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

The strange and curious goings on vs. Austin FC.

Well, this rivalry got heated quick.  I mean, I understand it.  I just don't get it.  In only a year of existence, the 290 Derby heated up quicker than a Hot Pocket.  And, just like a Hot Pocket, everyone who bites into it runs the risk of melting the roof of their mouth off with nuclear levels of heat.  Let's be real with each other for a minute.......this entire rivalry is childish. Just like most things going on in America today this matchup has a bunch of grown adults acting like petulant 6-year-olds.  So, just like you should do with a couple of toddlers throwing temper tantrums at pre-school, let's sit down and hash this out.  The two sides need to set some ground rules, boundaries, and get to know one another a little bit.

(1) Austin F.C. Fans, you are more than welcome to come to Houston and cheer on your team.

This is the south (we here in Houston like that, despite certain writers in Austin running from it like it were a swear word), we treat people with hospitality and respect......or at least we fake it really well for the sake of being southern.  This isn't Philadelphia.  Not all of us #ForeverOrange followers are Hooligans just setting out looking to brawl.  Most of us are ashamed of the Hooligan nature of a very small contingent of our fans. So #Verde, despite what some of you are saying about us and our entire fanbase/city, that's nowhere near an accurate depiction. I know you are new to all this, so let's review some basic respect here. 

(1) Show up, cheer your team on, pound your drums and sing your songs.  However, throwing green smoke on our field?  Probably a bad idea.  Booing our team in our stadium?  That's disrespectful.  It's embarrassing to have you outsing us in our own stadium, but something we will have to hang our collective heads and deal with. 

(2) Don't act like you're better than us.  If we are being real, your team hasn't done anything.....at all.  To show up to our stadium and act like you own it is disrespectful. To be honest with you, your team was a slightly less hot pile of garbage than ours was last year.  Congrats.  We know you are off to a great start, but you've never accomplished anything in this league. Sorry, not sorry.

(3) Just show some proper level of respect as you would if you were in somebody's home you didn't know.  You wouldn't show up to someone's house with muddy shoes and start smoking cigars in their house, telling them their cooking sucks and disrespecting their significant other.  Treat our stadium like you are a guest because that's exactly what you are.  I'll admit, during last year's game I looked at Wade and said "That's pretty awesome, but who do these people think they are bringing their drums into OUR stadium?" I'm not saying it was wrong of you to bring them in.  I'm saying your energy was something we hadn't seen, and a little bit shocking.  There's a duality to it, I appreciated it and was angry about it at the same time.  

We know you guys beat us twice last year, and we're kinda grumpy about it.  There are Dynamo fans here in Houston that have pride in our team and our city, but (sporting-wise) we've been on hard times recently.  I'm all for the support you give your team.....truly. Just please keep it classy.....which brings me to my next point.

(2) Dynamo Fans, Austin FC is great for MLS, let's treat them with respect.

Not gonna lie, I'm actually a little jealous of the support and fanfare Austin F.C. has generated in their short time.  It's phenomenal.  We here in Houston can act like jilted lovers, pointing out how fake it is (I'm making a point Austin F.C. fans, relax) and blah blah blah blah blah, or we can accept the fact that what they are doing there is good for the league and hopefully pushes our FO to be better.  100%, they are currently our annoying brothers......well, really more like our annoying distant cousin. They just got here and are acting like they won the league even though they were terrible last season and have never done anything.  I get it. But we can't just threaten them or start smacking them around.  That's not what this city is about.  That's not what this team or this fanbase is about.  I'm not telling you to cheer for them, but it's ok to laugh at them on the inside because they're being a little ridiculous.  As much as we don't like it, it's actually a good thing.  Look at all the empty stadiums across the league. Look at all the empty seats in our own stadium! This league needs more ridiculous, and we could actually do a little to emulate it. I seriously hate every MLS team not named the Houston Dynamo, but I also want to see a league with stadiums packed (including ours).  Let them have their fun, this league and this sport need it.

(3) Please, for the love.....put down the Twitter Muscles. 

#Verde, I'm letting you know (as @HoustonDynamPod tried to do in a very ineloquent way) that there are those among us who will take the things I mentioned above as disrespect.  We all know what happened last year.  You guys are accusing all of us of being Hooligans.  I can promise you that 99.5% of us are not.  So, let's all put down the Twitter muscles, let's all stop flexing our thumbs and digitizing our testosterone.  Stop lumping us all in the same boat. Y'all need to just relax, it's a game.  I love a good, heated rivalry.  I'm a Cowboys fan.  Literally, everyone who isn't one of us hates us. But let it play out on the field.  People on both sides need to quit looking for trouble on Twitter, because you might actually find some.  

Everyone just relax.

It's going to be fun.  Austin FC, I'm glad you're doing well.  Enjoy it, it's exciting and it's awesome.  I hate you guys, but I'm glad that you are off to a good start and have an enthusiastic fan base.  I'm jealous.  I'd love to have the fanbase you guys have here.  So show up, cheer on your team, keep it classy, and everything will be fine. 

3 points are 3 Points: Dynamo 4:3 Earthquakes

 

What.....a.......game.  This game had a lot of everything.  It was action-packed, back and forth, had a lot of "firsts", and ended in 3 points.  It wasn't always pretty, it ended up being a nail-biter, but it got the job done.  15,414 people inside PNC got to see one of the more exciting games in a while. There is a lot to be excited about after this win, and a little to be concerned about as well.  Let's take a look at what happened, unpack a few things, and start looking forward to next Saturday vs. Portland.

The First 45 Minutes:

With San Jose pressing high in the midfield, the Dynamo spread out wide looking to build out of the back and make the San Jose front line run.  With a backline of Bartlow and Hadebe, Nagamura was utilizing two center backs who have good downfield vision and accuracy in order to break lines and put keep San Jose's backline honest.  Mattias Vera was spending time either dropping between the CB's or working his way upfield behind San Jose's forwards and midfield.  Starting Pasher, Quintero, and Picault gave the Dynamo enough speed and playmaking that if the ball got through, there was a great chance to capitalize.  San Jose pushed high in the midfield and dominated possession through the early parts, as in the first 15 minutes San Jose managed to take 7 possessions away from the Dynamo, many of which before the ball even crossed midfield. Vera fired the first warning shot (5 mins in), a deep ball left of middle that was just beyond a streaking Fafa Picault.  The Dynamo were winning the ball back early in their attacking third.  Lundkvist got a steal and found Tyler Pasher, which turned into a throw-in.  Coco intercepted a pass and got another throw-in.  On the throw-in, Dorsey hit a nice weighted pass to Pasher, who centered it to Fafa.  The ball was a little to far in front of Fafa and Paul Marie cut him off and knocked it out for a corner.  That's when the magic happened. 

The setup on the corner was nice.  Pasher, Fafa, and Bartlow all pushed hard to the near post.  Hadebe circled around to the back post, with Sebas filling in the gap directly behind Bartlow.  Darwin had set up just in front of the near post, bringing a defender with him. 

Lundkvist hit nice ball that was timed just right off the corner.  A low bouncing ball that laid up perfectly at Sebas' right foot.  Sebas timed it great and had a sliver of daylight to the near post between defenders.  He didn't hit it great, but he hit it just well enough.

The ball tucked in just past a diving J.T. Marcinkowski for Sebas' first goal of the year to put the Dynamo up 1-0.  It was Houston's 2nd set-piece goal of the season and looked like it came straight off the training ground.  Only seconds later, Sebas gobbled up a loose ball off a bad pass from Cade Cowell and fired it downfield to Fafa on the run again.  Fafa cut back inside and hit a shot with his right foot, but didn't get it clean and the ball was an easy one for Marcinkowski to pick up. The Earthquakes came right back, as Monteiro found Ebobise in a nice pocket.  Ebobise got a decent shot off that was blocked by Ethan Bartlow.  After the goal, San Jose pushed even higher, making it very difficult for the Dynamo to even complete a pass.  They were dominating possession (68% possession over the first 15 minutes of play), winning the ball back constantly around the midfield line, and building off runs and direct passes.  From minutes 10-25, San Jose completely dominated the run of play.  Bartlow, Hadebe, and Lundkvist were doing a solid job turning them away, but you could see San Jose was building.  San Jose would hold the ball for long stretches with their backline, swinging it side to side and looking to take advantage of gaps in the Dynamo midfield.  They almost hit the Dynamo on a counter (21st minute) when Jackson Yuell snatched up a bad ball from Sebas in the midfield and found Marcos Lopez on a run down the left side. Lopez tried to wrecking ball his way through two Orange defenders (Vera and Dorsey), went down in the box, and got a Yellow for simulation instead.  It didn't take much longer for the Earthquakes to equalize, as Cade Cowell found Jeremy Ebobise right in front of the net in a huge pocket.  The build-up was decent, but not unguardable.  Christian Espinoza had a nice switch across the field to Cowell who brought the ball deep inside the box down the left flank.  The back 4 set deep in front of the 6-yard box, the midfield didn't make it back, leaving a huge pocket for Ebobise to settle into.  Hadebe reacted a step late and Ebobise hit it in the top corner (25th minute).
For the next few minutes, the game resembled more "Pinball Wizard" than a soccer match, as the ball was bouncing back and forth in the middle third like guys were trying to hit bumpers to collect points. One of those balls found its way through, and Coco found the end of it.  He raced past the defense to track down a really nice pass from Quintero, took two good touches on it, and was in a position to get a good shot.  Marcinkowski and Francisco Calvo had done a good job walling him up and cutting off any angles, and Coco fired a left-footer right at the keeper.

There was no time to think about it, as Marcinkowski hopped up and fired one downfield and San Jose was pinging passes all over the place.  When the ball found Jan Gregus on the right side, Ebobise was set up in his favorite spot again.  The cross was decent, Hadebe gave Ebobise too much space and mistimed his jump, and Ebobise beat him to it and headed one just passed Steve Clark.  This is part Hadebe giving him too much space, and part poor teamwork by the backline as Ebobise broke through a sliver between them, but there were huge gaps in the back on the ball in.  Hadebe seemed to be caught in between two, reacted a second late to this one too, and got beat to the ball. 2:1 San Jose, and at this point, with the way San Jose was holding possession, I was extremely worried about snagging points.

The game didn't change course much for the rest of the first half, as San Jose played high and compressed and was tempting the Dynamo to beat them deep.  In my opinion, Matías Almeyda got greedy chasing a 3rd goal and near the end of the first half, it came back to bite him.  

• 39:30 - The Dynamo finally break through, Vera hits a pass that gets Pasher through, Pasher fires a right-footer into  The Texian Army
• 42:00 - Immediately after San Jose pushed bodies forward deep in Dynamo territory, holding possession and winning every second ball.  Darwin Quintero steps in front of a Cade Cowell pass and finds Vera.  Vera plays one back to Steve Clark.  Clark punches one deep that finds the chest of Calvo. Calvo's control was sloppy and Quintero raced in to scoop up the ball. Quintero hits a perfect ball to Pasher who is in a foot race with Marcos López.   López did just enough to knock Pasher off his path, Marcinkowski rushes out to knock the ball away.  The ball seemed to bounce for an eternity.  Quintero chased it down and snuck one into the lower right corner - 2:2.
• 45+1 - Bartlow fires a tremendous ball 60 yards to Quintero.  The ball holds up just a bit, and Quintero tries to lob it over Marcinkowski.  The San Jose Keeper doesn't bite, and the ball comes right to him. 

It took the Dynamo the better part of 40 minutes to really start hitting on these, but they had found cracks and were really threatening.  

The Second 45 Minutes:

San Jose came out hellbent on getting that third goal.  With the frontline stretched, San Jose was finding huge gaps in the midfield in the early parts of the second half. Christian Espinosa (twice) and Jan Gregus managed to find openings and fire off fairly dangerous shots in the first 6 minutes of the half.  Houston found its way back on the counter after Teenage tracked down a bad pass at midfield.  After braking hard on a soft pass, Teenage collected the ball and hit Quintero on the run.  Quintero weighted a pass to Sebas who tried to touch it past the defender, but the touch was a little too aggressive and Marcinkowski managed to get out and get wide.  The shot deflected back off Sebas for a goal kick.  As fatigue started to set in from the frantic pace, the game got pretty sloppy.  Glenn Davis and Eddie Robinson both described the game as "pinball".  Both teams were having problems getting it out of the middle third, with the occasional run. Finally, in the 55th minute, Coco corralled a pass and fired one 40 yards on a rope to Fafa on the run, Fafa slowed slightly to control the ball, and the shot was deflected out for a corner. Lundy put a good foot on it, it found Fafa's head but deflected back inside the box.  Hadebe hit the rebound back into the goal, 3:2 good guys.

With Pasher and Fafa now sitting higher to look to counter, Hadebe and Bartlow had to be a lot more active to keep The frontline of San Jose from breaking through.  Finally, in the 67th minute. They hit again. Dorsey intercepted a pass and immediately fired one to Fafa on the run.  Fafa took it, cut back inside, and found Sebas about 12 yards out.  Sebas had plenty of time, set it, and blasted one that Marcinkowski managed to deflect but it went past him into the goal 4:2. Paulo tried to settle the game down at this point, bringing on fresh legs (Memo and Thor), but you could tell that Coco and Vera were wearing down. Ebobise's 75th minute chance from 8 yards out came after Eric Remedi roasted Coco to the touchline. Seconds later, Tommy Thompson found the back of the net after the ball wound up in his lap after a corner deflection.  Nobody marked Thompson, and although Memo tried to rotate over he was late.  That was the end of the scoring, but nowhere near the end of the drama.  San Jose owned the final 15 minutes of play. Baird came on (76th) for Pasher, freshening up the frontline even more, but San Jose was overwhelming Forever Orange for the final stretch.   San Jose managed 8 shots over the last 15 minutes (plus added time), 3 of which were on target.  Ebobise's 84th-minute header was just soft enough that Clark was able to snag it on a dive.  His 87th-minute shot came after he took on the entire backline by himself.  Clark had one more save up his sleeve to secure the win after Gregus' free-kick found its way through the wall and was bouncing to the near post.  You had to hold your breath for the last 20 minutes of play, but in the end in earned 3 points.

Game Notes

Coco Carrasquilla

It's hard to be critical of a guy that made a lot of really good plays, but Coco was up and down all night.  He had some tremendous downfield passes and made several plays with the ball at his feet to keep possessions alive.  He had an excellent run early in the game that led to him being in a good goal-scoring position.  He picked up 6 tackles + interceptions, had 5 recoveries, and was extremely active in the midfield.  But he also gave the ball away several times in horrible positions a lot.  He (4) and Vera (4) accounted for half of the Dynamo passes that were intercepted.  He wasn't great in the short passing game (71%), and was part of the reason the Dynamo couldn't get the ball across midfield for much of the game.

The Possession Game

The Dynamo possession game wasn't on point Saturday night.  Part of that was because of the pressure being applied by Monteiro, Gregus, and Yueill, and part of that was because San Jose was doing a good job playing possession with their backline.  The Dynamo rarely found ways through and were relegated to rely on deep downfield passes most of the night.  San Jose leads MLS in possession % by a pretty good margin, and their 67.4% possession (WhoScored.com) on Saturday only padded that stat.

Griffen Dorsey

Dorsey was all over the place.  He picked up 14 loose balls, had 3 tackles, 3 interceptions, and was up and down the right line all night.  Dorsey and Lundkvist seemed entrenched at the backs, and outside of a squad rotation here and there I don't see either coming out of the lineup much.

Next Up

Saturday 4/16/2022 vs Portland Timbers

Last 6: Portland owns the series recently, got 4-0-2 over the last 6 and outscoring the Dynamo 13-5 over that span.

Hope to see you there.

Until then, remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

Brian

Finally!

Can you enjoy a road win against a not-so-good Inter Miami team?  When it's been since August 25, 2020 (that 586 days by the way), you better believe it.  Can you believe that was Tab Ramos' first win as a coach.....that's how long it's been. You know, back when people were excited that Tab Ramos was our coach?  It was a 5-2 blasting of Sporting KC, and then we decided to sell Alberth Elis. When you are the Houston Dynamo, this is a game you should win.  Inter Miami is in Shambles, and despite having bigger names and flashier toys, they are a team that isn't very good.  Winning a game they should win hasn't always been the easiest thing to do.  While of course there are things to nit-pick at, there are also things we can celebrate. Let's roll up our sleeves and put in the work, and see what we can dig up.

Curiosities before the game:

One thing I'm really starting to like about Paulo Nagamura is the fact that he is completely unafraid to throw guys out there and rotate the squad.  Early on, it's somewhat working, and defensively the team has been pretty consistent.  There were a couple of surprises in the roster selection when it was released.  I was pretty shocked to see (1) Ethan Bartlow in the starting ll (2) Tim Parker and Daniel Steres not even in the 18.  Bartlow played pretty well in the inaugural DynamoDos game the week before.  He positioned himself well and flashed some of his deep passing skills that he was known for at Washington.  Ethan even joined the attack a few times late and hit a nice shot late in the game that was saved by the Vancouver 2 keeper.  It is great to me to see Bartlow in the starting 11 for the first team, but was a little curious not having Parker or Steres even in the team.  Ian Hoffman made the trip and was in the 18, and Memo got the start after Coco returned from International duty.

Miami came out with a fairly attack-minded 11.  Phil Neville's crew had only managed 2 goals entering the game, and the starting lineup of Ariel Lassiter and Robbie Robinson got two of his more dangerous wingers in the lineup.  17-year-old Noah Allen picked up his 3rd start of the season, and the always dangerous Gonzalo Higuain pointed the attack.  The game started over an hour late thanks to a lightning delay, but both the game opened up like it energized them.

The first 45 minutes:

The opening 15 minutes of play was full-bore back and forth action, and really exciting to watch.  Corey Baird opened the frenzy with a  right-footed blast off a nice 1-2 combo from Sebastian Ferriera and Darwin Quintero that was low and to Nick Marsman's right, but he managed to get down and punch the ball away.  :42 seconds into the game, and you could tell that both teams were going after it.  On the following corner, Quintero took a short one, made a move, and found Teenage Hadebe mid-box who hit a wild left-footer that was blocked.  It didn't take long for Inter Miami to answer back.  They immediately began firing test shots down the field, probing the Dynamo defense and keeping Steve Clark plenty busy.  Many of them were down the right side, as Inter seemed determined to take on Griffen Dorsey and Ethan Bartlow.  At the 4:00-mark, Robbie Robinson hit a beautiful 40 pass to Higuain on a dime, in behind Bartlow.  Bartlow just managed to recover, and with a little luck knocked it out for a corner.  Higuain bended a pretty corner into the box (which Fafa managed to head away), and Jean Mota fired one from about 25 yards out one time that went sailing over the goal. Immediately after, Hadebe scorched a perfectly weighted ball through all the lines to Fafa on a dead sprint.  Fafa's run was perfect and he was 1v1 with the keeper, but Marsman did a good job cutting off the angle to Fafa's right foot.  Marsman knocked it away, but it's a chance Fafa HAS to finish. Both teams were sitting mid-high blocks, and the action was extremely quick and fast-paced like a Bundesliga game. 

• 5:58 - after Sebas turns the ball over just outside the box, Miami builds up an attack down the left side (Dorsey's side). Allen overlaps, fires in a cross, Miami wins the second ball, and Lassiter fires a left-footer that Clark saves at the near post.
• 8:26 - Inter Miami building again, Robinson finds Mota just outside the 18.  Mota blasts a left-footed strike that is directly at Clark.
• 11:00 - Memo plays short corner to DQ, who taps it back to Memo.  Memo fires a perfect cross to Fafa directly in front of the goal, about 5 yards out.  Fafa gets a terrible head on it and it winds up in the stands.
• 18:31 - Lassiter makes a great run down the right side, collects a ball of a terrific back heal from Mota, and finds Taylor just outside the 18.  Taylor fires it wide right.
• 20:29 - after a terrible turnover by Sebas, Miami streaks down the right side. Robbie Robinson makes a terrific move, turning Bartlow around.  Bartlow drops but Teenage slides in and manages to block Robinson's shot for a corner.
• 21:31 - Mota fires a nice lofted ball to Robbie Robinson behind everyone.  The ball is about a foot too high and Houston wins a goal kick.
• 22:43 - Ethan Bartlow hits a bad leftie to Dorsey, Miami takes the ball deep in their own third.  Quintero accidentally deflects a ball directly to Robinson.  Robinson finds Lassiter who Lassiter's it nowhere close to the goal.
• 23:28 - Lundkvist hits a great ball 50 yards to Ferreira.  Ferreira is trying to fight off two Miami defenders who hold him off just as Marsen corrals the ball.
• 24:44 - Bartlow Fires one deep to Fafa, just a bit too far.  

And on and on and on it went.  Miami was in control of the game, Houston had the most dangerous chances, neither scored and we went into half-time 0-0.  Despite winning most of the cumulative stats (12 shots, 50.5% possession), they never really seemed all that dangerous.  Houston had cracked Miami WIDE open several times but failed to capitalize.  Miami was determined to try to attack down the wings, and I'm never nervous when Ariel Lassiter has the ball.....unless he's on my team.  

It didn't take long:

Immediately in the second half (or immediately after the ESPN+ feed came back on), Higuain had an opportunity behind the Houston defense, but was just offside.  Houston began to build, and finally, it happened. What started as nothing out of the usual, Houston was poking and prodding the Miami defense.  Slow build, look for gaps, and finally Memo found one.  

He laced a terrific pass, splitting two defenders to a wide-open Griffen Dorsey. Dorsey faked inside, cut back outside, and created an angle that gave him the sideline.  Sebas went near post, with Darwin running middle and Fafa covering the back post.

The ball took a slight deflection off of Noah Allen's ankle, which gave it a little extra loft and changed the trajectory enough to throw off both the goalkeeper and his cover. Sebas run pulled the defenders apart, leaving DQ with a clear path to the ball.

DQ beat Yedlin to the ball, and got just enough head on it to beat Marsen and put the Dynamo up 1:0

15 minutes later, DQ helped make it 2:0 on a horrendous play by Marsen after Bartlow lofted one into the 18.  Marsman charged, mistimed his jump, and while reaching up with his right hand to catch it actually laid it in the lap of Quintero.  Marsman had no choice but to tackle Quintero like a defensive end, handing Quintero a penalty.  I was actually surprised that Fafa took it instead of Sebas, but Fafa was money last year.  I thought with Sebas being what Sebas is, the team would hand him the penalty to try to get him on track.  However, Fafa stepped up and hit a laser past Marsman's right and increase the lead to two.  Marsman had guessed correctly but just couldn't get to it. Two minutes later, Steve Clark repaid the favor just trying to make a play. Jean Mota fireballed one into a crowd that pinballed around and ended up behind the defense.  Clark was trying to get to it, but Robert Taylor beat him to the ball.  Clark was in a terrible position and dove for the ball, but Taylor tried to cut back outside and Clark cut out Taylor's legs with his shoulder.  It was a clear pen, but there was nothing malicious about what Clark did.  Higuain lined up to take it, and as he approached Steve Clark seemed to be faking left and set-up right.  It looked like he slipped as he went to his knees right before Gonzalo hit it, but never the less Miami had cut it to 1.  Miami really cranked up the pressure and was throwing people forward, but Houston was had dropped Coco (70th minute sub for Memo) and Vera deeper in their own half, constantly outnumbering any chances Miami had.  

Pasher (75th Minute), Thor (75th Minute), and Coco (70th minute) had come on and brought some fresh legs.  Junqua and Ceren came on in the 84th minute for Baird and Vera, bringing on some fresh defensive legs.  When the 4th official held up 6 minutes of added time, I almost threw something at the television.  There was a strong feeling we were bringing home 3 points on the road for the first time since we've changed Presidents, and the 6 minutes game me an uneasy feeling.  But that's when Fafa exploded. After a terrific tackle by Coco in the box, the ball squirted through for a throw-in.  Coco went down, holding his leg, and you could see that Miami was visibly frustrated by him going down.  Coco got up, received the throw-in, and turned and fired to Tyler Pasher right in the mid-field circle. 

Pasher charged hard right at Noah Allan who was defending the entire right side of the Dynamo attack by himself.  When he hit the pass, Fafa wasn't even in the screen and I jumped off my couch.

Fafa came racing out of nowhere off-screen.  It was a really nice pass from Pasher with good touch on it.  It laid up right in front of Fafa who was now all alone.

Fafa took one really nice touch and bent one just passed Marsman's leg. 3:1 Good Guys.

It felt great to get the win.  The Dynamo now sit at 2-1-2 on the year (8 points).  

Next up: Saturday 4/9 vs San Jose @ 7:30 PM - PNC Stadium

San Jose is last in the Western Conference, with 2 points through 5 games.  San Jose ranks last in the Western Conference (24th in MLS) in Goals against/90 (2.2).  They rank 13th in Goals/90 (tied with the Dynamo @1.2). San Jose also ranks #1 in MLS in Possession % (62%)

See you all on Saturday.

Remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

Brian

Early Position Battles: Zeca vs. Dorsey

This offseason, there was little debate which two positions every fan saw a need to upgrade: (1) Striker. Coming off back-to-back seasons of very disappointing play from our #9's, the Dynamo HAD to get a striker capable of capitalizing on chances and creating a few themselves.  (2) Right Back.  Zarek Valentine is a great guy.  I absolutely love listening to his interviews, he seems to be involved in everything the Club does (including attending Dash games), and the locker room seems to have latched on to him. But, as much as I like the guy, he was a problem last year.  Valentine isn't the quickest player, and he was often a step slow.  While no one can really question his effort (Valentine gives all he can), his slow steps often led to goals.  He also isn't a fullback that's going to help you move the ball methodically down the field, and especially isn't going to help you move it with his feet.  Message boards were literally in a panic when an early-season injury forced Valentine back on the field.  Dorsey has been the clear-cut favorite since the early days of Training Camp and has shown some flashes here in the early part of the season.  Newcomer Zeka immediately perked up ears and has been somewhat impressive in the few minutes he's been on the field.  This is a position that could use some healthy competition.  We'll take a look at the two, why they should start, and why they should sit.

Zeca

Signed on February 10th, 2022, Zeca brought with him an Olympic medal and a lot of question marks.  Many fans hoped he would be the answer at RB, while hardly any of us knew anything about him.  The 27 year old has spent his entire career playing both back positions in Brazil's Serie A (and a year in Serie B), racking up almost 13,000 minutes played professionally.  From everything I've seen, he's super quick, not afraid to take on attackers, and has a good amount of skill with the ball at his feet.  In highlights and on paper at least, he seems like the type of back that fits Pat Onstad and Paulo Nagamura's vision.  The most intriguing thing about Zeca so far, however, is that we haven't seen much of Zeca.  Listed at 5'6" and 139 lbs, the diminutive Brazillian has come on twice for the Dynamo this season.  The first appearance, a 0-1 loss to Sporting K.C., he came on in the 86th minute for Zarek Valentine and barely even touched the ball.  His second appearance, 19 minutes off the bench against Colorado, was much more impressive.  He was extremely active up and down the right flank picking up 3 interceptions, 3 tackles, 2 recoveries, and getting 24 touches.  With those touches, he managed to complete 16/19 passes, mostly connecting well up to Tyler Pasher and inside to the midfield, and bringing the ball hard into outside spaces in the attacking third.  Zeca definitely left many of us wanting to see more, and some of us calling for him to be the starter.  

Strengths:

Zeca is quick, fast, and he plays angles well on the defensive end.   He's good with the ball at his feet, does a good job taking what the defense gives him, and can strike down the sideline when it's there. While we haven't seen much of him in MLS, his time in Serie A and with the Brazillian National Team can give us a slight glimpse.  Last year at Vasco de Gama (2,567 minutes played) he was successful on 56% of his dribbles, averaged 3.1 Tackles + Interceptions per game, averaged .8 key passes per game, and lit up the heatmap down the flanks with his ball possession.  Understandably, there are skeptics out there with the numbers being accumulated in Brasil's second division.  He was producing basically the same amount during his time at Internationale.  While there is a lot still to be seen with him, two things are for sure: (1) He's an energetic player with a good work rate. (2) He has skill to get at you multiple ways on the wing, and the patience to play the ball back when he needs to.

Weaknesses:

Size.  At 5'6", 139 lbs he's a tough matchup against some of the bigger wings in MLS.  While most of the dangerous wingers in MLS aren't necessarily going to overpower him, he'll be in a considerable size disadvantage on most nights.   

Why he should start:

Because he seems like a perfect fit for Paulo Nagamura's system and from the flashes we've seen he could be the RB we've been waiting for.  Playing him on the outside could take some creative pressure off of Corey Baird, and he's played well enough in the brief glimpse we've had of him to warrant a longer look. 

Why he should sit:

Because the bench has little to offer going forward, and Zeca could be an energy producer late in games to help turn the tide. Because he's still adjusting to a new league and a new coach, and because he wasn't here for all of training camp and isn't ready.

Griffin Dorsey

Believe it or not, Griffin Dorsey has been better than you think.  While he hasn't been Kyle Walker, he's been fairly solid in his 1 1/2 games starting at RB.  Dorsey, the former Generation Addidas player we scooped up last year, Dorsey is a guy with good size (5'11" 165), and speed.  The one-time #6 pick in the MLS Super Draft, Griffin came into the year having played the vast majority of his time as a pro up and down the right side of formations.  Dorsey seems to have settled in at RB since the start of camp.  Dorsey just turned 23, and still only has a little over 3600  minutes played as a professional.  Dorsey made a lot of strides last year towards becoming a dependable professional, and (from the limited amount we've seen of him) also made a decent jump over the offseason.  Dorsey could be a guy who makes a nice, long career here in Houston if he can continue his upward trajectory.  There has been little actual controversy as to who's position this is to man through the early part of the year.  Starting all preseason and in the first game of the year, Dorsey missed a game and a half with a slight leg injury before returning to the starting lineup against Vancouver and the Colorado Rapids.

Strengths:

Dorsey is an attack-minded player who is not scared to take on defenders or play crosses into the box.  He gets forward, he plays direct, and he's fairly good with the ball at his feet.  Dorsey is a good athlete and has good (but not great) straight-line speed.  He can cover box to box down the sideline, and is normally in the right position on defense.  Dorsey ranks 4th in total distance progressed with the ball at his feet, is 2nd in progressive carriers (18) and second in times progressed into the attacking 3rd (9). He's winning the Dynamo back possessions with high frequency, ranking 2nd on the team in tackles + interceptions, tied (12) with Mattias Vera and one behind Fafa Picault (13) although he's played 150 less minutes than either.  He's picked up as many loose balls as Daniel Steres, who's played the full 90 in every game.  Dorsey has been extremely active, and more often than not in the right places to find the ball.  He's also hitting the ball downfield and connecting to Quintero and the forwards.  He has 11 progressive passes in 206 minutes played. Dorsey is He's a decent all-around back who's young and athletic and should have a lot of upside and room to grow.

Weaknesses:

Defending.  Dorsey has trouble defending space in 1v1 situations.  He's not a terrible defender, but he can get his hips turned and beat back to the inside.  Some of this is from not playing a ton of minutes as a defender.  While it's not killing the Dynamo at the moment, it's an area he definitely needs to improve on.  His passing accuracy on creating that final pass inside the attacking third also needs work.  Griffin has to get better at getting his crosses by the first man and picking out teammates instead.  While he's not scared of taking defenders on, he needs to improve in that area also.  He's been dispossessed 4 times, which is 3rd on the team.

Why he should start:

Because he's been solid on both sides of the ball and helped balance out an attack that was very one-dimensional last year.  At 23 years of age, he has room to grow into a pretty solid RB with his athleticism, mentality, and ball skill combination.

Why he should sit:

There's simply only one reason at the moment:  Zeca is better.  We can't know the answer to this until we see more of Zeca on the field.

Final Thoughts:

This has actually been one position that the Dynamo haven't had to worry about this year.  Dorsey has done his job for the most part, and has been a solid upgrade over last year.  While I think this is most likely Dorsey's job to lose, I've seen enough of Zeca to think he could be an upgrade.  While Dorsey is solid, Zeca could be the Dynamic RB we need in this "Proactive" 4-3-3 style of play.  As this team appears to be gearing up to make some noise this year with the additions coming in, we need to find the best possible 11 to put out there.

Next Up:

Hadebe vs. Steres vs. Parker

Thanks again for reading,

Remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

Brian

Early Position Battles: Baird vs. Pasher

 

As we go into a two-week hiatus during the international break, and with a little time to reflect here on the first month of the season, I want to take a look at some of the positions of interest here with our Houston Dynamo.  Through the first four games, with a 1-2-1 record (5 points, all at home), with a new coach, new playing style, and a couple of new faces, there is a lot to debate and talk about.  While I'll be the first to admit that the idea of "Position Battles" this early in the season is completely fan-made and Paulo Nagamura has given 0 indications that there are actually ongoing position battles, I think there are a few positions that are worth examining. 

Of the early going position battles, probably the most intriguing among Dynamo Fandom is at RW.  With the attack struggling to create chances and score goals, forums and social media are full of asking one thing: why does Corey Baird start?  From online petitions to FREE PASH MONEY to tons of discussions on Twitter, Reddit, and Big Soccer, this is probably the position that #ForeverOrange faithful feel the strongest about.  Without considering newly acquired Thiaghuinho to the mix yet, here's a look at the two players in as non-biased way as I can muster.

Corey Baird

Baird	Appearances	Goals	Assists	Minutes
LW	29	9	7	2,302
RW	16	2	3	1,312
LM	3	1	1	254
RM	1	0	0	87
Totals	49	12	11	3,955
Career Totals	119	19	16	7,844

Coming into the season, Baird had played about half his career as a winger/outside midfielder.  Having been fairly up and down production during his career, Baird has been a fairly productive player from the Wing position, especially on the left flank.  While the numbers aren't tremendous, posting a total of 10 goals and 8 assists from basically a year's worth of play (32 appearances, 2500 minutes played) from the left side isn't anything to be ashamed of.  While that is spread out over 5 seasons, it's still plenty of experience at the position.  The most minutes Baird has ever played there in one season is 980 during his sophomore season.  Last year, before coming to the Dynamo, Baird played 512 of his 750 minutes on the wing, posting all 3 goals and both assists from those positions.  

Strengths

There was a time, not soo long ago, when Baird was clocked as MLS's fastest player.  Baird is a high work rate guy who dwarfs Pasher in terms of Defensive stats.  His 31 pressures in the attacking third ranks 22nd in the league and is only behind Sebastian Ferreira for the Dynamo lead.  Baird has actually outdone Fafa Picault (17) in terms of applying pressure from the top.  Baird ranks 3rd in Interceptions (5), has won 2 tackles, and his 22 balls recovered rank 6th on the team.  Baird isn't scared to mix it up and go after balls.  Between his recoveries, tackles, and interceptions, he's won back 30 possessions for the Dynamo in 316 minutes played.  Bairds pressure success rate (27%) ranks first on the team among starting forwards (only Thor ranks better on the team). He's done a good job holding down the wing and defending players with the ball at their feet (2/3 in Dribblers defended).  Baird makes also well-timed runs into open space and is usually available in possession. Baird has 129 touches through his first 316 minutes of play, which isn't bad considering he's not one of the primary options with Quintero, Fafa, and Sebas playing with him up top. Of his 129 touches, 65 are in the attacking third (4th on team), 10 are inside the opponents' penalty box (4th). He's helping the Dynamo move the ball down the field, as his 15 progressive carries rank 3rd on the team, and his 17 deep balls received rank only behind Fafa (22).  Baird has been a valuable part of helping with playing "Proactive" in the early part of the season, helping win the ball back high and looking to take advantage of defensive errors.  Also, Baird has done a good job switching wings with Fafa in the flow of the game, allowing Fafa to roam to the side he finds as a better matchup and rolling into position without hiccup or mistake.

Weaknesses

Basically, anything involving ball skill. Baird has yet to beat 1 player with the dribble this year (0/7).  His passing rate (77.3%) is among the worst on the team, but also best among the front 4.  Baird's lone assist this year was a mishit chopper that was accurate, but poorly hit.  Baird has only attempted 6 crosses, on the year, and the ones he has hit have been nowhere near the mark. He's also extremely one-footed, of the 95 passes he's attempted, 82 have been with his right foot.  His 1.71 Shot Creating actions per 90 rank 161st in MLS.  Baird has only managed 3 shots through the first 4 games, none of which have been on target.  His 0.85 Shots/90 are good for 185th in MLS.  Long story short, he's providing almost nothing on the wing going forward. 

Why he should start:

Because he fits the system concept of defending from the front and taking what the defense gives you through patient buildup and smart, well-timed runs.

Why he should sit:

Because he offers little in the way of chance creation or goal scoring.

Tyler Pasher

Pasher	Appearances	Goals	Assists	Minutes
LW	24	6	3	1,910
RW	6	3	1	379
LM	10	5	1	855
RM	1	0	0	60
Totals	41	14	5	3,204
Career Totals	172	36	16	11,736

Pasher came over last year after a couple of standout years playing for USL's Indy 11.  The Canadian-born Pasher has a heavy left foot.  Posting 23 goals and 6 assists over his last two years there, Pasher came off his best year as a pro earning 2nd Team All USL-Championship honors.  Pasher got off to a blazing start last year under Tab Ramos, posting 3 goals and 2 assists through his first 8 appearances in #ForeverOrange.  He was directly involved in 5 of the Dynamo's first 11 goals, before injuries and a couple of stints playing for Team Canada derailed his time on the field.  Mostly a Center Forward throughout his career, Baird has seen a lot of action on the wings as well.   Posting a total of 3200 over 39 appearances minutes on the wing, there's a good sample size to see what Pasher can do from this position, albeit most of the sample size comes from the Championship.  Pasher has had a tuff time seeing the field this year and had a very hard time seeing the field last year after returning from his last injury stint. Pasher hasn't made a start of any kind since September 3rd, 2021, during a 2-0 home loss to Portland where he left with a 48th-minute injury.  While he's been highly productive in the ratios, he's had trouble finding the field.

Strengths

Pasher plays direct.  He's not scared to take on defenders, he plays with pace, and if he cuts back inside to his left foot he's extremely dangerous.  Pasher can fire lasers and has done so a few times in his time here already.  His passing accuracy, the sheer number of passes he played (.39 passes per minute in a Dynamo uniform), his production (5 goals and 2 assists in 881 MLS minutes played), and his shooting efficiency (5 goals on 15 shots, 60% Shots On Target) is all among the MLS's best. His 60% SOT would rank 3rd in MLS over the last two years if he had enough shots to qualify.  Pasher times his runs well and does a good job cutting in behind and finding space.  He can finish with either foot, even though he prefers his left.  Pash Money creates chances. His 5.29 Shot Creating Actions/90 would currently rank 7th in MLS if he had enough minutes to qualify, and his 3.29 last year bettered both Baird (1.99) and Fafa (1.90) Pasher's attacking ability and movement are much needed up top for a team struggling to find goals. 

Tyler Pasher with the earlyyyy goal! 🔥@HoustonDynamo take the lead! #HOUvCIN pic.twitter.com/FzXtUG13iL

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 4, 2021

Weaknesses:

Defending.  Pasher isn't a defensive forward by any means.  While last year he was effective at applying pressure (91 pressures, 36% success rate) he only managed 13 tackles + interceptions in 881 minutes played.  He doesn't recover balls at a high rate (44 in 881 minutes, as compared to Baird's 23 in 362 minutes).  Pasher isn't a guy who is going to win you extra possessions through the course of a game.  

Why he should start:

Because he's the most creative winger we currently have on the roster.  Pasher is a direct player that helps the team create chances and score goals. 

Why he should sit:

Two reasons: (1) his defending isn't a scheme or mentality fit. (2) He's the only creative player we currently have coming off the bench.

Final Thoughts:

If we could put the two together, we'd have a really good winger.  But being that the two have have vastly different skill sets, and are oppositely strong food, I could actually see them working in tandem based on matchup.  I'd love to see Pasher start against teams like Colorado, Sporting K.C., etc that press hard in the midfield and open up the wings.  I could see Baird as a better fit against San Jose, NYCFC, and Austin FC which are really dominating possession this year.  I would like to see Pasher get a start here in the near future, but I don't think that there is a clear favorite between the two.  I think Paulo has to choose based on matchup/need of the moment.

Next Up:

Zeka vs. Dorsey

Thanks again for reading,

Remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

Brian