It had to be destiny.  While we looked shaky at times, we also were holding like this team had done over the last 4 games.  The second 45' was a completely different story.  We struggled to get forward, and Johnny Russell was blistering us.  When he leveled the score on a great strike, we failed to close down space and pressure him.  The second off a no-brainer pen was a beautiful strike.  I never at one point felt like we were the better team after the second half opened.  

While it's frustrating, and we can blame the lineup, squad rotation, formation, etc.  The Dynamo just played a really compact schedule. Tired legs and lack of depth had to have come into play. I wanted to win this cup badly, and give us some hardware to put in the cabinet.  However, this could be a blessing in disguise.  The Dynamo greatly lack quality depth, and getting into a regular schedule with a more steady lineup should give them more consistency over the second half of the season.  They can also now just focus on one campaign, and throw all their chips in.

Brooklyn Raines is the real deal.

He might have been the best CM on the field Wednesday night.  And while he's been playing really well in the USOC, Wednesday night was by far his best performance. He hit on 36/40 passes, had 1 key pass, won 4/5 of his duels, had 2 tackles, drew a foul, and on 47 touches, only gave 4 of them up.  But besides the stats, Raines flys all over the field.  The youngster flat out chases everything with desperation.  He flys into challenges, he's calm on the ball, he has super quick feet and can take on defenders and get the ball to the next level.  While we have to wait for him to achieve his HG status (which nobody really seems to know what that means exactly), this guy has a future here.  Here's hoping we get to see it before Europe comes calling.  

Next Up:

Dynamo vs. Real Salt Lake

Saturday, May 28th @ 7:30 PM

Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy Utah

Until then, thanks again for reading.

#DejaloTodo, remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange.

Brian

Out of this world - Steve Clark and Co. take down LAG 3:0

 

On a Sunday night after a tough midweek loss to Seattle, the Dynamo needed to come out and build on the previous game's successes.  It's easy to look at the 1:0 loss and see it as a failure, but there were strings of runs in that game where the Dynamo (on both sides of the ball) were taking it to Seattle.  They just couldn't find the final play, the penetrating pass, or the finishing touch to draw level.  

Teenage Hadebe: "Yeah, of course, this is going to be a difficult game for us.  But it's only us that can take ourselves out of the situation.  We came here with a winning mentality, then we'll go and fight for each other. I believe it's our day then we'll come away with positive results."

There was some squad rotation yet again in this game.  As Houston is in the midst of a really heavy part of their schedule. With Coco sitting on a red, Darwin Quintero resting his legs, and Fafa also getting the night off there had to be some concern as to how exactly the Dynamo would be able to score goals.  The lineup saw a total of 5 changes from the previous game. While the Lineup didn't pan out exactly as MLS.com published it (P.S. does it ever?) I was intrigued about Thor and Ferriera up top.  Playing more like a 4-2-3-1 with Memo at the #10 and Thor on the left-wing is how it eventually played out. 

When asked in the pre-game interview with Glenn Davis what he wanted to see he simply answered "Aggression.  Be aggressive with the ball....."  The plan seemed to be simple, sit back, absorb the body blows that the Galaxy would throw our way, and look to strike on the counter.  The Galaxy had set up with a heavily rotated squad as well, with 5 starters and their two most dangerous attacking players starting on the bench.  The execution of the game plan was masterful. In a game that saw the Dynamo switch formations several times, bring on some interesting tactics and substitutions, and play some of the most beautiful counter-attacking soccer we've seen here in some time there is a lot to digest.  Let's get started.

The Opening 45 minutes:

It didn't take long to see how the game was going to play out.  L.A. took the opening kick and immediately fired a pass down the middle.  The opening minute saw both teams fighting for the ball, both teams putting pressure on the midfield, and both teams trying to fire the ball deep and run in behind.  It only took 1 minute for the Dynamo to breakthrough.  Teenage broke up a pass intended for Rayan Raveloson, Memo chased down the loose ball and fired a terrific weighted ground ball to Corey Baird on a dead sprint.  Baird got chased down after taking too many touches, lost the ball, and Sebas picked it up but also had it knocked away.  The possession (somehow) ended without a shot, but you could see from the start that the Dynamo were looking to run on the Galaxy.  The Dynamo fired the first shot only a minute and a half later (2:33) after Ceren intercepted a pass and found Zeka on the right flank.  Zeka fired a dropping line drive right at Jonathan Bond, but the Dynamo were controlling the early parts of the game.  The Dynamo were super compact in the box, and although the Galaxy were trying to break them down, and looking somewhat threatening, Paulo simply had too many boxes in the box.

Teenage Hadebe, Adam Lundkvist, and Zeka all took turns jumping passing lanes, chasing down balls, and gaining possession back for the Dynamo.  The only shots that the Galaxy could manage to find either found a wall of black shirts or sailed over their heads into the seats.  Paulo had his guys lined up in two solid lines, with Ceren dropping in between Hadebe and Parker.  Lining up in a deep 5-4-1 defensively was really bogging down any creativity the Galaxy were trying to impose.  It didn't take long for the plan to work and the Dynamo to land their first hay-maker.

Familiar to the first chance, Hadebe had a sliding stop to knock away a pass to Dejan Jovelic right at the midfield line.  The ball landed right in Memo Rodriguez's lap, who turned and saw a streaking Corey Baird once again.  Memo laced a dart right to Baird inside the box, and Baird lined it up and first touch cracked a shot that wound up right at Jonathan Bond.  Bond couldn't control it, and Sebas was the first man to the ball.  Sebas chipped it over the sprawling keeper, hurdled Bond, and tapped it past a sliding Séga Coulibaly to open the game's scoring.  It was a lightning-fast attack that the Galaxy simply had no answer for.  This was the third time in the first ten minutes that Memo drilled a pass to Baird between the CB and the LB, and he hit it perfectly.  The play by Sebas was outstanding.  Just the poise and control in front of the net to get it over the keeper and into the net was a showing of why he is the biggest transfer fee this club has ever paid.

It didn't even take :30 seconds of play for the Dynamo to find the ball inside the box again.  Zeka immediately won a ball back on the kick-off, found Baird, and raced down the sideline.  Zeka found the ball back and lobbed a cross in for Sebas that went high, but found Thor at the back post.  Thor controlled it, but fired a bend about 5 feet over the far post.  

While the tactics and formation didn't change, you could see the mentality of the players did.  Defensively we were playing with a great deal of tenacity and confidence.  Offensively we were playing loose and free.  Memo, Sebas, Thor, Ceren, and Zeka were flying to the ball, winning challenges, and playing hyper-aggressive.  Memo got the first yellow of the game flying to a ball played to the corner and sliding through Raveloson.  The Dynamo were still pressing high when the Galaxy were holding possession with the backline and bunkering down once the Galaxy crossed midfield.  Galaxy had their first real chance of the game after Víctor Vázquez found a ball at the end-line turned and fired to Jovelic who took some nifty touches but got sandwich tackled by both Hadebe and Tim Parker.  The ball caromed directly to Kelvin Leerdam 8 yards out, who blasted a left-footer directly into the chest of Steve Clark.

The Galaxy really had the Dynamo pinned deep for much of the final 20 minutes of the first half.  Eating up almost 70% of the possession over the final stretch, attempting 153 passes to the Dynamo's 66, the Galaxy tested the Dynamo backline again and again.  When the Galaxy did break through the line, Steve Clark was simply unbeatable.  The save he had on Samuel Grandsir's blast from just inside the 18 (21:36) was a beauty.  Clark wasn't done.  Jovelic found Efrain Alvarez all alone in front of the keeper with a fantastic backheel that Clark sprawled and knocked away. The Galaxy played the corner quick, hit a cross to Samuel Grandsir again behind the defense, and Clark stuffed that one at the near post.  He pulled an Alvarez left-footer in (39:00) on the Galaxies last real chance.

The Dynamo weren't reluctant to sit back and clear the ball.  They also had some fantastic chances of their own.  Corey Baird (23:38) got a fantastic cross from Thor all alone in the box that he tried to volley (horrifically by the way) that Baird hit to the corner flag.  Sebas passed up Baird on a break (34:18) to take a 35-yard strike that wound up in Bond's lap.  Memo broke on a ball and blasted a low shot (43:38) that bounced off Bond and Sebas just couldn't get to. Immediately after, on a free-kick , Lunkvist delivered a perfect ball to Sebas who hit the crossbar with a header.

Paulo had to feel fairly fortunate to be up 1:0, but at the same time, the Dynamo could have easily scored 4 goals in that half.  Clark was terrific, and he had more work to come.   Entering the second half, there was still a lot of nerves and a remembrance of dropping late leads over the last year and a third, but this would be a different game and a different team.

The Last 45 minutes:

In a game that really bogged down at times in the second half, when the fireworks hit, they hit.  While the Dynamo were getting trounced in possession, they were dominating the run of play.  Sitting in a deep 5-4-1, the Galaxy simply could do nothing with the possession they were holding.  The Dynamo were aggressive, patient, and looking to break the game open.  When they cracked the Galaxy open, they broke them WIDE open.  When Baird meandered through three Galaxy defenders, and slipped one to Sebas on the run in the box it was when that patience finally began to pay off. Sebas took one touch and found Thor all by himself (53:30) right in front of the net.  Thor rushed a wide-open shot and hit it 20 feet over the goal, but the cracks were beginning to show.  It was only minutes later, and directly after Coulibaly went down with an injury, that Tyler Pasher took a ball right side and finally got his laces on one.  I can't describe it with pictures, you have to just watch it.  Then watch it again.  Then watch it again......

Us 🤝 @HoustonDash

🇨🇦 scoring worldies on the west coast 🤠 pic.twitter.com/YaJtQ2dEzr

— Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) May 23, 2022

It was his first touch of the game, and it put the nail in the Galaxy coffin.  Even with Chicharito, Douglas Costa and Kevin Cabral checking into the game, the Dynamo continued to stifle the Galaxy attack.  Paulo eventually just threw every CB on the roster out there to defend the lead, and bunkered in.  Minutes after Pasher scored his goal, Thor tried to upstage him (we call this death by 1,000 stepovers)

Thor Úlfarsson opens his MLS account with a bang ⚡

(via @MLS)

pic.twitter.com/PnA46SIaLj

— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 23, 2022

There was one more Clark save (Kevin Cabral, 82nd minute) but the game was over when Pasher put us up 2:0.  This is a positive win.  Positive things are happening.  And despite not getting the result against Seattle, the Dynamo are trending up.  With this brutal stretch almost over, the Dynamo pick up another clean sheet and another positive performance.

Ramblings:

Total team effort

While I could point out the key players (which we already know), there were many standouts last night.  Almost every man who stepped on the field was a positive influence on the game.  There were some horrendous moments of finishing, but there was tremendous defensive intensity.  Sebas absolutely terrorized the Galaxy backline for 90 minutes, but it was Memo that was finding him and providing him the service he needed.  Lundkvist and Hadebe completely stifled the Galaxy's right side, and Zeka was killing their left flank.  Ceren and Vera were tremendous defensively and connected with Memo in transition.  Nagamura had them set up beautifully, and making some really smart substitutions like Bartlow for Memo to get another defender on the field, and bringing in Pasher and his energy at the same time worked be perfectly timed.  

Steve Clark

Simply put, Clark was unbelievable last night.  He had several key saves to keep the Galaxy off the board.  Clark was the man of the match in my opinion.

Next Up:

No chance to sit and relax, two more tuff games this week.  Paulo needs the whole squad to step up in order to get through this next stretch.

Thanks again for reading,

Remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

Brian

Lack of discipline, quality finishing. Seattle 1:0 Dynamo

Early missed opportunities.

Paulo stated before the game that the Dynamo needed to come out aggressive, and they did.  Early on the combo play in the midfield was crisp, and DQ working with Fafa and Sebas looked really nice.  Sitting in a high block, Coco and Ceren were aggressively chasing balls.  The Dynamo cracked their first shot early in the opening minutes.  After a nice sinking shot off the foot of Raul Ruidiaz, Steve Clark rolled it out left to Sam Junqua.  Junqua fired a terrific pass to Quintero right at the midfield circle, who turned and had Fafa racing to his right, and Sebas racing to his left.  Darwin worked a give and go to Sebas, and got the ball back right outside the 18. Nouhou Tolo was in a bind because he was in between Fafa who had worked to the edge of the box, and Sebas who was darting to the back post and had his man beat.  Darwin laid it off to Fafa, who cut back inside and fired a left-footer that went wide of the far post.  While the Dynamo got a decent shot out of this possession, they missed a huge opportunity, and it's a microcosm of what this team has been at times this year.  

(1) Sebas had his man beat and was calling for the ball.  Darwin goes the other way with it.
(2) After Darwin passes the ball to Fafa, he runs right in front of Sebas,  Not only did he block Sebas off, but 1 man could now mark 2, and Sebas was now offsides because of it.
(3) Even though the run blocked Sebas off, DQ was open inside the 18 cutting to his right.  Fafa had room to give it back to him but took a 20-yard shot with his weak foot instead.
(4) What starts out with great spacing and ball movement, ends with two players standing on top of each other inside the 18.  There needs to be better awareness and playing off each other here.

You have a 3v2 this early in the game, and the shot you get is a weak-footed bender from outside the box?  Darwin has his high profile striker cutting in the box with his man beat, to his strong foot, and he drops it outside the box to Fafa?  Fafa has our team's leading goal scorer cutting into the 18, and he instead decides to shoot a left-footer from 20 yards out.  It's just inefficient, and it needs to be better. While the play leading up to the shot was great, it's the lack of killer instinct inside the final third that does this possession in.  The Dynamo had them beat, and they needed to capitalize on this possession.

The defense was showing cracks early, but the Dynamo were playing equal:

Jordan Morris, Nicolas Lodeiro, and Raul Ruidiaz were all getting in dangerous positions from early in the game.  Lodeiro fired one across goal from just outside the 18 (6:00) with two sounders on the run, but neither could get on the end of. Jordan Morris found his way into the 6-yard box to get his head on a ball (9:29), but Zeka bothered him just enough that Morris didn't get a good head on it.  The header was soft and Clark was in position, but Seatle was dangerous from early on. 

The Dynamo were building good attacks on their own.  Darwin Quintero got an excellent look (13:24) from just outside the 18 with his left foot.  Memo had found Sebas in the box, and Sebas' tap back to Quintero just caught the foot of Kelyn Rowe to knock the ball off its path.  The Dynamo won the ball back minutes later and Zeka tried to connect with Sebas on a really nice cross (14:11) that was just a tad too high.  Coco found the ball inside the 6-yard box (19:44), and just couldn't beat the Seattle defense winning a corner, then turned the short corner into a great pass to DQ at the top of the 18 that Darwin couldn't control and gave back. Quintero had a terrific chance off some really nice combination play in the attacking third (22:51) That saw Zeka find Quintero, who found Sebas, who tapped it back beautifully to Quintero.  Quintero mis-hit a left-footer directly at Stefan Frei, and it was probably the best chance of the game.

Ruidiaz puts one home:

It was a beautiful team goal. The combination and movement are hard to guard, especially when both of your midfielders don't react, barely step inside the 18, and leave Ruidiaz with a ton of open space to work with.  Junqua did manage to get a foot on it, but you aren't stopping Ruidiaz inside the 6 yard box with that much open net.  There were several keys to this build-up, which allowed it to happen.

This is a quality goal from a really good team.  These are the types of goals that Champions score, and Seattle is a Champion team.  It was precise, it involved great movement off the ball, and took advantage of a slow-reacting defense and a great finisher too close to stop.  While the Dynamo built some really nice chances, they don't move off the ball anywhere near the level that Seattle does.  If we want to turn the corner as a team, we have to have this type of movement and passing.

Seattle really bogged down the box after the goal. Memo had a decent chance from about 25 yards out (39:38) that he blasted to the far post, but went about 12" wide.  Rusnak and Rowe were parked at the midfield line in front of the back four, making any opportunity for the Dynamo to counter extremely difficult. Fafa Picault got two more chances in the box, a header off a great pass from Zeka (44:14) and a sliding flick off a cross from Junqua (45:00+), before the half.  Despite being down 1:0, the Dynamo had been every bit the equal of Seattle for the first 45 minutes statistically.  There were 3-4 chances that the Dynamo just couldn't lockdown, and a couple they took where they missed better options.

Our opportunity ended early in the second half.

Paulo was visibly frustrated at halftime. When Dany Rodriguez asked what was keeping the Dynamo from scoring, he replied: "Uhm...adjustment and high pressure. Circulation of the ball....a little faster and more movement up front." When she followed up what was the main adjustment at the half, Paulo said "That's it, if we can't do it, we'll have to make some changes."  Nagamura had to make changes early in the second half, but it wasn't the type of changes we were all hoping for.  

Already on a yellow, Coco reached out and grabbed Nicolas Lodeiro (53:04) at midfield to try and stop a counter.  There was literally no reason to do it, he had Zeka breaking to the ball and 3 defenders in position.  It was a silly foul, and an especially terrible one already on a yellow.  Was it soft?  Absolutely.  But he'd already been warned about doing the exact same thing early in the game.  This forced Paulo to move Memo into the midfield, Sebas out wide, and DQ into a false #9.  

Credit to the 10 on the field, they spent the rest of the game chasing the ball. The Dynamo actually managed to create more chances over the final 40+ minutes of play despite getting crushed in possession.  Sebas nearly managed to equalize off a set piece (58:35).  Paulo began to get fresh legs on.  Tyler Pasher and Beto Avila (60:00).  Thor came on for Sebas (72:00) and Thiago (90+1).  None of them were enough to break through the Sounder's defense and snag a point at home.  Despite Alex Roldan's red card bringing the teams 10v10, Seattle spent too much time on the ball to get worn down in the 80+ section of the game. Beto Avila, Tyler Pasher, and Thor all had chances to score.  Pasher broke right down the box and got a perfect lob from Ceren (77:40).  Pasher had the ball on his left foot, inside the 18, with space, but rushed the shot and fired it into El Batallion.  

Ramblings:

Coco:

Not a good night from Coco.  He committed his first foul for pulling a guy down 3:30 into the game, never learned from it, and just kept doing it. He picked up a second one at the 8:18 mark coming in late on a challenge high in the attacking third. He finally picked up his Yellow for excessive fouling for grabbing Albert Rusnak 10:22 into the game.  Coco was getting beat badly on his challenges.  While you have to appreciate the tenacity he was playing with, he HAS to be smarter than this.  

It's a shame because on the other side of the ball Coco was really playing well.  He was poised in the midfield, always available as a pressure release, escaping pressure with the ball at his feet, and spraying passes all over the place (33/37 passing, and was hitting at all levels).  Coco was scooping up balls and winning back possessions (5 recoveries, 2 Interceptions) and was really active in the high press.  He had a part in several key Dynamo attacks early on, but he was awful defensively last night.  Early in the second half and right before the red he took the ball away from Lodeiro and drew a scissor kick foul on Kelyn Rowe.  Coco also failed to drop on Ruidiaz's goal, giving him a ton of room to operate.  Coco has to be better defensively.  The Dynamo just put a lot of faith in him, they've basically given him the keys to the midfield until HH gets here, and while he's making strides in terms of consistency going forward (go back and watch the Frisco, Austin F.C., and DC United games) he was terrible defensively last night.

Zeka:

Had another really solid performance.  Was very active on the ball and the backside of the defense.  Was also getting forward with the ball and getting crosses into the box.   Zeka has locked down the right-back position in my opinion.  He's active, he's composed on the ball, and he's beginning to take guys on and make penetrating passes from outside the box.  While there's still a chance we'll see Dorsey rotate through during the season, Zeka should get the Lion's Share of the minutes from here on out.

Darwin Quintero:

I didn't think DQ had a good game.  While there were times he was very active in attack, there were also large sections of the game where he was standing, lazy to the ball, and not making runs when he needed to.  He helped create several dangerous chances, but the Dynamo need more from him. Twice in the first twenty minutes of play Darwin gave the ball away with basically nobody on him.  Both created counterattacking opportunities for Seatle that the Dynamo defense was equal to.  

Darwin Ceren & Memo:

Both put in solid performances yet again.  Ceren has been really active defensively over the last three games while Mattias Vera has been out for personal reasons.  Ceren put in 90 really solid minutes against Nashville and was extremely active defensively against the Sounders again.  Many of us have been very critical of him even being here this year, but Ceren has stepped up and played really well in a pinch.  

Memo put in 90 solid minutes after playing 78 four days before.  Starting out at LW before moving back to holding midfield after Coco's red card, Memo did a good job in defense and helping the Dynamo control in attack.  Memo has put together really good performances here in May after struggling somewhat in April. 

Beto Avila

Simply put Beto is playing like he wants to start.  Beto had a great chance (69th minute) right after he checked in the game.  Beto was going right after Alex Roldan from the second he checked in and eventually got him off the field. Beto drew Roldan's first yellow blowing past him at the midfield line. Also earned Roldan a seat (82:36) by spinning past him and getting hip-checked to the ground.  I think Beto's earned a longer look, would love to see him start opposite Fafa for a few games to see what he can do over 60, 70 minutes.

Final Thoughts:

Losing 4 out of 5 (League Play) isn't any fun.  Losing at home in front of a 1/3rd full stadium on a mid-week game in which you shot yourself in the foot time and time again is really frustrating.  There were some moments in the game where we looked really good going forward against a really good defensive team.  Our finishing, movement, and passing in the final third was extremely lacking.  With 3 straight road games coming up, this is one we really needed to earn at least a point from.  Seattle is a perineal playoff team, a trophy-winning team, and one of the best teams on the continent. We had chances to take a point off them, but just didn't have the fortitude to do it.

Next Up:

La Galaxy @ Dignity Health Sports Park

Thanks again for reading,

Remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange,

Brian

Day & Night: Dynamo 2:0 Nashville S.C.

 

I realize that in writing this.....I probably sound like I have dementia or something.  Being that this team has been up and down all year, my mood has also fluctuated accordingly.  The game against Nashville was a night and day performance from the previous 4 MLS matchups. It was a combination of what we wanted to see, what we needed to see, and what we hadn't seen at PNC in quite some time.  It was a passionate, purposeful, and prideful exhibition that this city and fanbase have been dying for. There was a lot more to it than just the 2:0 scoreline, there was a reason for the final score.  Last night, the Dynamo were simply the better team.  They earned all three points.  They didn't "steal" or "have it handed" to them, they went out and beat a solid Nashville squad who hadn't lost a game this month.  Let's take a look at the key moments and players in a very encouraging win by #ForeverOrange.

Nagamura rotates the 11.

Setting up in a 4-3-3 that played out almost like a 5-2-3, Nagamura had Ceren staying back and at times dropping in between Parker and Hadebe. Ceren was also responsible for man-marking C.J. Sapong in transition and making sure he didn't get free runs to the goal.  Quintero was playing a quasi false nine up top, allowing Fafa and Thor to make runs over the top and cut in behind him.  It didn't take long for the lineup to show they were here to play.  With Nashville applying soft pressure up top, the Dynamo went right at them.  Darwin Quintero fired the game's first shot just:27 into the game.  After Ceren headed a deep ball by Big Joe Willis to Coco Carrasquilla, the race was on.  Coco found Memo with a nice quick pass, who tapped it to DQ on the run.  DQ set up just outside the box and fired a shot into the back of the legs of a defender.  It wasn't awe-inspiring by any means, but it was tone-setting. Zeka chased down the carom, connected with Fafa on a give-and-go, raced past Dax McCarty on the end-line, and hit a solid low-cross that was knocked away for the game's first corner.  The Dynamo were by far the more dangerous team over the first 15 minutes of play.  Paulo had his squad compact, the passing game was crisp, and the midfield was dropping into open space and connecting the ball to Fafa and Quintero up top.  Quintero fired a through ball to Fafa that just missed (Fafa let it go because he was offside), Coco tried to hit Thor on the run in the box, (which just missed) and while both found their way to Willis the Dynamo were actively probing the Nashville backline.

 Add to that the pressure the Dynamo were applying up top, and the midfield actively winning second balls and challenges.  Thor won a ball in the attacking third that lead to a corner 6 minutes in.  Coco and Memo both were winning balls in the midfield, and turning those plays into possessions.  Memo had a great tackle of Dax McCarty just outside his own box that DQ scooped up on the run and lost trying to cut back to his right foot.  It was another ball won deep in enemy territory that Houston needed to capitalize on, but in the end, wound up as a corner.  The corner went back to Lundkvist who put in a great ball to Hadebe, but Hadebe just couldn't get the ball down.

Coco breaks the game open.

At the 15:00-mark the Dynamo broke through.  It was a beautifully crafted chance that saw 5 Dynamo players touch the ball in the attacking third, a nicely placed through ball from Zeka to Fafa, a terrific pass to Darwin in the box from Memo, and a beautiful backheel from DQ back to Memo.  Memo absolutely blasted a shot that Big Joe could only parry away, and Coco was there to put the rebound in the back of the net.  While Coco was in the right place at the right time to put it home, the goal was crafted by great ball movement and well-timed runs.

The game turned quickly after.

The Dynamo continued to attack aggressively after the goal.  Thor, Fafa, and Tim Parker all had good looks at goals but just couldn't apply the finishing touch. The Dynamo were also defending with more purpose, more physicality, and more intent than I've seen them defend in some time.  Tim Parker, Coco Carrasquilla, and Darwin Quintero all went hard into challenges giving away fouls.  While they were giving away field position, they weren't letting Nashville have an inch of the pitch easily.  It was in the 35th minute that the hardest challenge happened. 

Adam Lundkvist broke late on a ball down the sideline to Alex Muyl and came sliding in with studs up, across both legs, and cleats high.  Even though it went to Video Review, I never had a question that it was a straight red. Paulo had to change his game plan quickly, down a man with 55 minutes left to play.  Sam Junqua subbed in for Thor to replace the departed Lundqvist and stabilize the backline.  The Dynamo didn't let down.  Immediately after the freekick, Memo stole a ball right outside his own 18 and fired downfield to Quintero who lofted a nice pass to Fafa on the run. Big Joe came out and got it, but it was a sign that Paulo wasn't content to park the bus and take his chances on keeping a clean sheet.  Fafa, Memo, Coco, and DQ were actively taking on Nashville defenders and looking to create chances. All 10 men defended with pride and tenacity.  

Right after it happened, Glenn Davis on the broadcast said "This is a character evaluation for the Houston Dynamo tonight with the sending off of Adam Lundkvist...".  The team went into the half up 1:0, but had been the better team for all 45 minutes of the game.  You had to wonder what adjustments would be made by both sides at half-time. When asked by Dany Rodriguez what the main instructions were in order to keep 3-points, Nagamura replied "Mentality.  To play a man down is about mentality, now grind out the result."  Gary Smith brought in his best playmaker (Hany Mukhtar)for Alex Muyl at the half, and Nashville came out applying pressure to the Dynamo deep down the field and throwing numbers forward.  

It was at 51:37 when that pressure came back to bite them.  After Tim Parker headed away a flick down the middle, Memo tracked back to win the ball and tapped it beautifully to Darwin Quintero.  DQ received it right in front of two Nashville CB's, and Fafa looped around to make a run down his right side.  Darwin laid him a beautiful pass, and as Fafa closed on it Big Joe came running out.  Fafa took a touch to cut outside just as Willis came diving at his feet.  Willis just clipped Fafa's ankle in doing so, and referee Hany Touchan immediately pointed to the spot.  DQ lined up, sent Willis right, shot left, and the Good Guys were up 2:0.  With the way #LaNaranja was defending, you knew this game was over.  Nagamura went heavy defensive with a 58th-minute sub, switching Ethan Bartlow for Darwin Quintero.  Bartlow set the middle of a 5-man backline, using Memo, Ceren, and Coco in the midfield and having Fafa set the high line.  

Amazingly, Nashville never really broke the Dynamo down.  CJ Sapong had one really good chance off a corner, and a 65th-minute header by Ethan Zubak were the only two real threats of the second half.  When Smith brought in a triple sub (minute 65) it didn't turn the tide.  This was one of the hardest-fought games I've seen at PNC. Paulo pretty much summed it up:

"WARRIORS!"

This is what it means to win as a team 🧡#HoldItDown pic.twitter.com/3zx1gFGStU

— Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) May 15, 2022

The Dynamo looked like they had a plan.  They executed that plan.  They were more composed, dominant, aggressive, all the intangibles that get you wins in games like this.   I don't know if this is a trend, but it would be very nice if it was.

Final Thoughts:

1. The midfield dominated the game.  Coco was arguably the best player on the field last night, Memo had his best performance of the season, and Darwin Ceren was tremendous defensively.  If you add Quintero in that mix, who had by far his best performance of May, the midfield completely outclassed Nashvilles starters of Sean Davis, Dax McCarty, and Luke Haakenson.  
2. Tim Parker wasn't having it.  Parker straight up flattened a few Nashville players who had the audacity to come into his area with the ball.  He was big, active, physical, and intimidating last night.  Stepped in and squashed some beef that Hany Mukhtar had late in the game.  Parker was the enforcer the Dynamo needed last night.
3. Set Piece defense.  There were a few scary moments, but the Dynamo defended 10 corners and several free kicks without letting Nashville get one home. The Dynamo are middle of the pack in MLS on set-piece goals given up, but last night they managed to get their head on quite a few and nock them away.
4. Eddie and Glenn talked about "fighting spirit".  That tends to happen when your goalkeeper gets soo fired up he draws a yellow by running halfway across the field.  Clark was fired up, so was Teenage Hadebe, and while getting two yellows arguing for a card on an iffy tackle isn't ideal it showed they were there for the fight. Every man that stepped on the field had a positive impact on it and even the guys left on the bench were pouring themselves into the game.  It was a beautiful sight.
5. Defense: The Dynamo bent, but never broke.  Playing down a man and getting walloped in possession, Steve Clark only had to make 2 saves the entire game.  The defense was extremely solid last night at all levels and in all phases of the game.
6. Crowd:  There was a decent crowd and good energy at PNC last night.  Let's get a few more, let's get a little louder, and let's make 16,000 feel like 60,000. 

Thanks again for reading,

Remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

Brian