Dynamo Good, But Not Good Enough in 2-2 Draw With the Red Bulls
by Zach Woosley on May 21, 2011 10:13 PM CDT
in Match Reports
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After 81 minutes of missing chances, the Dynamo finally got the goal they needed to break the tie. Just minutes after entering the match in place of Will Bruin, Koke cleaned up a rebound left off a Greg Sutton save and netted his first career MLS goal. Then the dreaded lack of concentration moment that seems to haunt this team struck, as the Red Bulls equalized in stoppage time. Another disappointing home result in which Houston struggled to finish their chances on goal.
Of course, considering how the match started, a draw might of been acceptable.
The rapture didn't come on Saturday evening but Dane "The Dynamo Killer" Richards did show up and wasted little time fulfilling his prophetic statement made to MLSSoccer.com during the week.
"If I get the chance to quiet that crowd, I will" Richards said.
Just 39 seconds in to the first half after Luke Rodgers brought down a Teemu Tainio long ball, he fed a charging Richards who fired a shot far post past a diving Tally Hall. I really doubt you could have come up with a worse start for Houston. It certainly deflated the big home crowd, which is exactly what Richards said he wanted to do earlier in the week.
In 2008, Richards dominated the second leg of the MLS Cup Playoffs series against the Dynamo, scoring and assisting on a goal, along with drawing a penalty in the Red Bulls' shocking 3-0 victory.
The Dynamo would answer back in the 12th minute. Will Bruin drew a penalty after a long ball found him in space down the left wing. Bruin made a nice cut in the box and was taken down by a very clumsy challenge from Rafa Marquez. No question who would take the PK as Brad Davis stepped up and buried a shot low and the right.
Second half featured a lot of good chances for both teams and a thoroughly entertaining battle between Corey Ashe and Dane Richards who appeared to be having a "who's the fastest man in the stadium" contest. If not for Koke, there's no doubt that Geoff Cameron would of been having nightmares tonight after he botched a first touch in the box and completely whiffed on a point blank shot.
The Dynamo still are not effectively finishing their chances at the rate you'd like to see, but a point is a point I suppose. Giving up a lead in stoppage time though always leaves a bad taste in your mouth but it doesn't completely erase the positives of getting a draw against a tough opponent.
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We should start doing player ratings
Lovell Palmer = 2/10
I am not blaming him for the loss (even though it looked like his man scored on the corner) but he really had a bad game. I hope this isnt a trend but he does not look up when he receives a pass and then once he gets the ball, has no idea what to do with it. 99% of his passes last night were backwards. This is fine if he is looking around and no one is open, but he is not doing that.
BTW i think Cameron is still having nightmares about that miss.
Major takeaway from the game is what you said – we cannot attack effectively. I counted 4 counterattacks in the second half where we had numbers up. We did not even get a shot off on these.
The corner was on Watson
He just let ballouchi go at the ball completely uncontested.
I’ve complained about Palmer’s habit of immediately going backward and then passing back. I don’t have any problem with that in many cases. I just wish he would get his head up first. He missed some chances to get the ball to wings and catch RB off balance or even just to push the ball up on his own and force a defender to make a decision.
"If my hips had pockets, I wouldn't wear pants at all." @NotBurtReynolds
Some questions I was left with:
Why did it take so long to sub Watson in for the ineffective Colin Clark. And continuing, why did Clark start in place of Watson in the first place?
Why did it take so long to get Koke on, and then why for Bruin and not the ineffective Weaver?
Chabala in for Davis was OK, considering the need to protect a 2-1 lead, but then why was Ashe moved up in to Davis’ slot? Certainly, a 5-3-2 or 5-4-1 with Koke withdrawn would have been better, eh?
Very disappointing two points left on the field. And very annoying.
"We don't care who finishes second." -- Celtic's Peter Lowrie
We obviously have very, very different opinions Zach
Good enough isn’t going to cut it. We might make the playoffs, but in the East that’s just pathetic. We couldn’t beat the Union or the Red Bulls in a playoff game. Not with the team we have. Not right now.
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
Bruin poor passer
Seems to me like bruin gets taken out because he’s poor at integrating others. Theres been numerous occasions where he just tries to go it alone rather than making a simple pass to a wide open man in front of goal. Weaver seems better in that respect, better on the ball vision. Whereas bruin seems to make better runs. For the record I realize it was this quality that earned us the PK, but at the same time clark was wide open.
by Futbol anonymous on May 22, 2011 5:21 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
That is something he is having to learn, and is vastly different from the college game
At the college level, the majority of time a forward can go one and one and win the battle, but at the pro level things are far easier when you distribute.
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
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