A tip of the cap.

Entering the game I had an admiration for Austin F.C. for what they've built and the direction that they're headed.  I meant it when I said that I am jealous of the way the #Verde fanbase supports their team.  It's the way fanbases should support their team: they show up in numbers and have passion.  The league needs it, the sport needs it here in America, and I'm happy to see it happening here in the great state of Texas.  After writing my last post I still have respect for them, but also think they are much like their goalkeeper:  ignorant, arrogant, and slightly lacking intelligence.  Some of you are playing too far outside your goal, and getting hit with 61 yard blasts that leave you reeling.  I mean this in a pure literary sense, and I'm going to let you in on a secret: nobody cares what you think here in Houston.  You're not one of us, you're not part of us, you've never gone through the things we've gone through.  Not as a fanbase, not as a community.  You can kindly take your snooty thoughts and opinions and keep them within your own, weird #Verde culture.  I'm glad this game played out on the field, but unfortunately (for me) the better team won.  Austin F.C. has bragging rights, and as a brash young fanbase is prone to do go ahead and take full advantage of it.  Tip of the cap to you, you've earned it. 

I guess there's a place in the world for pretentious people who drink champagne with raised pinkies and hide behind a guise of sophistication and general snobbery.  I'm glad you found your place.  If all I had to cheer for was the Longhorns in this town, I'd be running to Austin F.C. too. I've been cheering for crappy teams basically my whole life and am well versed in how to love sports and teams.  I was born into some of my fandoms, others I chose to love.  The Houston Dynamo are one I choose.  I'd never chose yours. I mean, when your biggest accomplishment is beating our hot pile of garbage team you still have a long list of nothing accomplished. I seriously hope you guys have just enough success to never earn a star above your crest.  You know......like those two over ours?  

Shades of last year.

Two big tests, two tests failed, and this team is looking a little bit like a reincarnation of last year.  What both games proved is that we lack the basic ability to break down a defense and organize an attack.  Our midfield looked poor in both games, and while I acknowledge that Coco, DQ, and Vera all got banged up in the FC Frisco game we just don't have the overall quality to do what we need to do.  Both games saw us unable to get the ball into the attacking third with any form of regularity.  Both games we seemed content to take an early goal, try to sit back and bomb the ball deep down the touchlines.  Both times it came back to bite us. 

FC Dallas dominated the game from the 60th minute on.  We simply don't have the horses to take control of a game, hold possession, and grind things out.  Frisco didn't steal points from us, we didn't hand points to them, they simply beat us.  Austin FC outplayed us for 90 minutes.  It wasn't even close.  We managed to complete 3 passes into their box the entire game, and rarely broke midfield much less entered the final third.  After going up 1-0 on a ridiculous 61 yard strike by Sebastian Ferreira and playing fairly balanced over the first 20 minutes, #Verde choked the life out of us owning every major statistical category.  The final score might have been 2-1, but it wasn't even really that close.

This team simply lacks the ability to park the bus and defend while holding a lead, but they need to find it.  This team has to be better.  Point blank, end of story.  Nagamura even said it himself:

• “Players have to understand that we can’t just accept, that because we scored early, we cannot play with no urgency or no commitment to keep pushing the game as well,” 
• “After we scored, we dropped too much, and we stopped playing the way that we wanted to play on a hot day,”
• “It is really tough when you’re just defending, defending even though we were really, really dangerous directly and with our counterattack.” (Credit to The Bayoucitian)

Speaking of the midfield.....

Darwin Quintero wasn't good.  DQ had a rough night despite getting 2 decent chances in the first 20 minutes.  His passing (10/20) was off all night, especially in the short passing game (5/10).  3 of his passes were intercepted going into the final third, and missed guys on runs early in the game.  His second chance (20 yards out, saved by Tarbell 20th minute) he actually had Pasher in the box to his right. He put a good foot on it, but not good enough.  Memo had a good day statistically (3 tackles, 2 interceptions, 14/15 passing%,) but didn't do enough to help hold possession and break lines.  Memo replaced Vera and put in a Vera-esque performance.  While efficient with his passing, he only completed one pass into the final 1/3rd the entire game. You can make the same critique of Coco Carrasquilla, who outside of a really nice ball into the box to Tim Parker wasn't really a serious threat in the game. Darwin Ceren who came on in the 64th minute for Quintero, did almost nothing as did everyone else off the bench.  Pasher and Fafa rarely managed to break through and find the ball, but when they did poor touches and over dribbles plagued the day.  Fafa had one nice cut back to find DQ in front of the box in the 20th minute, but other than that was rarely dangerous.  Pasher didn't do much, gave way to Corey Baird who was awful. 

Quotables:

• "To be honest, I don't think it was our best day, we could have had a couple of better moments on the ball," Parker said of the team's performance. "Obviously, Driussi hits a really good shot into the upper corner from where he is at. There are moments that we might shut off or there are moments that we can prevent these things," Parker added. "There are moments in games where there are small mental lapses, tiredness, fatigue, poor positioning, those kinds of things." (Striker.com)
• "It started well. We scored early, but after we scored, we turned off a bit. Bottom line, it was just a poor performance overall. We came with a plan. Most of the time we stuck to that plan, but we are not consistent enough throughout the 90 minutes," Nagamura said in his assessment of the game. "I think we have to understand that we are a team that cannot afford to turn off, just because the way that we want to play and the way that this league is, very competitive," Nagamura added. "As a group, we have to make sure we are being accountable to each other and make sure that we minimize those moments because teams will capitalize on those moments. This afternoon, we had a few plays that we turned off and we paid the price." (Striker.com)
• “Real significant laceration across his knee, structurally everything looks good,” Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff said of Stuver’s injury. “They may keep him overnight to make sure they clean that up and stitch it up properly, but everything structurally looks good. It was a tough knock and the guys responded from that, but good win. Obviously Brad’s in our thoughts and he should be fine in the coming weeks. But awesome performance by the guys tonight and really proud of them to get three points on the road (in) a difficult place.” (Click2Houston)
  

Final Thoughts:

In all seriousness, Austin F.C. credit to you.  You've been taking it to us in every way since your inception.  Your Front Office has been better than ours, your coach is better than ours, your team is better than ours, and your fan base is bigger and more passionate than ours.  You've been better on the pitch, and you've been better as an organization. Your TIFO game is even strong. I tip my cap to you.  While I will never like you (in a rivalry sense), R-E-S-P-E-C-T.  Here's hoping that this rivalry gets better and better.

Thanks again for reading

Remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

What team is this? Houston Dynamo 3:0 Austin FC

 

I've forgotten what that feels like.

:57 seconds is all it took.  :57 seconds for Griffen Dorsey to chase down a loose ball and bang it in the back of the net.  In a sequence that both jumped on you and seemed to take forever, the Dynamo outworked, outplayed and "out-wanted" Austin's Verde for the entire first half of the game.  Both of the opening goals for La Naranja were about effort and desire.  On this night, Houston just wanted to win. They wanted it worse than Austin did.  While many of the things we saw weren't that much different than what we've seen all year, on this night things actually worked out.  We can give credit to a Darwin Quintero start, we can attribute it to a new formation, but in reality, it just came down to putting the ball on target for once.  Desperate for a win, Tab pulled out some new tricks and the guys on the pitch rewarded him for it.  Whether this is a flash in the pan, luck, or a result from putting the right guys together, hopefully, we see more of this down the stretch.

The game opened with the Dynamo in possession.  It didn't take long to notice that Tab had them in a 4-2-3-1 with Quintero in the #10.  It also didn't long for Tab's side to go right after Austin FC:

• :10 seconds in - Adam Lundqvist turns the corner on the left flank and draws a foul.
• :36 seconds in - after a quick switch by Teenage Hadebe, Lundqvist goes directly at Pochettino again, winning a throw-in in the final third.
• :40 seconds in - Lundqvist finds Darwin Quintero in the middle of the box, Quintero wriggles in between two Austin FC defenders, fires a shot on target, Brad Stuver makes a tremendous save. Quintero nutmegged 2 AFC defenders on the play in an unbelievable effort in tight space.

:57 seconds in - Griffen Dorsey outruns the entire Austin FC defense, and despite being in the worse position to get the second ball, not only wins it but blasts one on target.  Stuver gets in position to save it, but instead knocks it into the corner netting.

It was a simply awesome start to the game.  We've seen this before (Coco Carasquilla vs. Minnesota), but with Austin FC's struggling attack you had to believe there was a real chance we could finish this game off.  Austin FC fired a warning shot in the 13th minute, which was from about 25 yards out and off to the left, but it was the first threatening possession Verde had.  Lundqvist immediately went back to work, completely turning Pochetino around before getting taken down hard and drawing a Yellow on the run.  Lundqvist was directly going after Austin's right flank early in this game, which was opening up Fafa and Quintero in the middle.  That's when things really opened up.  With Austin FC trying to build an attack and pushing numbers forward, Joe Corona managed to just knock a ball loose at midfield.  Teenage Hadebe one-touch blasted it deep downfield directly in between defenders Hector Jimenez and Julio Cascante.  Fafa Picault took off, and while his speed is what led to the goal, it was really just his effort.  Cascante took a lazy path to the ball, and instead of getting there and blasting it away, he tried to control it.  Cascante took a horrible touch and Fafa raced past him and took it directly off his foot.  It was really nice to see Fafa calmly split the two defenders and just punch it past a diving Stuver as many times this year he's been in this situation and tried to take extra touches or do too much with it.  It was simple, poised execution after a great effort play and it put the Dynamo up 2:0 twenty-four minutes into the game.

Austin spent much of the rest of the half holding possession, occasionally finding ways through, and every time they did they ran into Teenage Hadebe.  Hadebe made several sliding tackles inside the box that shut down Austin attacks.  The Dynamo were playing extremely compact, extremely organized, and weren't letting anything come easy for Austin.  Every time Austin seemed to find space for a shot, there was an Orange shirt in front of it.  4 of the 6 shots Verde had in the first half were blocked by Dynamo defenders, and Michael Nelson went into the half protecting a clean sheet without even making a save.  The backline did exactly what it's needed to do all season: Keep Nelson clean.  The second goal had also allowed the Dynamo to relax and pack in on defense.  In almost every game this year the Dynamo have had to chase a second goal.  Pressing high and chasing balls all over the field for most of the first half, combined with the ridiculous heat and humidity inside BBVA has usually lead to us being worn out by half-time.  The second goal let us back off and pack in early in the game, and save legs for the second half.  

The second half saw a continuation of this theme: The Dynamo packing in and allowing Austin to hold the ball with their backline.  With Austin trying to build attacks and find cracks in the midfield, but the defense was particularly stingy in this game. Making 2 substitutions coming out for the second half to freshen up the midfield, Josh Wolff's team opened the second half with possession.  The Dynamo extended their defense just enough to not let Austin FC play between lines and force them to place accurate deep balls down the sideline. No matter where Austin passed the Dynamo defense was set and waiting. After a couple of dangerous AFC crosses into the box that found no one on the other end, Austin FC seemed to catch a break as Jimenez punched one downfield and found a streaking Cecilio Dominguez one v. one with Teenage.  Teenage not only chase him down and made a tremendous diving tackle with his back heel, he then popped the ball up to himself and fired a left-footed pass 35 yards downfield on the money to Joe Corona.  Corona corralled it, turned, and fired an excellent weighted ball to Fafa streaking down the left flank.  Fafa took one big touch, cut back inside, and fired a shot to the back post that Stuver barely got his fingertips on.  At the 52nd minute mark, Austin FC fired their first shot on target of the game.  Wade was sitting next to me screaming to pick up the man in the middle of the pitch just as they found him.  Alexander Ring, who had been very quiet up to this point, fired a perfect shot to the back post upper ninety that found a stretched-out Nelson's right hand.  The ensuing corner found a wide-open Pochetino at the back post, who slipped and had the ball bounce off his face out of bounds for a goal kick.  It seemed to be a sure-fire goal, and the Dynamo were extremely fortunate.  The game somewhat bogged down for the next ten minutes as the teams traded punches at midfield.  After Griffen Dorsey found Memo on a really nice chip pass into the teeth of Austin's backline (on a shot that went wide), Sebastian Berhalter blasted a pass downfield to a streaking Rodney Redes. Redes raced past Lundqvist and placed a perfect low cross into Dominguez who had Tim Parker beat and Michael Nelson dead to rights.  Nelson managed to knock it away, and after a deflection off the crossbar, Hadebe chased it down inside the six-yard box, turned, and fired a 40 pass downfield to Fafa.  Fafa held off his defender, let it bounce past both of them, then turned and it was off to the races.  With a numbers advantage and Urruti (middle of the field) and Memo (back post) making runs, there was a multitude of options available. Urruti looped to the outside, Fafa cut back inside, and got the ball on his right foot.  He placed it perfectly in the back-post corner and the Dynamo went up 3:0.  The fact that a team with 33% possession managed to put up 17 shots (7 on target) while holding the other team to only two shots on target the entire game was a testament to how efficient we were last night.

BBVA exploded, and so did the guys on the field.  Hadebe sprinted to the sideline just to give Tab a bear hug soo big he picked him about 3 feet up off the ground.  Hadebe was hugging everyone like we'd just won MLS cup, and you knew at that point the game was over.  If stats from WhoScored.com are right, it was our first counterattacking goal of the season and it was a beauty.  The three points were much needed.  The fanbase has been soo down, soo frustrated, and soo cantankerous that I've gotten off of Dynamo Social Media.  This game gave us a brief glimpse of what this team could do, and gave us a week of relief before we take on Frisco next Saturday.  

Darwin's first start made a difference:

I'll be one of the first to say that Darwin has been disappointing this year.  He's still one of the most accurate shooters we have, and the only person on the squad capable of making dangerous passes into the final third with any sort of regularity.  Despite his struggles this year, his 5.74 shot creating actions/90 minutes greatly outpaces anyone else on the team and would be good for fourth in MLS.  While he has yet to register a goal or assist this year (he's only played 298 minutes), he's made a noticeable difference in the Dynamo attack when he's stepped on the field, especially over the last 3 weeks.  

Darwin has only managed 9 shots the entire season, and 3 of those came last night (all of them were on target).  He looked less frantic and much more relaxed and poised than we've seen him all year, and I'm hoping he can retain this spot for the rest of the year.  Tab and Brad Davis have both said recently that the problem with Darwin all year has been fitness, and it makes me wonder what's the issue's been.  Regardless, it was nice to see him play well last night.

For the Teenage haters out there, what are you watching?

If you wonder how good Teenage Hadebe is, just watch the games, please.  Watch him turn away attackers, watch him shut down dribbles, passing lanes, and areal balls.  Watch him fire left-footed bombs on a dime, and watch him stone an attacker only to turn and fire a laser between the lines. No, we haven't been winning, and no, it's not his fault.   He was ridiculous last night and has been almost all year.  He's been worth every single penny, he's 25, and we have him for 3 more years.  That's a good thing.

Urruti's struggles continue:

Urruti hasn't registered a goal or assist in his last 10 appearances (842 minutes) and has one goal in his last 12 appearances (1,042 minutes).  He hasn't put a shot on target in the last two games (10 shots in total) and four of his last five starts.  He had three really good opportunities last night, and only one of them was particularly close.  His breakaway in the 35th minute after another great Hadebe pass downfield found him one v. one with Nick Lima, he went right-footed, left post, and it went just wide. He's been outscored by Mattias Vera (3 goals) over this span, a player who entered the year with 0 career goals.  While people are constantly saying our defense is a failure, this season would be a different story if Urruti was finding the back of the net or even putting the ball on target with more regularity. His shots/90 (3.54) is the highest mark of his career, while his Efficiency rating (37.3%) is just above his career average and a significant drop off from his mark last year (54.5%).  Urruti had a good run in May and June, scoring 5 goals in 7 games, but has yet to find the back of the net since June 26th. Not only is he not scoring, but he's also not finding teammates either.  His 1 assist in 1700 minutes is also far off his mark as a regular starter.  Urruti has worked really hard this year, he's not afraid to press or trackback, and in no way can anyone question his effort.  He just needs to be much more efficient and composed on the ball.  

We are undefeated when:

Darwin starts, there are remnants of an NCAA game left on the field, it's low 80's at kickoff, and Fafa scores a brace.  If we can just make these things happen all year, we win out (sarcasm, relax Dynamo grumps.)

Final Thoughts:

There was a lot to take away from last night.  I found it weird that it seemed soo packed getting into the game, and the concourse seemed soo busy, yet it was a mostly empty stadium.  It was also somewhat embarrassing that Austin seemed to bring more fans than we did and their supporters section drowned out our entire crowd, even when they were down 3:0.  It honestly makes me a little jealous that we don't have a following like that in our own city.  Austin is a new club and has already built a fanbase that greatly surpasses ours.  I know how hard things have been here lately, but either we support this team or we don't.  We need more people to jump on the bus. With all the negativity on Dynamo Social media, our Supporters groups threatening each other on Twitter, the Jordan out crew, and the bag over their head wearers, at some point we just have to get together and actually support this team and this city. I know I'm a different kind of guy, but I'll show up and cheer regardless of who owns this team, who sits in the GM chair, or how good/bad they are on the field.  They're my team, they'll always be my team, and I could care less about every other team in all of the American continents and all except one in Europe.  Ted Segal's greatest challenge is building an actual fanbase. There were good crowds right after he bought the team that just disappeared. I'm hoping this city comes through.

There were some nice touches again last night.  I loved turning the field orange, that was pretty great.  Hopefully, we show out for FC Frisco this weekend.  There'll be plenty of Frisco Fakes in the stadium again, and it'd be nice to have a derby feel, and maybe the guys have put something in motion here.

Thanks again for reading,

#HoldItDown and remember to stay #ForeverOrange
Brian