Monday, May 23, 2022

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......

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)

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



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