Monday Morning Centre Back: We Came And Took It
by Zach Woosley on Sep 26, 2011 12:13 PM CDT
in Monday Morning Centre Back
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PrintStill buzzing about the Dynamo's first road win of the 2011 season? Me too and honestly, how could you not be.
Houston may not have dominated the game on Saturday but they got the necessary combination of good luck and great plays from key players that made all the difference between leaving Frisco with a draw and leaving with the full three points...and El Captian!
Photo by Nigel Brooks
Let's be honest, and I'm not trying to be a downer here, but the FC Dallas game was a brilliant example of the underlying issues with the Dynamo this season and why it took them so long to win away from Robertson. It really comes down to one word: speed.
The Dynamo don't have enough of it and when they are forced to play on the generally much larger fields across MLS, that lack of speed can be exposed. All afternoon, Dallas was able to terrorize the Dynamo back line thanks to the attacking speed of guys like Brek Shea and Jackson. They generated a ton of chances and if not for Tally Hall and the woodwork, it could have been a fairly ugly result for Houston...but it wasn't.
The Dynamo did enough and made plays when they had too and sometimes that's all you need to do.
I'm not criticizing anyone but this points directly to why Houston has had such an up and down season. More importantly, there's nothing to do about it right now. If this team finishes off the season by making the playoffs, it will be thanks to home results and a tremendous resolve by the players down the stretch to get result in the face of some heavy media and fan pressure.
Basically, we're supportive but realistic and no matter how the 2011 season concludes, it's going to be essential that the speed issue is addressed during the off-season.
As for the weekend, let's enjoy the three points and the fact Houston is in first place in the Eastern Conference for a couple days. In addition, I just want to thank every Dynamo fan that made the trip to Frisco and helped remind everyone who is a part of and supports the FC Dallas organization that Pizza Hut Park is Robertson North.
Brian Ching was asked after the game how it felt to get their first road win of the season. His response?
"Was that a road game?"
Well said Brian...and well done Dynamo fans.
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Not to throw water on the fire, because God knows we have played well many times this season and not gotten a result, but thank goodness that (1) the goal mouths are not six inches wider all around and (2) Jackson’s a wide left kind of guy.
I think speed on the backline should be at a premium for next year, although isn’t this really a problem for the right side? And if it is, then perhaps Kofi Sarkodie is the long term answer. We’ll see.
"We don't care who finishes second." -- Celtic's Peter Lowrie
You both
are correct and to our great fortune, we haven’t been burned by that too much this season: lack of speed at the back. Ashe & Sarkodie are quick on the ends, but their defensive shortcomings often neutralize the threat their speed provides. And those defensive shortcomings are aggravated all the more when you had Boz & Hainault paired at CB. The only glaring example I remember – and likely because it was so recent – was the thumping by KC where they simply outran us at the back. Moving Cameron back there has significantly boosted that, and not just because he is faster (which he is), but also because that luxury of speed, when coupled with his tactical understanding, helps negate attacks and start counter-attacks. I do think Sarkodie is our long-term answer, but that will require some changes on the part of the coach. Is Sarkodie ready for that? I don’t know, but its the coach’s job to give him the chance to assess that and if not, find another solution.
All of that being said, I’m still riding high from the game…let’s face it: on paper, Dallas has arguably a far better line-up than us. They have speed, technique and talent…yet for all of that they couldn’t find the back of the net. For all of their slick play, they were undone by the most fundamental of plays: a header from a corner kick. I almost think they felt like aggrieved Sounders fans: but we played such beautiful football! But it matters not; we scored and they didn’t and that’s all that matters. It seems like we’re peaking in confidence right at the best time: with 3 games left, we could conceivably get 6 or 7 more points and I think that puts us in the playoffs without being a wildcard. I hope I’m not dreaming too much on that but really: with a game against Chicago this weekend at the Cougar Den and our final game against LAG (who will likely be resting a good part of their starters) we could get 6 pts from those games.
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