Out of this world - Steve Clark and Co. take down LAG 3:0

 

On a Sunday night after a tough midweek loss to Seattle, the Dynamo needed to come out and build on the previous game's successes.  It's easy to look at the 1:0 loss and see it as a failure, but there were strings of runs in that game where the Dynamo (on both sides of the ball) were taking it to Seattle.  They just couldn't find the final play, the penetrating pass, or the finishing touch to draw level.  

Teenage Hadebe: "Yeah, of course, this is going to be a difficult game for us.  But it's only us that can take ourselves out of the situation.  We came here with a winning mentality, then we'll go and fight for each other. I believe it's our day then we'll come away with positive results."

There was some squad rotation yet again in this game.  As Houston is in the midst of a really heavy part of their schedule. With Coco sitting on a red, Darwin Quintero resting his legs, and Fafa also getting the night off there had to be some concern as to how exactly the Dynamo would be able to score goals.  The lineup saw a total of 5 changes from the previous game. While the Lineup didn't pan out exactly as MLS.com published it (P.S. does it ever?) I was intrigued about Thor and Ferriera up top.  Playing more like a 4-2-3-1 with Memo at the #10 and Thor on the left-wing is how it eventually played out. 

When asked in the pre-game interview with Glenn Davis what he wanted to see he simply answered "Aggression.  Be aggressive with the ball....."  The plan seemed to be simple, sit back, absorb the body blows that the Galaxy would throw our way, and look to strike on the counter.  The Galaxy had set up with a heavily rotated squad as well, with 5 starters and their two most dangerous attacking players starting on the bench.  The execution of the game plan was masterful. In a game that saw the Dynamo switch formations several times, bring on some interesting tactics and substitutions, and play some of the most beautiful counter-attacking soccer we've seen here in some time there is a lot to digest.  Let's get started.

The Opening 45 minutes:

It didn't take long to see how the game was going to play out.  L.A. took the opening kick and immediately fired a pass down the middle.  The opening minute saw both teams fighting for the ball, both teams putting pressure on the midfield, and both teams trying to fire the ball deep and run in behind.  It only took 1 minute for the Dynamo to breakthrough.  Teenage broke up a pass intended for Rayan Raveloson, Memo chased down the loose ball and fired a terrific weighted ground ball to Corey Baird on a dead sprint.  Baird got chased down after taking too many touches, lost the ball, and Sebas picked it up but also had it knocked away.  The possession (somehow) ended without a shot, but you could see from the start that the Dynamo were looking to run on the Galaxy.  The Dynamo fired the first shot only a minute and a half later (2:33) after Ceren intercepted a pass and found Zeka on the right flank.  Zeka fired a dropping line drive right at Jonathan Bond, but the Dynamo were controlling the early parts of the game.  The Dynamo were super compact in the box, and although the Galaxy were trying to break them down, and looking somewhat threatening, Paulo simply had too many boxes in the box.

Teenage Hadebe, Adam Lundkvist, and Zeka all took turns jumping passing lanes, chasing down balls, and gaining possession back for the Dynamo.  The only shots that the Galaxy could manage to find either found a wall of black shirts or sailed over their heads into the seats.  Paulo had his guys lined up in two solid lines, with Ceren dropping in between Hadebe and Parker.  Lining up in a deep 5-4-1 defensively was really bogging down any creativity the Galaxy were trying to impose.  It didn't take long for the plan to work and the Dynamo to land their first hay-maker.

Familiar to the first chance, Hadebe had a sliding stop to knock away a pass to Dejan Jovelic right at the midfield line.  The ball landed right in Memo Rodriguez's lap, who turned and saw a streaking Corey Baird once again.  Memo laced a dart right to Baird inside the box, and Baird lined it up and first touch cracked a shot that wound up right at Jonathan Bond.  Bond couldn't control it, and Sebas was the first man to the ball.  Sebas chipped it over the sprawling keeper, hurdled Bond, and tapped it past a sliding Séga Coulibaly to open the game's scoring.  It was a lightning-fast attack that the Galaxy simply had no answer for.  This was the third time in the first ten minutes that Memo drilled a pass to Baird between the CB and the LB, and he hit it perfectly.  The play by Sebas was outstanding.  Just the poise and control in front of the net to get it over the keeper and into the net was a showing of why he is the biggest transfer fee this club has ever paid.

It didn't even take :30 seconds of play for the Dynamo to find the ball inside the box again.  Zeka immediately won a ball back on the kick-off, found Baird, and raced down the sideline.  Zeka found the ball back and lobbed a cross in for Sebas that went high, but found Thor at the back post.  Thor controlled it, but fired a bend about 5 feet over the far post.  

While the tactics and formation didn't change, you could see the mentality of the players did.  Defensively we were playing with a great deal of tenacity and confidence.  Offensively we were playing loose and free.  Memo, Sebas, Thor, Ceren, and Zeka were flying to the ball, winning challenges, and playing hyper-aggressive.  Memo got the first yellow of the game flying to a ball played to the corner and sliding through Raveloson.  The Dynamo were still pressing high when the Galaxy were holding possession with the backline and bunkering down once the Galaxy crossed midfield.  Galaxy had their first real chance of the game after Víctor Vázquez found a ball at the end-line turned and fired to Jovelic who took some nifty touches but got sandwich tackled by both Hadebe and Tim Parker.  The ball caromed directly to Kelvin Leerdam 8 yards out, who blasted a left-footer directly into the chest of Steve Clark.

The Galaxy really had the Dynamo pinned deep for much of the final 20 minutes of the first half.  Eating up almost 70% of the possession over the final stretch, attempting 153 passes to the Dynamo's 66, the Galaxy tested the Dynamo backline again and again.  When the Galaxy did break through the line, Steve Clark was simply unbeatable.  The save he had on Samuel Grandsir's blast from just inside the 18 (21:36) was a beauty.  Clark wasn't done.  Jovelic found Efrain Alvarez all alone in front of the keeper with a fantastic backheel that Clark sprawled and knocked away. The Galaxy played the corner quick, hit a cross to Samuel Grandsir again behind the defense, and Clark stuffed that one at the near post.  He pulled an Alvarez left-footer in (39:00) on the Galaxies last real chance.

The Dynamo weren't reluctant to sit back and clear the ball.  They also had some fantastic chances of their own.  Corey Baird (23:38) got a fantastic cross from Thor all alone in the box that he tried to volley (horrifically by the way) that Baird hit to the corner flag.  Sebas passed up Baird on a break (34:18) to take a 35-yard strike that wound up in Bond's lap.  Memo broke on a ball and blasted a low shot (43:38) that bounced off Bond and Sebas just couldn't get to. Immediately after, on a free-kick , Lunkvist delivered a perfect ball to Sebas who hit the crossbar with a header.

Paulo had to feel fairly fortunate to be up 1:0, but at the same time, the Dynamo could have easily scored 4 goals in that half.  Clark was terrific, and he had more work to come.   Entering the second half, there was still a lot of nerves and a remembrance of dropping late leads over the last year and a third, but this would be a different game and a different team.

The Last 45 minutes:

In a game that really bogged down at times in the second half, when the fireworks hit, they hit.  While the Dynamo were getting trounced in possession, they were dominating the run of play.  Sitting in a deep 5-4-1, the Galaxy simply could do nothing with the possession they were holding.  The Dynamo were aggressive, patient, and looking to break the game open.  When they cracked the Galaxy open, they broke them WIDE open.  When Baird meandered through three Galaxy defenders, and slipped one to Sebas on the run in the box it was when that patience finally began to pay off. Sebas took one touch and found Thor all by himself (53:30) right in front of the net.  Thor rushed a wide-open shot and hit it 20 feet over the goal, but the cracks were beginning to show.  It was only minutes later, and directly after Coulibaly went down with an injury, that Tyler Pasher took a ball right side and finally got his laces on one.  I can't describe it with pictures, you have to just watch it.  Then watch it again.  Then watch it again......

Us 🤝 @HoustonDash

🇨🇦 scoring worldies on the west coast 🤠 pic.twitter.com/YaJtQ2dEzr

— Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) May 23, 2022

It was his first touch of the game, and it put the nail in the Galaxy coffin.  Even with Chicharito, Douglas Costa and Kevin Cabral checking into the game, the Dynamo continued to stifle the Galaxy attack.  Paulo eventually just threw every CB on the roster out there to defend the lead, and bunkered in.  Minutes after Pasher scored his goal, Thor tried to upstage him (we call this death by 1,000 stepovers)

Thor Úlfarsson opens his MLS account with a bang ⚡

(via @MLS)

pic.twitter.com/PnA46SIaLj

— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 23, 2022

There was one more Clark save (Kevin Cabral, 82nd minute) but the game was over when Pasher put us up 2:0.  This is a positive win.  Positive things are happening.  And despite not getting the result against Seattle, the Dynamo are trending up.  With this brutal stretch almost over, the Dynamo pick up another clean sheet and another positive performance.

Ramblings:

Total team effort

While I could point out the key players (which we already know), there were many standouts last night.  Almost every man who stepped on the field was a positive influence on the game.  There were some horrendous moments of finishing, but there was tremendous defensive intensity.  Sebas absolutely terrorized the Galaxy backline for 90 minutes, but it was Memo that was finding him and providing him the service he needed.  Lundkvist and Hadebe completely stifled the Galaxy's right side, and Zeka was killing their left flank.  Ceren and Vera were tremendous defensively and connected with Memo in transition.  Nagamura had them set up beautifully, and making some really smart substitutions like Bartlow for Memo to get another defender on the field, and bringing in Pasher and his energy at the same time worked be perfectly timed.  

Steve Clark

Simply put, Clark was unbelievable last night.  He had several key saves to keep the Galaxy off the board.  Clark was the man of the match in my opinion.

Next Up:

No chance to sit and relax, two more tuff games this week.  Paulo needs the whole squad to step up in order to get through this next stretch.

Thanks again for reading,

Remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

Brian

Lack of discipline, quality finishing. Seattle 1:0 Dynamo

Early missed opportunities.

Paulo stated before the game that the Dynamo needed to come out aggressive, and they did.  Early on the combo play in the midfield was crisp, and DQ working with Fafa and Sebas looked really nice.  Sitting in a high block, Coco and Ceren were aggressively chasing balls.  The Dynamo cracked their first shot early in the opening minutes.  After a nice sinking shot off the foot of Raul Ruidiaz, Steve Clark rolled it out left to Sam Junqua.  Junqua fired a terrific pass to Quintero right at the midfield circle, who turned and had Fafa racing to his right, and Sebas racing to his left.  Darwin worked a give and go to Sebas, and got the ball back right outside the 18. Nouhou Tolo was in a bind because he was in between Fafa who had worked to the edge of the box, and Sebas who was darting to the back post and had his man beat.  Darwin laid it off to Fafa, who cut back inside and fired a left-footer that went wide of the far post.  While the Dynamo got a decent shot out of this possession, they missed a huge opportunity, and it's a microcosm of what this team has been at times this year.  

(1) Sebas had his man beat and was calling for the ball.  Darwin goes the other way with it.
(2) After Darwin passes the ball to Fafa, he runs right in front of Sebas,  Not only did he block Sebas off, but 1 man could now mark 2, and Sebas was now offsides because of it.
(3) Even though the run blocked Sebas off, DQ was open inside the 18 cutting to his right.  Fafa had room to give it back to him but took a 20-yard shot with his weak foot instead.
(4) What starts out with great spacing and ball movement, ends with two players standing on top of each other inside the 18.  There needs to be better awareness and playing off each other here.

You have a 3v2 this early in the game, and the shot you get is a weak-footed bender from outside the box?  Darwin has his high profile striker cutting in the box with his man beat, to his strong foot, and he drops it outside the box to Fafa?  Fafa has our team's leading goal scorer cutting into the 18, and he instead decides to shoot a left-footer from 20 yards out.  It's just inefficient, and it needs to be better. While the play leading up to the shot was great, it's the lack of killer instinct inside the final third that does this possession in.  The Dynamo had them beat, and they needed to capitalize on this possession.

The defense was showing cracks early, but the Dynamo were playing equal:

Jordan Morris, Nicolas Lodeiro, and Raul Ruidiaz were all getting in dangerous positions from early in the game.  Lodeiro fired one across goal from just outside the 18 (6:00) with two sounders on the run, but neither could get on the end of. Jordan Morris found his way into the 6-yard box to get his head on a ball (9:29), but Zeka bothered him just enough that Morris didn't get a good head on it.  The header was soft and Clark was in position, but Seatle was dangerous from early on. 

The Dynamo were building good attacks on their own.  Darwin Quintero got an excellent look (13:24) from just outside the 18 with his left foot.  Memo had found Sebas in the box, and Sebas' tap back to Quintero just caught the foot of Kelyn Rowe to knock the ball off its path.  The Dynamo won the ball back minutes later and Zeka tried to connect with Sebas on a really nice cross (14:11) that was just a tad too high.  Coco found the ball inside the 6-yard box (19:44), and just couldn't beat the Seattle defense winning a corner, then turned the short corner into a great pass to DQ at the top of the 18 that Darwin couldn't control and gave back. Quintero had a terrific chance off some really nice combination play in the attacking third (22:51) That saw Zeka find Quintero, who found Sebas, who tapped it back beautifully to Quintero.  Quintero mis-hit a left-footer directly at Stefan Frei, and it was probably the best chance of the game.

Ruidiaz puts one home:

It was a beautiful team goal. The combination and movement are hard to guard, especially when both of your midfielders don't react, barely step inside the 18, and leave Ruidiaz with a ton of open space to work with.  Junqua did manage to get a foot on it, but you aren't stopping Ruidiaz inside the 6 yard box with that much open net.  There were several keys to this build-up, which allowed it to happen.

This is a quality goal from a really good team.  These are the types of goals that Champions score, and Seattle is a Champion team.  It was precise, it involved great movement off the ball, and took advantage of a slow-reacting defense and a great finisher too close to stop.  While the Dynamo built some really nice chances, they don't move off the ball anywhere near the level that Seattle does.  If we want to turn the corner as a team, we have to have this type of movement and passing.

Seattle really bogged down the box after the goal. Memo had a decent chance from about 25 yards out (39:38) that he blasted to the far post, but went about 12" wide.  Rusnak and Rowe were parked at the midfield line in front of the back four, making any opportunity for the Dynamo to counter extremely difficult. Fafa Picault got two more chances in the box, a header off a great pass from Zeka (44:14) and a sliding flick off a cross from Junqua (45:00+), before the half.  Despite being down 1:0, the Dynamo had been every bit the equal of Seattle for the first 45 minutes statistically.  There were 3-4 chances that the Dynamo just couldn't lockdown, and a couple they took where they missed better options.

Our opportunity ended early in the second half.

Paulo was visibly frustrated at halftime. When Dany Rodriguez asked what was keeping the Dynamo from scoring, he replied: "Uhm...adjustment and high pressure. Circulation of the ball....a little faster and more movement up front." When she followed up what was the main adjustment at the half, Paulo said "That's it, if we can't do it, we'll have to make some changes."  Nagamura had to make changes early in the second half, but it wasn't the type of changes we were all hoping for.  

Already on a yellow, Coco reached out and grabbed Nicolas Lodeiro (53:04) at midfield to try and stop a counter.  There was literally no reason to do it, he had Zeka breaking to the ball and 3 defenders in position.  It was a silly foul, and an especially terrible one already on a yellow.  Was it soft?  Absolutely.  But he'd already been warned about doing the exact same thing early in the game.  This forced Paulo to move Memo into the midfield, Sebas out wide, and DQ into a false #9.  

Credit to the 10 on the field, they spent the rest of the game chasing the ball. The Dynamo actually managed to create more chances over the final 40+ minutes of play despite getting crushed in possession.  Sebas nearly managed to equalize off a set piece (58:35).  Paulo began to get fresh legs on.  Tyler Pasher and Beto Avila (60:00).  Thor came on for Sebas (72:00) and Thiago (90+1).  None of them were enough to break through the Sounder's defense and snag a point at home.  Despite Alex Roldan's red card bringing the teams 10v10, Seattle spent too much time on the ball to get worn down in the 80+ section of the game. Beto Avila, Tyler Pasher, and Thor all had chances to score.  Pasher broke right down the box and got a perfect lob from Ceren (77:40).  Pasher had the ball on his left foot, inside the 18, with space, but rushed the shot and fired it into El Batallion.  

Ramblings:

Coco:

Not a good night from Coco.  He committed his first foul for pulling a guy down 3:30 into the game, never learned from it, and just kept doing it. He picked up a second one at the 8:18 mark coming in late on a challenge high in the attacking third. He finally picked up his Yellow for excessive fouling for grabbing Albert Rusnak 10:22 into the game.  Coco was getting beat badly on his challenges.  While you have to appreciate the tenacity he was playing with, he HAS to be smarter than this.  

It's a shame because on the other side of the ball Coco was really playing well.  He was poised in the midfield, always available as a pressure release, escaping pressure with the ball at his feet, and spraying passes all over the place (33/37 passing, and was hitting at all levels).  Coco was scooping up balls and winning back possessions (5 recoveries, 2 Interceptions) and was really active in the high press.  He had a part in several key Dynamo attacks early on, but he was awful defensively last night.  Early in the second half and right before the red he took the ball away from Lodeiro and drew a scissor kick foul on Kelyn Rowe.  Coco also failed to drop on Ruidiaz's goal, giving him a ton of room to operate.  Coco has to be better defensively.  The Dynamo just put a lot of faith in him, they've basically given him the keys to the midfield until HH gets here, and while he's making strides in terms of consistency going forward (go back and watch the Frisco, Austin F.C., and DC United games) he was terrible defensively last night.

Zeka:

Had another really solid performance.  Was very active on the ball and the backside of the defense.  Was also getting forward with the ball and getting crosses into the box.   Zeka has locked down the right-back position in my opinion.  He's active, he's composed on the ball, and he's beginning to take guys on and make penetrating passes from outside the box.  While there's still a chance we'll see Dorsey rotate through during the season, Zeka should get the Lion's Share of the minutes from here on out.

Darwin Quintero:

I didn't think DQ had a good game.  While there were times he was very active in attack, there were also large sections of the game where he was standing, lazy to the ball, and not making runs when he needed to.  He helped create several dangerous chances, but the Dynamo need more from him. Twice in the first twenty minutes of play Darwin gave the ball away with basically nobody on him.  Both created counterattacking opportunities for Seatle that the Dynamo defense was equal to.  

Darwin Ceren & Memo:

Both put in solid performances yet again.  Ceren has been really active defensively over the last three games while Mattias Vera has been out for personal reasons.  Ceren put in 90 really solid minutes against Nashville and was extremely active defensively against the Sounders again.  Many of us have been very critical of him even being here this year, but Ceren has stepped up and played really well in a pinch.  

Memo put in 90 solid minutes after playing 78 four days before.  Starting out at LW before moving back to holding midfield after Coco's red card, Memo did a good job in defense and helping the Dynamo control in attack.  Memo has put together really good performances here in May after struggling somewhat in April. 

Beto Avila

Simply put Beto is playing like he wants to start.  Beto had a great chance (69th minute) right after he checked in the game.  Beto was going right after Alex Roldan from the second he checked in and eventually got him off the field. Beto drew Roldan's first yellow blowing past him at the midfield line. Also earned Roldan a seat (82:36) by spinning past him and getting hip-checked to the ground.  I think Beto's earned a longer look, would love to see him start opposite Fafa for a few games to see what he can do over 60, 70 minutes.

Final Thoughts:

Losing 4 out of 5 (League Play) isn't any fun.  Losing at home in front of a 1/3rd full stadium on a mid-week game in which you shot yourself in the foot time and time again is really frustrating.  There were some moments in the game where we looked really good going forward against a really good defensive team.  Our finishing, movement, and passing in the final third was extremely lacking.  With 3 straight road games coming up, this is one we really needed to earn at least a point from.  Seattle is a perineal playoff team, a trophy-winning team, and one of the best teams on the continent. We had chances to take a point off them, but just didn't have the fortitude to do it.

Next Up:

La Galaxy @ Dignity Health Sports Park

Thanks again for reading,

Remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange,

Brian

Day & Night: Dynamo 2:0 Nashville S.C.

 

I realize that in writing this.....I probably sound like I have dementia or something.  Being that this team has been up and down all year, my mood has also fluctuated accordingly.  The game against Nashville was a night and day performance from the previous 4 MLS matchups. It was a combination of what we wanted to see, what we needed to see, and what we hadn't seen at PNC in quite some time.  It was a passionate, purposeful, and prideful exhibition that this city and fanbase have been dying for. There was a lot more to it than just the 2:0 scoreline, there was a reason for the final score.  Last night, the Dynamo were simply the better team.  They earned all three points.  They didn't "steal" or "have it handed" to them, they went out and beat a solid Nashville squad who hadn't lost a game this month.  Let's take a look at the key moments and players in a very encouraging win by #ForeverOrange.

Nagamura rotates the 11.

Setting up in a 4-3-3 that played out almost like a 5-2-3, Nagamura had Ceren staying back and at times dropping in between Parker and Hadebe. Ceren was also responsible for man-marking C.J. Sapong in transition and making sure he didn't get free runs to the goal.  Quintero was playing a quasi false nine up top, allowing Fafa and Thor to make runs over the top and cut in behind him.  It didn't take long for the lineup to show they were here to play.  With Nashville applying soft pressure up top, the Dynamo went right at them.  Darwin Quintero fired the game's first shot just:27 into the game.  After Ceren headed a deep ball by Big Joe Willis to Coco Carrasquilla, the race was on.  Coco found Memo with a nice quick pass, who tapped it to DQ on the run.  DQ set up just outside the box and fired a shot into the back of the legs of a defender.  It wasn't awe-inspiring by any means, but it was tone-setting. Zeka chased down the carom, connected with Fafa on a give-and-go, raced past Dax McCarty on the end-line, and hit a solid low-cross that was knocked away for the game's first corner.  The Dynamo were by far the more dangerous team over the first 15 minutes of play.  Paulo had his squad compact, the passing game was crisp, and the midfield was dropping into open space and connecting the ball to Fafa and Quintero up top.  Quintero fired a through ball to Fafa that just missed (Fafa let it go because he was offside), Coco tried to hit Thor on the run in the box, (which just missed) and while both found their way to Willis the Dynamo were actively probing the Nashville backline.

 Add to that the pressure the Dynamo were applying up top, and the midfield actively winning second balls and challenges.  Thor won a ball in the attacking third that lead to a corner 6 minutes in.  Coco and Memo both were winning balls in the midfield, and turning those plays into possessions.  Memo had a great tackle of Dax McCarty just outside his own box that DQ scooped up on the run and lost trying to cut back to his right foot.  It was another ball won deep in enemy territory that Houston needed to capitalize on, but in the end, wound up as a corner.  The corner went back to Lundkvist who put in a great ball to Hadebe, but Hadebe just couldn't get the ball down.

Coco breaks the game open.

At the 15:00-mark the Dynamo broke through.  It was a beautifully crafted chance that saw 5 Dynamo players touch the ball in the attacking third, a nicely placed through ball from Zeka to Fafa, a terrific pass to Darwin in the box from Memo, and a beautiful backheel from DQ back to Memo.  Memo absolutely blasted a shot that Big Joe could only parry away, and Coco was there to put the rebound in the back of the net.  While Coco was in the right place at the right time to put it home, the goal was crafted by great ball movement and well-timed runs.

The game turned quickly after.

The Dynamo continued to attack aggressively after the goal.  Thor, Fafa, and Tim Parker all had good looks at goals but just couldn't apply the finishing touch. The Dynamo were also defending with more purpose, more physicality, and more intent than I've seen them defend in some time.  Tim Parker, Coco Carrasquilla, and Darwin Quintero all went hard into challenges giving away fouls.  While they were giving away field position, they weren't letting Nashville have an inch of the pitch easily.  It was in the 35th minute that the hardest challenge happened. 

Adam Lundkvist broke late on a ball down the sideline to Alex Muyl and came sliding in with studs up, across both legs, and cleats high.  Even though it went to Video Review, I never had a question that it was a straight red. Paulo had to change his game plan quickly, down a man with 55 minutes left to play.  Sam Junqua subbed in for Thor to replace the departed Lundqvist and stabilize the backline.  The Dynamo didn't let down.  Immediately after the freekick, Memo stole a ball right outside his own 18 and fired downfield to Quintero who lofted a nice pass to Fafa on the run. Big Joe came out and got it, but it was a sign that Paulo wasn't content to park the bus and take his chances on keeping a clean sheet.  Fafa, Memo, Coco, and DQ were actively taking on Nashville defenders and looking to create chances. All 10 men defended with pride and tenacity.  

Right after it happened, Glenn Davis on the broadcast said "This is a character evaluation for the Houston Dynamo tonight with the sending off of Adam Lundkvist...".  The team went into the half up 1:0, but had been the better team for all 45 minutes of the game.  You had to wonder what adjustments would be made by both sides at half-time. When asked by Dany Rodriguez what the main instructions were in order to keep 3-points, Nagamura replied "Mentality.  To play a man down is about mentality, now grind out the result."  Gary Smith brought in his best playmaker (Hany Mukhtar)for Alex Muyl at the half, and Nashville came out applying pressure to the Dynamo deep down the field and throwing numbers forward.  

It was at 51:37 when that pressure came back to bite them.  After Tim Parker headed away a flick down the middle, Memo tracked back to win the ball and tapped it beautifully to Darwin Quintero.  DQ received it right in front of two Nashville CB's, and Fafa looped around to make a run down his right side.  Darwin laid him a beautiful pass, and as Fafa closed on it Big Joe came running out.  Fafa took a touch to cut outside just as Willis came diving at his feet.  Willis just clipped Fafa's ankle in doing so, and referee Hany Touchan immediately pointed to the spot.  DQ lined up, sent Willis right, shot left, and the Good Guys were up 2:0.  With the way #LaNaranja was defending, you knew this game was over.  Nagamura went heavy defensive with a 58th-minute sub, switching Ethan Bartlow for Darwin Quintero.  Bartlow set the middle of a 5-man backline, using Memo, Ceren, and Coco in the midfield and having Fafa set the high line.  

Amazingly, Nashville never really broke the Dynamo down.  CJ Sapong had one really good chance off a corner, and a 65th-minute header by Ethan Zubak were the only two real threats of the second half.  When Smith brought in a triple sub (minute 65) it didn't turn the tide.  This was one of the hardest-fought games I've seen at PNC. Paulo pretty much summed it up:

"WARRIORS!"

This is what it means to win as a team 🧡#HoldItDown pic.twitter.com/3zx1gFGStU

— Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) May 15, 2022

The Dynamo looked like they had a plan.  They executed that plan.  They were more composed, dominant, aggressive, all the intangibles that get you wins in games like this.   I don't know if this is a trend, but it would be very nice if it was.

Final Thoughts:

1. The midfield dominated the game.  Coco was arguably the best player on the field last night, Memo had his best performance of the season, and Darwin Ceren was tremendous defensively.  If you add Quintero in that mix, who had by far his best performance of May, the midfield completely outclassed Nashvilles starters of Sean Davis, Dax McCarty, and Luke Haakenson.  
2. Tim Parker wasn't having it.  Parker straight up flattened a few Nashville players who had the audacity to come into his area with the ball.  He was big, active, physical, and intimidating last night.  Stepped in and squashed some beef that Hany Mukhtar had late in the game.  Parker was the enforcer the Dynamo needed last night.
3. Set Piece defense.  There were a few scary moments, but the Dynamo defended 10 corners and several free kicks without letting Nashville get one home. The Dynamo are middle of the pack in MLS on set-piece goals given up, but last night they managed to get their head on quite a few and nock them away.
4. Eddie and Glenn talked about "fighting spirit".  That tends to happen when your goalkeeper gets soo fired up he draws a yellow by running halfway across the field.  Clark was fired up, so was Teenage Hadebe, and while getting two yellows arguing for a card on an iffy tackle isn't ideal it showed they were there for the fight. Every man that stepped on the field had a positive impact on it and even the guys left on the bench were pouring themselves into the game.  It was a beautiful sight.
5. Defense: The Dynamo bent, but never broke.  Playing down a man and getting walloped in possession, Steve Clark only had to make 2 saves the entire game.  The defense was extremely solid last night at all levels and in all phases of the game.
6. Crowd:  There was a decent crowd and good energy at PNC last night.  Let's get a few more, let's get a little louder, and let's make 16,000 feel like 60,000. 

Thanks again for reading,

Remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

Brian

San Antonio FC & thoughts on Coco Carrasquilla

 

It wasn't the most convincing performance, but it was a win.  With the way the last three weeks have gone, we'll take it.  With the way the last two years have gone, I'll take something to cheer for and the chance at a trophy.  There are many things I like about the USOC, but mostly I just like winning.  There were some good things, some bad things, and some ugly things. But at the end of the day, the Good Guys won and advanced on to the next round of the Lamar Hunt: U.S. Open Cup. It was encouraging to get the win without heavy use of some of the starting 11.  While I'm worried about Sebas' availability for all the games #Naranja have coming up, being able to pull one off without the use of DQ, Parker, Hadebe, Coco, and Lundy is tremendous.  To get a clean sheet with a heavily rotated backline that included Zarek Valentine is even better.  We all would have loved for it to be 4-0, but we'll just take the win.

The Good:

Michael Nelson

I thought Nelson did a good job helping keep San Antonio off the score sheet.  Nelson stopped their best chance off a set piece 38 minutes in by Dominick Hernandez.  somehow managed to knock away a shot after Ethan Bartlow's errant backward header in the 71st minute.  Nelson broke on a couple of balls in the box, and although he wasn't perfect and definitely had a few plays that left you holding your breath (and me screaming at my television). Credit due, however, as he did enough to earn a clean sheet. 

Finding Sebas in the box:

It was nice to see Sebas get up in the box and bang home a header.  It was a nice ball into the box from Sam Junqua, and Sebas timed it well.  I was beginning to think it was going to go to PK's after Memo's miss.  We saw it in the preseason, if Sebas gets the ball in the box he can and will finish.  He hasn't gotten enough service this year, but they have found him off of two set-pieces now, and hopefully, they can start to find a way to unlock him in open play.  He did manage to get off 4 shots in this game which is a season-high, 2 of which were on target.

Brooklyn Raines

I thought Raines had a really good showing, but he was the lowest-rated starter by SofaScore.com.  He was highly active on both sides of the ball and was effective against San Antonio FC's press by taking people on.  He hit Thiago and Pasher down the flanks on some really nice through balls, though nothing really came out of it.  Raines runs plays through, he doesn't give up on balls no matter how far away from them they are which is a welcome sight.  He shut down several SAFC attacks simply through body positioning, and he angles his body really well in defense.  Brooklyn won the corner that led to Sebas' goal.  While he had a couple of bad mistakes in his own half, they (luckily) didn't come back to bite him.  There are rumors about his eligibility to play with the first team, but Raines definitely looked like a guy who will be a contributor here in the future.  Excited to see where the young fella goes from here. 

The Bad

The Quick/Short Passing Game:

Once again, there were some terrible passes by guys who are first-teamers and several extremely bad give-aways that luckily didn't turn into goals.  Early on, Sebas had a nice flick on to Fafa for a run, but Fafa took a bad touch trying to get back on his right foot.  Dorsey had several passes to the touchline video board, and the overall passing efficiency was 77%.  Houston dominated possession stats (61%).  Thiago had a couple of flick-ons that went into a crowd instead of the space players were running into. Memo had some really sloppy and lazy passes trying to be quick when he had time and no one on him. 

Griffen Dorsey

Dorsey wasn't on his best game.  Picked up several really bad fouls in dangerous positions, like the one 13 minutes into the game that SAFC almost capitalized on. What's funny, is SofaScore.com actually rated him as the highest-rated starter. For a guy who's been in the starting 11 for most of the early season, this was a disappointing game.  He did get forward and overlap quite a bit, but never really threatened.  He lost 15 of his 62 touches.  He did some good things, like winning 3 fouls, completing two key passes, and winning 6 of his 9 duels, but Dorsey needs to be more assertive against a USL side. 

The Ugly

Memo Rodriguez.

Everyone is going to remember the shot he missed.  A veteran of his ilk, Memo has to put that away.  Memo wasn't all terrible.  He won a ton of possessions for the Dynamo and made some good decisions on the ball.  SAFC gave him a huge pocket in the midfield for most of the night, and he did some really good things with the ball.  He had a really good chance through traffic at the 66-minute mark that was saved.  But when you are in behind the defense, 1v1 with the keeper and the left side of the net WIDE open, you have to put that home.

Marcelo Palomino

Everyone on social media was calling for this, and Palomino actually came on and was greatly disappointing. He touched the ball 13 times and lost 9 of them.  Had a freekick at the 76th minute he hit right into the wall, recovered it, and gave it right back. He was 0-4 in duels, only completed 43% of his passes, and looked fairly out of sorts the whole night.  Had a terrible one-touch pass directly to a streaking guy in the wrong shirt deep in his own end that led to a back corner chance in the 80th minute. I was hoping he'd come on with the same energy as Raines, but I'd seen this before in MLSNP games.  Palomino can really strike the ball if he has time and space.  He's not great against pressure and lacks poise in the final third. Palomino has to get better with the ball at his feet.  I'd like to see him again, but he's got a lot of growing to do.

Presentation on ESPN+

The video quality was terrible, and it seemed like they were shooting a Michael Bay movie.....((insert "shaky cam")).  Seriously, was the guy filming holding an iPhone 6 or something?  I'm not kidding when I say that our high school games shot on an iPad look better.  Not only was the quality bad, but there weren't even replays to look at some questionable calls.  There were three times that a ball hit a defender's hand in the box.  There was never a replay angle on any of the three that showed a definitive picture of any of them.  The game wasn't in a USL stadium, it was at PNC.  Surely we could get some better video equipment there.  

On Coco Carrasquilla.

A fan favorite, impact player, and great person. Securing services of one of top young players in MLS and CONCACAF was a top priority for the club this summer. #CocoSeQueda pic.twitter.com/NinNZyevj1

— Asher Mendelsohn (@asherhdfc) May 10, 2022

I see people that are fairly upset at this signing, I see people out there that are ecstatic about this signing.  I'm actually happy about it, because it shows to me that ownership and the FO are willing to spend money.  For years we bemoaned both for lack of investment and spending $2million to make Coco permanent shows intent.  As much as I have criticized Coco for not being good enough recently, he's also undeniably our best all-around midfielder.   It's not even close.  Coco leads the team in balls recovered, is third in tackles and second in interceptions.  He can put the ball at his feet and take people on, and he can (at times) make passes downfield to Sebas in pockets or to Fafa on the run.  He needs to be more consistent, but I think he's the best partner for HH in the midfield given the way that we want to play.  He's also 23, and if he continues to grow he's a player that we can sell on for more than we paid.  While I don't care about investment deals with my soccer team (I want another star above the crest), that's also the business of professional soccer and a piece we've been missing for years.

Coco settled in against Austin FC and actually played fairly well from minutes 60-80.  He needs to be able to play like that for a full 90 minutes.  He's got abilities nobody else on this team has, but he has to be more composed in the attacking third.  He's got to link up better with the top 4, and it would help if he could find the slot trailing the ball and bang home a couple of goals from the top of the box.  However, I'm never going to disparage this team for spending money (especially after the last seven years).   It's not my money or my budget.  To me, they still don't spend enough money.  I understand it's a salary cap league, but this should be an exciting story, not a frustrating one. Still a long way to go, but:

Next Up:

Nashville F.C.

Need to pick up at least a point in this one, but more importantly we need to play well.  

Also, first 2,500 get this sweet flag.  Please be late so I can bring one home :)

Thanks again for reading, remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange.

Brian

An all around Terrible display: Dynamo 0:2 DC United

 
Normally when I write these, I sit down and re-watch the game from the night before.  I make notes, I research stats, and look for anything I can to see why the game result came out the way it did.  When I woke up this morning, I couldn't stomach the thought of watching that terrible display from last night ever again. So this won't be an analysis, it's going to be a rant. 

I know that it's early in the season, and I'm fully aware that we are just 10 games into Paulo Nagamura, Pat Onstad, and Asher Mendlesohn's tenure here in Houston, but what we saw last night (and over the last three games) was such a terrible display of soccer I don't know how we ever make it right.  I'm not holding them completely accountable for this roster, although they hold some responsibility.  The Dynamo are so talent deficient there is no chance they can succeed.   This team is so poorly constructed, that they can't do basic things needed to simply get the ball into the attacking third.  They don't compliment each other, they don't have any sort of attacking threats, and they don't have the means to even be competitive.  Last night was more than an embarrassing, uninspired display of The Beautiful game, it was evidence of exactly how poorly constructed this team is.

The first half was an abysmal display.

The scoreline didn't even reflect how bad we were.  There were soo many bad touches, bad passes, and bad dribbles we looked like a JV team.  Coco was extremely poor but looked like a World Class player compared to Darwin Quintero.  El Cientifico del Gol had 41 touches and lost possession 17 times. In the first half, he completed 35% of his passes.   He picked it up a tad in the second half, but this is the second straight game that our best creative player literally did nothing against a press and killed our attack before it even got across midfield. Coco himself had 16 possessions lost (on 74 touches), but actually picked it up down the last 30 minutes of the game.  Vera? 47 touches, 10 lost possessions. When you lose 43 possessions in your starting midfield, you aren't beating even the worst team in the east.  DC United is long, athletic, and play the passing lanes well.  But that doesn't account for all the times we gave them the ball or passed it directly to a black shirt.  It doesn't make up for the times that we one touched it to nobody or lobbed it to the touchline (20 yards away from the nearest orange shirt).  It was soo poor, you couldn't even tell what the Dynamo were trying to do going forward, because they couldn't organize well enough to execute anything.

There is no secret recipe to beat the Dynamo, it's a well-known game plan.  Press high, force them to play through the middle and hit them wide in attack.  They have no pressure release except to pass backward or bang it to open grass and hope Fafa can outrun 2 lines of defense to chase it down. The midfield is slow, small, and can't play with the ball at their feet.  Fafa is the only guy on the roster with enough speed to beat someone, the rest of the roster is small, slow, and not very skilled.  Pasher isn't fast enough to get in behind anybody, and on the rare occasion he does he can't control the ball and make a play.  Dorsey did absolutely nothing, and Sebas is spending so much time in the defending third that he might as well be playing a #6.  He got 1 touch inside the box.  We just went a full 90' without our #9 taking a single shot.  That shouldn't be surprising, since in the last game he had to take one from 61 yards out to score.  It's not that they aren't getting him the ball, it's that they CAN'T.  This isn't about philosophy, mindset, or tactics, it's that this is a team completely incapable of getting a target #9 the ball in front of the net.  You can change formations and tactics all you want, but unless you get players that are capable it's not going to change.

The backline seems content to play with a 5-yard gap, allowing attacking players to pick and choose what they want to do with the ball, and giving them the space they need to run right past them.  This is a reactive defense, not a proactive one.  In order for this team to compete, they have win possessions back, but the last three weeks Dynamo defenders have sat off and allowed the opposition to pick and choose what they want to do with the ball.  It doesn't matter if they are up a goal in the 85th minute (FC Frisco), up a goal to start the game (Austin FC) or down a goal going into the half, the dropping off and switching off has to be fixed.  If you give a player like Fountas space, he's going to bury it.  End of story.  

This team can't win balls in the air, mostly because they have a high concentration of players that are under 5'7" who make up for their lack of size with a lack of speed and jumping ability. Want to beat a team that presses as high as DC United?  Here's how you do it: 

(1) Find a guy that can go up and get the ball, put him in the middle of the field, and lob him the ball. Paulo is using 5'4", 34-year-old Darwin Quintero in that slot, while our star #9 is defending underneath him.  Darwin matched up against most 6'3" defenders in this league has a 0.0% chance of ever winning a ball, and he doesn't have the footspeed to blow past people any more.  It's going to be a long season, even after HH gets here.  

 

(2) Get your wings in behind their backs.  You can't do this when your wings are slow and defending two lines deep.  You also can't do this when your deep-lying midfielders can't hit through balls, 

(3) Get the ball at your feet and take people on.  Coco can do this occasionally.  Quintero can't do this because he's always playing high.  This leaves (much like we saw with Urruti last year) our #9 tracking back to midfield to hold the ball up and play it backward.  Darwin needs to take on more responsibility for breaking these pressing lines.  He seems content to set the high line and stand there.

No sense of urgency:

One can sum up the entire last two weeks with one visual: Steve Clark, standing with the ball, pleading for someone to move.  10 other guys are standing around, man-marked high, totally content to stand there and let Clark have no one to pass to.  How many times did it happen last night?  When the only person in the attack that has a desperation to move the ball is your goal-keeper, you aren't winning any games.  Time after time Clark would have the ball at his feet, or lining up to take a free-kick, or had just scooped up a ball and was running around in the box with no one to pass to.  Nobody moving, nobody making a run, nobody breaking to the ball, everyone just standing around.  

This entire midfield has to go.

Vera is just good enough to help you beat bad teams.  He's just bad enough to be unable to do anything against a press.  It's not all his fault, but he's been here for long enough to know he can't get us over the hump.  Vera is clearly maximizing his talents, but this is his ceiling.  There's not another step up that he's going to take.  Coco is in the same boat.  He does some good things but isn't helping you beat anyone good.  He can't handle the press, is a poor passer against pressure, and is just slow enough to leave gaping holes in front of our back four when he tries to get forward. Coco might have some room to grow, but I don't see a massive upside with him. Darwin Quintero is the best creative player we have but has been unbelievably terrible the last two weeks.  He's lost several steps, he can't pass out of tight spaces, and while he can still find pockets and put the ball on target he offers very little going forward and almost nothing in defense.  Memo, Ceren?  They can go too.  They give you energy and defense, and they play hard, but I would say the two of them are actually regressing and offer you nothing in terms of building a solid midfield rotation.  I love Memo, he's one of us, but I just don't see how he adds anything on the pitch. The worst part about the midfield isn't just that they are bad, it's that they have all either reached their ceiling.

We all know......

That both wings, both backs and all three midfielders need to be replaced before this team can seriously compete.  Our entire bench needs rebuilt.  We need one player capable of coming on and scoring a late goal, or a couple of players who can create anything when we are chasing a game. Our bench is full of the same guys.  Guys who are ok defensively and offer nothing going forward.  Zeka hasn't played a ton of minutes but has yet to do anything to show me that he's different. He's not making plays with the ball at his feet or with the pass.  He's small, not very fast, and has yet to make a serious play.

Paulo has his work cut out for him.  I said it last year and I'll say it this year, expecting ANYONE (and I do mean anyone) to win with this roster is an unreasonable expectation.  I've already seen some of us out there calling for Nagamura's job.  That's not going to happen this year.  

Next Up:

The Dynamo are about to go into a brutal stretch of 6 games in 21 days.  With a USOC matchup midweek against San Antonio FC, Nashville, Seattle, LA Galaxy, and RSL coming up, it's going to be very demanding on this squad.  Paulo is going to have to get creative to get the most out of this roster over that span, or we could be looking at 8 straight losses before June.

Thanks again for reading, remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

Brian

Almost 1/4 way through the season, is this team better than last year: A look.

Here we sit, 9 weeks into the season after back-to-back losses to our Texas rivals, and everyone's in a tizzy.  Some great debate is being had amongst Dynamo faithful over the direction Paulo Nagamura has this team headed, and many supporters side with the belief that this team is better than last year's version.  There have been signs of life, and there have been shades of last year.  But what do the numbers say?  Let's take a look inside the numbers and see if we haven't exercised some demons from the past.  

Where were we last year at this exact point? 3-3-3 (same record as we currently have).  That was right before Tab and crew managed to reel off a winless streak of 16 games once the June heat set in.  Our goal differential (12 GF - 13 GA: -1 GD) is strikingly similar to where we sit today (12 GF - 11 GA: +1 GD).  We are betting at holding possession than in 2021 (17th in MLS at 48% as opposed to last), and we are a more efficient passing team than a year ago (4th in MLS at 83.7%, as opposed to last), but some of the same problems persist.  While I feel like this season has passed the smell test better than 2021 did, the results are nearly identical.  So are some of the numbers of the players:

Through 9 games:

Fafa Picault

• 2021: 1 goal - 2 assists.        
• 2022: 2 goals - 1 assist

Striker:

• Maxi Urruti: 5 goals - 1 assist      
• Sebastian Ferriera: 4 goals - 1 assist

Goal Keeper

• Marco Maric: 71.4% Save%, 12 goals against, 1 Clean Sheet       
• Steve Clark: 73% Save% 11 GA, 2 Clean Sheets

Wins Against

2021: San Jose, Sporting K.C., Vancouver  

2022: Vancouver, Inter Miami, San Jose

The beginning of this year is eerily similar to last year's.  But (I'm being sarcastic here, chill out) if we win one game in the next 16 that makes it better.......right?  I wrote at the beginning of the year that despite the additions of Clark, Hector Herrera, and Sebas, this team hadn't done enough to qualify for the playoffs.  I'm still leaning towards that notion.  Some of the same problems exist as last year, even though a couple of upgrades have been made.  This team could still prove me wrong, however, and I'm hoping they do.   Here's a look at some key positions that need to step up, with a look to what's ahead.  Here's the good at some of the most pressing matters through the early parts of the year.

The midfield: Where will HH fit in this midfield?

The addition of Hector Herrera is a no-brainer.  He's an upgrade over Memo Rodriguez, Mattias Vera and Coco Carrasquilla as a deep-lying midfielder who can get the ball down the field.  Herrera can get the ball to the next level and sting defenses with downfield passing.  While he's not going to pour in goals and assists, he should be able to connect to the top 4 better than anyone we have.  Teams that press high and play chaotic in the midfield make it almost impossible for the Dynamo attack to hold possession and even cross midfield at times. The biggest signing in the history of #ForeverOrange will help be a solution to that.  Currently, the only players we have that are a threat to get the ball downfield are Teenage Hadebe and Ethan Bartlow.  The question is who fits next to him?  I could see a rotation of Vera, Coco, and HH in order to keep legs fresh with HH getting the bulk of the minutes and his partner based on matchup. 
Coco is the best with the ball at his feet, Vera is a more efficient and smart passer.  Neither has been a threat in the attack, but both have been fairly solid in defense.  Coco's 72 Recoveries, and 23 Tackles + Interceptions are a sign that he's helping win back possessions.  He's been good at taking on defenders and playing direct with the ball at his feet, but that final pass or the pass that sets up the final pass has been lacking.  His 81.9% completion is lower than you'd like from that position, but a slight improvement over his rate from last year.  Coco is an important part of this midfield (for now), and you've got to start to question whether the team will actually pick up his option this summer, or just let it go when HH comes and pair him with Vera.  It's very hard to believe that Coco has already logged more minutes than he did last year, but his work is starting to show.  He's completed more passes at a higher rate and all of his defensive numbers are up too.  He's working harder, and playing a more pivotal role than last year under Tab.  He still has strides to make, but month by month he seems to be improving. I would say he's a player we absolutely need to keep, Pat Onstad has said he'd like to keep him, but Coco came out recently saying they haven't approached him about it.

Vera is a solid workhorse, but he's also extremely limited.  He's not the biggest or fastest, but he works extremely hard and is a really smart player. He picks up second balls, he finds his way in front of shots and crosses, and he's an extremely efficient passer.  He's passing above 90% yet again (91.4%) and is hitting balls at literally every level.  The Dynamo simply don't look the same without him in the midfield.  And while I don't know how much higher Vera's ceiling is, he's a guy we have to keep around. 

Memo has been better this year with less expected of him.  While Memo is very much a player who is in between Vera and Coco in terms of skill (better with the ball at his feet than Vera, a solid passer, and can make the final play at times), he also works extremely hard on both sides of the ball.  While he hasn't been as productive as many of us would like, I don' think anyone who watches the Dynamo question how hard he plays. Memo can always have a role on this team, but they'll never be a true contender if he's a focal point.  If you add in Darwin Ceren, there are just too many defensive, limited going forward midfielders for this team to play the proactive style they want to install. While we still have a lot of positions that could use an upgrade, none is more important than solidifying the midfield.

How much does Darwin Quintero have left?

DQ has been a headache this year.  Sometimes for opposing defenses, sometimes for #HoldItDown FC.  Regardless, he's the only player wearing an Orange jersey that can do what he does.  When he's on his game, he makes the opposition look helpless.  When he's not, he's turning the ball over and creating counter-attack opportunities for the other team.  He's tied for the team lead in goals (already surpassing last year's mark), but has yet to notch an assist.  His goals have all come against terrible defenses as Vancouver and Inter Miami are tied for the 3rd worst defenses in the league (18 goals against), and San Jose is the worst (23 goals against). He was really good against Portland Timbers (7 SCA, 4 shots, 2 on Target, 46 touches) but it didn't result in a goal.  Darwin was decent against Dallas, and mostly terrible against Austin FC, although he had the best two chances of the game.  With the heat setting in, and at 34 years of age, I wonder many more times will see "El Cientifico del Gol" vs DQ the Headache.  Going forward, he has to find a way to connect with Sebas, and the two have to figure out how to play off of each other and with each other.  In the early going, it seems more often than not Sebas is playing behind DQ as opposed to vice versa.  After this year, the Dynamo have to find a way to replace him.  When he comes off the field the Dynamo attack stagnates and is almost non-existant.  Whether that replacement can come from here (Marcelo Palomino, Tyler Pasher) or if they find them in the transfer market, the Dynamo have to make finding another attacking midfielder a priority.

Wide Play and Connecting with Sebas.

It seems weird since Lundkvist leads the team in assists (3) and Pasher, Baird, and Fafa have combined for 3 more, but decent service from wide has been hard to come by so far this year.  I thought that installing Pasher in the starting lineup would help with this, but so far it hasn't resulted in quality combo play or produced goals.  When teams sit back, Lundkvist and Dorsey can overlap and push up the sidelines allowing Pasher and Fafa to cut back inside to their stronger foot.  But Austin, Dallas and San Jose all put soo much pressure on our Fullbacks that they couldn't push up without the threat of getting burned on the counter.  All four have to connect better with Sebas up top.  Of Sebas' four goals, only one has come from inside the box while getting service from wide in open play.  There were times this year when it seemed the Dynamo were trying to force-feed Sebas the ball, and the results were terrible.  It's been a work in progress, but Sebas needs to time his runs and find space in front of the net, and he needs better service.  With 4 goals in 4 games, it seems like they've begun to find it, but there's still a lot of work to do.  Finding a connection with your striker can take time.  It's not always the easiest thing to do in the sporting world.  It's a lot like getting your QB a new receiver.  Players have to know each other's timing, and spacing, and there's a rhythm to it.  Here's hoping they find multiple ways to do that going forward.  We don't need to replicate Urruiti's horrible span from last year.

Lack of quality depth is still a problem.

When a player is underperforming, who does Paulo turn to?  Baird was mostly disappointing in the early parts of the year, and although he brings energy and defense up top he offers almost nothing going forward.  Baird isn't getting to open spots or behind the defense.  He's not creating shots, getting shots, or putting the shots he does get on target. He's not crossing the ball well and gives it away in the attacking third too often. Paulo recently made the switch to Pashern who has also been mostly disappointing.  Although Pasher has notched a goal and an assist in 321 minutes, he hasn't been great at taking on defenders and hasn't found his left foot often enough. Memo and Ceren offer energy and defense, but the attack stagnates when they are on the field.  Lundkvist and Dorsey have been.......uh....ok I guess?  Zeka hasn't done a lot in his limited minutes to show the job should be his.  Thor comes on games and looks like a bull in a china shop, but has yet to produce a goal in any way.  About the only position where it looks like there is quality depth is CB, with 4 guys playing and each doing fairly well.  

In my very humble opinion, I would think that guys like Zeka, Palomino, and Thiago would earn more looks.  Nobody in front of them is a nailed-down starter, and I would hope that Paulo starts giving each extended minutes as the year goes on.  Newcomer Beto Avila deserves to be in the mix too, he's been tearing it up for Dynamo Dos in MLS next and plays a position of need at RW.  While I think it's too early and there are too many people ahead of them to call up Juan Castillo and Pap N'Doye, they are ones to keep an eye on as well.  

Pessimistically optimistic:

I desperately want this team to be better than last year.  We need this team to turn a corner and start nailing down 3 points on a fairly regular basis in order to bring some life to this fanbase, this city, and this franchise.  I think this team is headed down a good path, but they still have a long way to go.  I still don't think this is a playoff-caliber team, even after HH arrives.  He's only a cure to one of the many ills that plague this roster.  Pat has proven that he can build a quality roster and that he can go get quality players.  There are still too many remnants of last year's roster on this team, and that was a roster that had gaping holes.  Could this team catch fire and play itself into a playoff position?  Sure.  Is it a roster I think can compete on a nightly basis with the top half of the league? Absolutely not.  There are simply too many deficiencies and not enough depth.  I also think that 90% of the roster has reached their ceiling.  Guys like Memo, Ceren, Lundi, DQ, Pasher, Baird, Fafa, Parker, Hadebe, Steres, etc. aren't getting markedly better.  If they can put it together and disguise their weaknesses, they've got a chance.  

Next up:

Saturday, May 7th @ DC United  

Last matchup: May 19th, 2019 - Dynamo 2:1 DC United.

DC United has lost 5 of their last 6 games, getting outscored 13-6 over that span. 3 of those 5 losses came at Audi Field.  

Most common Lineup - 3-4-3

Leading Goal Scorer: Ola Kamara - 4

Record: 3-0-5, 9 points (1.13 per game)

Goals: 10 (1.25 per game), Goals Against: 13 (1.63 per game), Diff: -3

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

Brian

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