Showing posts with label New York Red Bull. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York Red Bull. Show all posts

Sunday, April 16, 2023

We don't know how to feel: RBNY1 1:1 HDFC

 

If you take it at face value, it's something we should be excited about.  The ability to earn a point, ANY POINTS on the road is something that has been absent from the Houston Dynamo repertoire for nearly a decade.  To those who woke up this morning and looked at the box score, you might shrug your shoulders and think "Hey, Alright!". But to those who watched the game or were there?  There are so many ways you can look at this game and soo many takeaways, it's like one of my favorite quotes from George R.R. Martin: We all look up at the same stars, and see such different things.  

Positive Outlook (A.K.A. the Web Tilton):


We earned a point on the road without Hector Herrera.  To get in the playoffs you have to get whatever points you can away, and we were able to do that last night. Despite all the problems going forward, we defended like we meant it. The backline of Steres, Bartlow, Hadebe, and Escobar had another stellar outing, and Clark was on point for 99.9% of the night.  We also earned a point when we were vastly outplayed and SHOULD have won the game.  We actually created a goal in the run of play, our defense is shaping into one of the better defenses in the league, and we pulled down a point starting only 1 DP.

Debbie Downer Outlook:


We should have won the game.  We were up 1-0 and gave up the lead in the 89th minute.  RBNY is one of the worst teams in the league, and we need 3 points here no matter where we played.  

Eeyore Outlook:


We didn't even deserve the point we got.  We were completely dominated in every way and scored a lucky goal.  Giving up the goal in the 89th minute was the most "Dynamo" thing ever.  This team is terrible.  We haven't beaten anyone good, we can't win on the road, we can't score goals, and our DP striker is sitting on the bench.  If we can't score goals, we aren't winning anything this year.

The Truth:

It was an ugly, boring game.  The Red Bull press absolutely killed the Dynamo last night.  Without Hector Herrera helping control the midfield and with no real threat to score OR get behind the Red Bull back line, the Dynamo could barely get out of their own half.
This game actually looked soo much like the Post Alberth Elis Dynamo it was scary.  Almost, but not identical because they managed to grind out a point AND Hadebe, Bartlow, Escobar and Clark defended with intent. It's also true that (1) Raines is not ready to play attacking midfielder of any kind, especially out wide. (2) Bassi disappears during open play.  (3) Corey Baird's only value going forward is drawing fouls.  Anything that requires him to put the ball at his feet and make an actual play is not going to happen.  In fact, Corey Baird's stats on last might: 90 mins, 27 touches (0 inside the box), 0 shots, 0 key passes, 14 passes completed, 1 tackle that ended up in this:
2/3rds of this play are why Baird brings value to this team.  It's the end of that play that has a large part of this fanbase asking for something better. Baird is a smart, heads-up defender.  His work-rate is good and he plays hard.  He draws fouls in dangerous situations and has been beaten up pretty good doing just that this year.  But he can't play with the ball at his feet.  We all saw the assist against the Galaxy.  If you watched, you also noticed that the Galaxy made almost no attempt to actually guard him at all on the play.  It was drill work: playing against cones.  This isn't a call for Sebas necessarily, but there has to be a better option than this somewhere out there.  Pat's signed 4 LBs this year, he just went out and dropped over $1mil for an insurance policy at CB.   Surely there is some attacking talent out there that can defend like our current #9 and actually make a play.  At least Victor Araiza is out there asking the right questions:


So, should we be happy that we managed to pull a point out of that performance? Should we be excited about the defending of our back four and encouraged by Clark's performance? Should we be embarrassed that we played soo poorly, concerned that we handled the press so badly, and gave up a late goal to equalize?  Should we be angry that an attack performing soo anemically does so with the a guy who had 16 goal contributions last year sits on the bench, and that we may have not done enough to make the playoffs this year?  The answer to ALL of that is yes.  

Up Next:


Thanks again for reading,
Remember to always #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange,
Brian





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