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

Houston Dynamo - Vancouver White Caps.

 

Pregame Talk:

There was some buzz pregame when starting 11's were introduced.  Fans have been waiting to see Coco Carrasquilla and Darwin Quintero in the starting lineup, and after two scoreless games Paulo Nagamura made the switch.  And while there was buzz around this, Pat Onstad also dropped a bomb during the pregame show.  When asked by Glen Davis about the GAM brought in by the trading of Derrick Jones:  "Yeah, we're looking to spend that right away. We have somebody lined up, hopefully in the next week or so.....we'll be able to announce.....in an attacking position. We need to get some more players in here I think to help the group. But what we are excited about is the group we do have. I think they work really hard defensively.  We gave up 59 goals last year, so far we've only given up one.  So that's good but on the other side, you know, we haven't scored yet. So hopefully we can go bang in a few against Vancouver."  It's an exciting time to be a Dynamo fan, this group is being aggressive as far as getting new guys in here.  No idea who Pat is talking about, but hopefully it's a 10 or a right-winger to help with the attack."  

While this statement perked up my ears, what happened on the pitch over the opening 30 minutes perked up my eyes.  Coco and Quintero didn't disappoint and did more for the attack in the first five minutes than the midfield has done all season. Coco's ability to break lines with lights out passing and Quintero's ability to....well....be Darwin freaking Quintero was a much-needed sight for La Naranja and Paulo Nagamura.  The game started off fast, the Dynamo came out aggressive early, and even though they fell behind 1-0 managed to battle back and take control of the game.  In a game that featured a lot of firsts, the 3 points were much needed, and hopefully there's more to come.

The first 30 Minutes:

From the opening possession of the game, the Dynamo held firm on the back two lines forcing Vancouver to play over the top.  Setting up in a 4-3-3 that played more like a 4-2-3-1, with Quintero really pushing high and playing in space behind Vancouver's midfield, the Dynamo were looking to play long balls through the lines to Quintero, Baird, and Fafa.  It returned immediate dividends. On their first possession, building from the back, Griffen Dorsey fired one down the right touchline to Sebastian Ferreira who one-touched it to a trailing Corey Baird. Baird fired it to Darwin about 30 yards from goal in the middle of the field.  After some quick combos from Quintero and Sebas, Quintero tried to play a through ball that just missed a streaking Sebas, but found Corey Baird trailing behind.  Baird fired in a near-perfect cross that just missed Fafa's head at the back post.  Quintero chased the loose ball down and fired a right-footed bender that goalkeeper Thomas Hasel just managed to get a hand on and knock over the net.  It was 1:30 into the game, but the Dynamo had let their intentions be known. 

Not only were the Dynamo pushing the ball with tempo and purpose, but they were also defending and pressing much higher than in the previous two games.  The first ten minutes saw the Dynamo look increasingly threatening, and the White Caps were barely able to get the ball across midfield.

5:00 - Quintero tries to play Fafa through, the pass is just a hair too long.

5:30 - Sebas puts pressure on Hasel, who hits one directly to Baird.  Baird heads it to Quintero, Quintero plays it to Vera, who hits one just over the crossbar.

6:30 - Dorsey dribbles through the entire Vancouver team, fires in a cross that gets deflected by Dajome, and ends up in the lap of Hasel. High pressing wins them a Throw-in deep in the final third. 

7:55 - Sebas finally gets the ball in a dangerous position with space, fires a shot that's deflected, and earns a corner.

9:30 - High pressing forces Vancouver to play the ball long from deep in their own third, Parker heads it to Coco who earns a foul. 

11:00 - Pressure once again forces a bad pass from Vancouver, Parker plays it to Baird who earns a foul.

That's when disaster struck. In really their first possession in some time that went into the attacking third, off a throw-in and after some quick combo play, Ryan Gaud laid a perfectly weighted pass to Cristián Dajome who was streaking down the sideline after throwing the ball in.  Dajome hit a pinpoint cross on the first touch, Lucas Cavellini found his way behind Daniel Steres and blasted it past Steve Clark.  Steres got too wide of the posts, Parker didn't get over in time, and Cavallini found the space and side-footed it to the near post.  It was the only threat Vancouver had had in the opening 15 minutes, and they found a way to capitalize on it.  

Although Vancouver broke through, it really didn't seem to phase the Dynamo or alter their plan.  They just went right back to it.

17:30 - Ball played up to Fafa, Fafa takes on Tristan Blackmon and wins a corner.

18:00 - Quintero fires in a corner that just misses Fafa, Coco chases down the ball and fires in a dangerous cross, but a goal kick is given.

18:30 - Fafa steals the goal kick, races past everyone and fires a cross to Sebas that Hasal manages to steal away.

20:00 - Dynamo take the ball away again in the attacking third, and after some excellent quick touch combo plays, Darwin corrals the ball and fires a shot that is deflected out of bounds earning a corner.

20:30 - Dynamo short play the corner, Coco fires in another cross that just misses Sebas' head, earns another corner.

21:42 - Dynamo take away a clearance at midfield, play it up to Coco who earns another foul.  After the foul, Darwin fires a great ball into the box, which is knocked away by Hasel.  Coco takes the rebound and fires a blast that is deflected, which Baird chases down and fires one wide.

25:00 - High pressure sees Quintero take the ball away from Leonard Owusu.  Quintero takes the ball and lobs a dangerous pass to a racing Fafa, ball ends up in Hasel's lap.

29:46 - After building from the back and switching field a couple of times, the ball finds Darwin Quintero on the right flank who chips a lob to Sebas, but Hasel goes up and gets it in front of him.

30:49 - The high press gets Vancouver again, as Baird forces a bad pass by Florian Jungwirth. Coco tracks the ball down and one-touches it to Sebas.  Sebas has Fafa wide open on the left flank, but tries to do too much with it had has the ball taken away.

The first 30 minutes were dominated by the Dynamo, they were by far the better team in every way except the scoreline.  Most of it was spent in Vancouver's half of the field with the Dynamo looking extremely threatening on the end of almost every possession.  It was an exciting, but frustrating start.  Things would turn however, over the next 15 minutes.

The Next 15 minutes:

After Vera won a foul at the edge of the attacking third at the 31:00 minute mark, the Dynamo quickly found Coco who carried the ball left.  He found Fafa ducking inside about 30 yards out, and cut back inside to his right.  Fafa laid it back to him, and Coco lobbed an unbelievable pass over the top to Baird who had found his way behind Vancouver's back three.  While their entire backline lobbied for an offsides call, Baird tracked it down and just managed to hit Darwin right in front of the net to level the score.  It was a really good play by Baird, but the Dynamo were helped out by Vancouver just giving up on the play.  Vancouver, however, started to find cracks in the Dynamo defense.  Lundkvists huge block on Cavellini in the 34th minute was one of several huge plays by Dynamo defenders on the night and helped save 2 points.  Moments after, Baird found Quintero just outside the box who fired a left-footer on target, but Hasel just manages to knock it away.  The last 15 minutes of the first half was much more even, and a lot slower paced.  The Dynamo got into the dressing room tied 1:1, but had really been the most dangerous team without question. 

Total. Team. Goal.

That's lovely stuff, y'all 😍#HoldItDown pic.twitter.com/CEBNunIjaU

— Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) March 13, 2022

The Next 15 Minutes:

The second half started much like the first half ended.  The opening 5 minutes was fairly slow-paced, back and forth and even.  When Lundkvist gobbled up a poor touch from Ryan Gauld in the 49th minute and fired it upfield to Coco, that turned quickly.  Coco took one good touch, and fired a laser to Sebas 30 yards downfield and just outside the box.  Sebas had two defenders on him and tried to cut back to his right with Florian Jungwirth charging hard. It's hard to tell if Sebas took a bad touch, fumbled under the pressure, or meant to pass the ball, but the ball wound up right at the feet of Darwin Quintero who scored a golazo from about 20 yards out.  The blast found the top right corner, clean past a diving Hasel.  

We'll be watching this one for weeks to come, @darwinJR3.

Time to put this one on repeat, H-Town 🔁🔁🔁🔁 pic.twitter.com/Q9xLhzxg6x

— Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) March 13, 2022

The next ten minutes was more back-and-forth action, as each team was really working the high press and spreading the field. Quintero just missed Sebas a couple of times.  And while both teams managed 1 more shot over this span (Dajome's 56th-minute scooter through a pack of players that went wide, and Vera's 60th-minute blast off a corner clearance that was blocked), neither team really managed anything of danger.

The Final 30 Minutes:

Minutes 70-90 belonged to Vancouver.  After Vanni Sartini subbed on Marcus Godinho and Deiber Caicedo in the 66th minute, the tide seemed to turn. From minutes 70-90, Vancouver managed 10 shots on goal, although only one was really close.  6 of those shots came in a 70th-minute flurry off back-to-back corners after Steres headed a Dajome cross out of bounds.  The first flurry saw a header hit the crossbar, and then Dorsey made a tremendous play going up and blocking Lucas Cavallini's header with his head from just inches away. Vancouver found the ball twice more, for two more shots inside the box that were both blocked by a wall of Dynamo defenders.  The second flurry had Caicedo miss-hit the corner (which was blocked by Parker) and Tristan Blackmon track that down and mishit one that Clark gobbled up.  Time and time again the White Caps threatened, and time and time again Dynamo defenders stepped in front of shots.  At the 75th minute, Paulo subbed on Memo, Thor, and Ceren for Quintero, Ferreira, and Carrasquilla, and the game settled back down a bit.  Thor had a great chance off an 82nd-minute set-piece that he just mis-hit into the ground, but it still managed to make Hasel dive to get the bouncer off the post. The Dynamo managed one more barrage of blasts in the 90th minute which saw Memo blast a free-kick off the crossbar that just missed the top left corner, which a defender tried to clear but it hit Darwin Ceren and deflected back in play.  The ball found it's way back to Thorinside the box, and he turned fired a left-footer that was saved by Hasal. 

Notables:

Coco Carrasquilla

Had an unbelievable night.  10 recoveries, 3 interceptions, 17 pressures, 236 Yards of progressive distance, 51/51 in targets received, 2 fouls drawn, 71 touches, 54/60 on passing, including 11/14 on deep balls, 1 key pass, and 4 through balls, and 6 passes completed into the attacking third.  He generated 5 shots and was part of both goals. He was all over the field and was instrumental in many of their chances and buildup play.  He and Quintero played off each other all night, and he got the ball to Baird, Fafa, and Sebas in areas where they could do something with it.  Was really nice to see this, and wish he would have been healthy from the get-go.

Darwin Quintero

Did what Darwin does.  63 touches (45 in the attacking third, and 5 inside the penalty box), his two goals don't tell the entire impact he had on the game.  He was breaking lines with the ball at his feet (4/5 in taking on defenders, 104 yards in progressive distance), he was dicing Vancouver up with passes (13 progressive passes completed, 2 key passes, and was trying to force-feed Sebas all night while still dominating the game), and he was actively defending in the attacking third (10 pressures in the attacking third, 5 recoveries.)  I know Darwin can't play 90 minutes a night 34 games a year, but here's to hoping he is making starts and playing 70+ minutes more often than not over the rest of the year.

Griffen Dorsey

Dorsey made a case for himself last night.  Defensively (9 recoveries, 2 tackles, 1 recovery, 2 blocks and an unbelievable goal-line clearance, 100% defending 1v1), Offensively (54/60 passing including 10/13 on deep balls, 4 passes into the attacking third, and 3 through balls completed) and in possession (173 yards covered with the ball at his feet, 43/43 in receiving targets), Dorsey played like a guy fighting for his job and didn't disappoint.  With Zeka still waiting to make his first start, Dorsey made a strong case to keep the job for now.

Sebas

The Dynamo were trying to force-feed Ferreira the ball last night, and the results were mostly disappointing. Not because he didn't score a goal, but because many times he was trying to do too much with it.  He got the ball taken away from him several times inside the box, he took too many touches often and missed open teammates.  He did (accidentally) notch the assist on Darwin's second goal, but he needs to relax and let the game come to him more.  He did manage 3 shots, but all were blocked.   

Corey Baird

It wasn't always pretty, but he got the job done.  Baird did a good job leading the defense, posting 2 tackles in the attacking third, both of which led to chances. He notched an assist on Quintero's goal and linked up with Quintero several times which led to a shot on goal. It wasn't always pretty, he gave the ball away too many times, but it was the most productive performance for Baird in a Dynamo uniform. 

Minor Notes:

• Teenage Hadebe looked terrible in the minutes he got down the stretch. He mistimed a header badly right before blocking the second shot.
• Adam Lundkvist also had a very quiet but highly productive night. Lundy had a big block in the first half and turned several Vancouver mistakes into counterattacks.  
• I love the supporters' sections totally firing up the Orange Smoke.  We need more of it.  PNC should be covered in Orange Fog when tipoff hits. I want 360° of Orange hell when our starting 11 walks on the field.
• The Dynamo now rank 1st in MLS in passing success rate (85.3%, slightly ahead of LAG) after ranking last for most of last season.
• The Dynamo held 58.7% possession last night and now rank 11th in MLS with 54% on the season.
• On the night of firsts: First Win, First Goal, Nagamura's first win as an MLS manager, First start for Quintero, First Start for Carrasquilla, the first appearance for Hadebe on the year, and first goal or assist for both Baird and Sebas in a Dynamo uniform. There's probably more, but those are just off the top of my head.

Next Up

Saturday, March 19th @ 7:30

PNC Stadium

Thanks again for reading, feel free to drop a comment.

Remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

Brian

After an encouraging run, the Dynamo hit a snag. What does it mean?

 

Two big defensive mistakes, and the inability to put the ball past the keeper.  That's the story of this game.  :54 seconds into the game, our backline fell completely asleep and allowed Robin Lod to run directly behind both of them and chip one past Michael Nelson to go up 1:0.  It wasn't a particularly nice through ball from Franco Fragapane, it wasn't a particularly nice run by Lod.  What allowed Minnesota to break through this early in the game was a lack of pressure on the ball, lack of communication and chemistry by Parker and Hadebe, and a somewhat nice finish by Lod.  Neither of our CB's reacted to the ball, Lod didn't try to do too much with it and placed a perfect left-footed chipper past a sprawling Michael Nelson.  This play somewhat sums up the entire season for the Dynamo.  Other teams do things we apparently can't, and took advantage of a situation that should have never been.  If either Parker or Hadebe reacts, this play never materializes.  If this were Maxi Urruti chipping this shot, the ball ends up in the supporters' section.  This game reflected what has plagued us all season:  the inability to execute.

Goal #2 was a mistake that can't be made.

Parker won the initial ball, then lost it off his back heal leaving it in perfect position for Ethan Finlay to spin and hit into the goal.  Nelson miraculously got a hand on it, and almost kept it out, but Parker has to either control or clear that ball into the stands.  This goal is a perfect example of why we need Goal Line Cameras in MLS.  The ball apparently went over, but there was no angle to conclusively tell whether it completely cleared the line before Zarek punched it out.  It was a tremendous effort by Nelson just to get a hand on it, but a terrible mistake by Parker gifted Minnesota a goal.

There were plenty of opportunities for The Dynamo to equalize:

It took 32 minutes for the Dynamo to finally get a shot on Target.  After Zarek Valentine's left-footer was blocked, he found Quintero all alone on the right side from 15 yards out.  Darwin hit it right at Goal Keeper Tyler Miller who knocked it down and corralled it.  Not to take anything away from Miller, who played really well last night, but his toughest save came on a shot from his own player. It was far from the lone opportunity missed on the night, however, as The Dynamo had 7 chances inside the 18-yard box over the last 30 minutes of play. While none of them were tap-ins, they were all opportunities good teams capitalize on.  What's most frustrating is that two of those came from Darwin Quintero.  Darwin hit them both directly at Miller, who posted 7 saves on the night but never had to move or dive for any of them. Corey Baird and Maxi Urruti had multiple chances last night, and couldn't find the net on any of their opportunities.  While this team is goal efficient this year, what they really are is striker deficient. 

Once Tab threw in extra attackers and switched to 3 in the back, the opportunities came often.  The Dynamo managed the last 9 shots of the game, all except Memo's 30-yard blast coming from within 15 yards.  Fafa and Urruti both had shots from inside 8 yards that failed to get through.  Minnesota has been the best in MLS at keeping balls out of the net at home.  The Loons have only allowed 7 goals at home all season, but this game wasn't about them keeping it out, it was about the Dynamo failure to find the net.  While at times it seemed like there were 25 Powder blue unis out there, and Minnesota is as quick to the ball as any defense in the league, the Dynamo had plenty of opportunities and actually generated more shots than Minnesota on the game (15-12) and more Shots on Target (7-6).  They just never made Tyler Miller work for his saves.

Did we learn anything from this game?

In short, no.  This game showed us what we've known all season long.  With or without Darwin Quintero, this game simply isn't built to beat quality opponents.  This is the worst goal-scoring team in the history of this franchise, and Darwin needs someone reliable at the point of attack that can capitalize on the chances he creates.  The most pressing need moving forward is a striker who can time runs and finish.  It's more vital than upgrading RB, it's more pivotal than finding an upgrade at the defensive midfield, and it's as important as playing Quintero 2,000 minutes or more next year.  If Fafa, Pasher, and Dorsey all return, there are pieces up top that can legitimately play at the MLS level.  The Center Back pairing of Parker and Hadebe is good enough to make the playoffs with.  Adam Lundkvist is a quality MLS left-back, and Mattias Vera is a constant worker and an extremely smart player.  If we are to ever make it out of the MLS doldrums, we have to find a decent striker, and we have to figure out how to pick up points on the road.  

Inside the numbers:

• Houston currently ranks 2nd worst in MLS in goals/Shot on Target (0.24). Only the Chicago Fire (0.22) are worse.
• After inserting Darwin Quintero into the lineup, the Dynamo have jumped 3 spots in passing percentage.  They have been second-worst in the league almost all year, slightly ahead of NY Red Bulls.   They currently have a passing percentage of 76.6%, which ranks 4th from the bottom.
• The Dynamo have also pulled out of last place in possession %.  They have ranked at the bottom of MLS for most of the season, but recently have climbed slightly to 43.6% on the season, ranking them ahead of Nashville SC.
• After racking up 2,367 minutes on 30 appearances (26 starts) for Yeni Mal'spor, Teenage Hadebe has made 14 starts and played 1,251 minutes for the Dynamo this season.  Hadebe literally didn't have an offseason and after playing a full season came to Houston to play in the brutal heat of the summer.   The season has to be wearing on him, but he's played exceptionally well leading the Dynamo in Areal duels % (72.9%) and ranks 3rd on the Dynamo in Areal Duels won (35) despite playing half as many games as the two in front of him (Tim Parker - 55 in 27 games and Fafa Picalut - 65 in 25 games).  

Next Up:

Houston takes on Vancouver Whitecaps this Wednesday at home (I don't even know what to call our stadium these days.)  Vancouver is one of the worst road teams in MLS, posting a 1-4-7 record on the road. The only MLS team with fewer road wins than Vancouver (1) is Your Houston Dynamo FC (0).  After posting back-to-back home wins last week, Houston is now 5-3-5 at home posting 1.54 PPG in the friendly confines of faded Orange seats.  This is also a 7-1-3 night, so show up and get your $1 dollar dogs at every stand that isn't labeled "Hot Dogs" and your $3 beer from places that aren't labeled beer stands.  The weather is supposed to be nice, and an 8:00 kickoff could be an awesome break to your workweek. Just a heads up, the Astros play Tampa bay at 7:10 as well, so you might want to get there a little early and be ready to fight a little traffic after the game.

Thanks again for reading,

#HoldItDown and remember to stay #ForeverOrange,

Brian

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

Houston, we have a problem: The Darwin Debacle Continues

 

He was the face of our franchise.  El Científico del Gol is a chance creator, a wizard with the ball, and a dynamic offensive player.  He has a skill set no one else on the team possesses and yet......he can't see the field.  It's left me with so many questions, many of which I don't know if they'll be answered.  Last year, Quintero was the lone bright spot in the Houston attack after the departure of Alberth Elis. He lead the team in goals and assists.  His 7 assists placed second in the league in 2019/2020, and he was passing to a bunch of guys who couldn't finish.  He was 5th on the team in minutes, made 20/22 starts, and played the full 90 eighteen times.  This year, he's managed 52 minutes in 6 games (3 appearances). How did he go from shining star to.....well....playing 52 more minutes than me?  How has he played fewer minutes than Nico Lemoine and Ariel Lassiter?  I've read reports about how his age is holding him back, but that can't be the case.  Boniek is 35, and Maynor is 38.  Both have played 5x the minutes he's played.  Think about this again.....Nico Lemoine made 1 appearance........and has played more minutes than our only designated player.  What's more concerning to me is you don't hear anyone in the organization talking about it.  Even more so, I don't hear anyone asking Tab about it.

A quick Google search netted zero results, dating all the way back to the beginning of the season.  There are some speculative reports from the preseason, but I don't see anyone directly asking Tab Ramos why the team's most influential offensive talent isn't playing.  While a lot of attention was paid to the midfield this offseason (Joe Corona and Derek Jones have been quality additions soo far) it was hard to think either of them would supplant Quintero as a starter, much less as a focal point.  Matias Vera is a nice player.  He plays hard, is a decent defender, and a smart passer but he offers little going forward.  Memo is Memo.  Memo has guts and grit and plays well.  But when he makes a play it's more from determination than skill (see his week 1 goal as example).  Rodriguez is a willing defender, but is his defending up top more valuable than what Quintero can create offensively?  I think we are at the point in the season where this question has to be asked.  I'm not going to deep dive into Memo on this one, but I do want to deep dive into Quintero's usefulness and how I think Tab is missing an opportunity.

Is Darwin as bad defensively as we think?

When the season first started, I had two trains of thought. (1) Darwin is just being held out of preseason games to keep his legs fresh.  (2) Darwin has to have some nagging injury we don't know about.  Now, things have switched to (Positive thought) We are just keeping his legs fresh for the summer and for the second half of the season. (Negative thought) He's done here and we are looking to get rid of him.  It's no secret, Tab wants to press high and defend from the front.  He wants teams to earn every inch of the pitch against his team. I've read where Quintero doesn't fit into this, but last year he had more attempted tackles (31) than Memo (26), and a higher pressure success rate (28.6% - 26.3%)  In 52 minutes this year, he has more tackles (4)  than Tyler Pasher (2) Maxi Urruti (1) and Ariel Lassiter (1). He's outperforming Pasher (28), Lassiter (30) and Christian Ramirez in the number of pressures (30) and his success rate is only slightly behind Derek Jones (30.2%) even with Lassiter (30%) and higher than Fafa Picault (28%).  I'm fully aware that Darwin isn't a defensive stalworth, but he's outperforming guys in this area who can't come close to what he brings offensively.  Darwin isn't great at getting his foot on the ball, he's not great at chasing down balls and getting recoveries, but he's also (historically) on par with others that are playing in front of him.  So truthfully, the answer is we lose some defensively if we switch him out with Memo. We lose a lot if he takes minutes from Corona, Vera, or Jones.  

How effective is Quintero offensively?

Do we really need stats to back this up?  The answer is, at creating goal-scoring chances: extremely. If you look at the top five players creating goal-scoring chances from last year, he was #1 by a pretty decent margin. His goal-scoring actions off of Live Passes was #2 in the league (80) and only 8 behind leader Alejandro Pozuelo and 20 more than third-place Christian Espinoza. His number this year is actually higher than last year despite his limited playing time.  End of the day, he's the best shot creator in MLS.  Not only do our eyes back it up, the data does too.

Last Year's Team - Comparable Statistics. 

2021 Possession and Goal/Shot Creation Stats.

Even though Memo has really improved in that area this year, and the addition of Tyler Pasher has added another layer, neither can produce these actions at the level of Darwin Quintero.  The Dynamo are actually down 4 shot-creating (23 in 2020 vs 19 in 2021) actions per game with Darwin out of the lineup, and with an offense as anemic as they have had this year they could use those extra chances. The Dynamo have gone from ranking 5th in Shots/90 in 2020 to 20th this year.  Without Quintero's creative playmaking ability, the Dynamo offense is at times stagnant.  Tabs system is a timing-based, ball movement and people movement attack.  It requires crisp passing and well-timed/executed runs.  As some guys (Vera, Corona, Memo) are logging heavy minutes, that movement and crispness have fallen off at times.  It's hard to run to open space AND defend the length of the pitch for 90 minutes every game.  Quintero can help take the pressure off of this by simply utilizing space, finding his way through the defense, and allowing tired legs to get through.  

Many times this year we've seen Fafa or Pasher streaking the flank with the ball, only to  yell "Somebody get with him!" It's my buddy Wade's rallying cry during games.  While Quintero doesn't help with this, he gives a second layer to that attack.  He helps open up the pull-back pass.  He helps to create up the middle through the teeth of the defense where your only option isn't hoping that Fafa can just outrun everybody.  He helps balance out the "lob it into 5'8 Memo or 5'6" Vera" attack we see at times. He gives the attack another dimension.

How bad has it gotten?

There was one interview where this was topic was brought up recently.  It was an interview that Darwin did with Jorge Clará from Deporte Total USA.  Not sure how many of you saw it, and if you're a Spanish speaker click the link and tell me if I got this wrong. Now, admittedly, I speak zero Spanish and I'm relying on translations, but things seem unlikely to turn around in terms of playing time.  Darwin said that he understands he doesn't fit what Tab is trying to do from the wing.  His size and two-way ability are lacking compared to the others on the team.  He said the locker room is good, and he has a good relationship with Tab, but that if he isn't playing as a starter or as a sub that he would have to sit down with the team at the next transfer window.  There were also reports that he had told Tab that if he wasn't in the plans for Saturday against Colorado, he'd rather not make the trip.  These aren't good circumstances, and while I understand that Tab is trying to win through building up the defense, leaving your most efficient creator on the bench is creating a bad situation.  I know that Darwin is 33, but using him as a situational starter, or flipping roles with Memo needs to be considered.

Why is this important?

Don't let the "He's the only DP" language distract you.  Yes, that's important.  But Urruti and Parker make DP money, they just don't have the tag.  Christian Ramirez almost makes DP money too, and Fafa makes more than Elis did (who was labeled a young DP).  Personally, I think the DP tag is stupid and needs to be gotten rid of, but that's a whole other topic.  However, if you're treating your only Designated player this way, why would anyone else want to come here under that label?  You're running the risk of running guys away before they even sign, and then you have to look for "Potential DP's" (i.e. Alberth Elis and Mauro Monatas).  We are pretty much down that road already.  But......this is professional sports.  Word gets around, and while we have made a habit of signing guys who are from small leagues in South America on frees, is that really how we want to continue in perpetuity?

I'm a coach myself, and by no means am I suggesting that you play a guy simply because of a label.  I believe in playing guys that give you the best chance to win regardless of reputation or label.  We know that some players don't fit certain systems, and being that Darwin is on the wrong side of 30, and is severely undersized, this could be a bad fit for him.  However, he's still the best option you've got at creating something out of nothing.  He's still one of the best the league has, and you have to find a role for him somewhere on this team.  

It matters organizationally long term.  If we ever want another player of his caliber, we have to treat him with the respect that he's due.

Summary:

I find it shockingly absurd that the Dynamo played 3 games in 8 days against solid opponents and Darwin managed to not make the rotation.  I don't understand how, in a desperate need to rotate the squad, (with Tyler Pasher out of action for the entire swing) Darwin DNP'd in two games and managed only 7 minutes as a sub in the first game.  I don't understand how Pasher goes down to injury, and Darwin gets less playing time.  I completely don't understand why Ariel Lassiter is the first man off the bench in many games. And even though they play different positions, how do Jose Bizama, Darwin Ceren, Alejandro Fuenmayor, Christian Ramirez, and Nico Limoine all have more minutes than Quintero?  This team could use an offensive spark.  They don't have to look for the summer transfer window to get it.  They don't have to look for Free Agents hanging around after this season is over in Europe (even though they need to dig through that junk drawer).  They have that spark on the bench and just need to figure out how to utilize it.

Thanks again for reading,

#HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange.

Brian