Houston Dynamo Player Ratings:
Tally Hall, MotM, (7) - Tally Hall takes the Man of the Match again as the defense held tight and the offense couldn't find the net. Hall notched 3 saves all together, but it was the double save against Jeremy Brockie and Danny Koevermans in the 85th minute that really cemented this choice for me.
Kofi Sarkodie (6) - Sarkodie was very good at getting forward, and even got off two shots of his own, not on target, but I like the effort. Aside from his emergence as the proto-right back that the US national team likes because of his offensive efforts, he was not caught out of position nearly as often as he was against Montreal in the previous game.
Jermaine Taylor (5.5) - The defense as a whole looks like it's beginning to click again. Nobody made any sensational stops, but they were for the most part where they needed to be. Taylor has a few very good deflections that prevented shots on goal.
Bobby Boswell (6) - Furthermore about the defense, while they began to click, there was still a little bit of rust there as more than a few times Toronto was able to threaten the goal due to poor marking, giveaways, and just bad luck in at least on instance. Boswell did his job winning headers out of the back, and kept the defensive line mostly in check.
Corey Ashe (6.5) - Ashe recovered from likely his worst performance of the season by continuingly to press the counter. His service to players ahead of him and his crosses were both spectacular for him.
Ricardo Clark (6.5) - Rico helped push the ball up top to the forwards and out wide to Brad Davis and Andrew Driver using his talented passing abilities. The downside of Clark at the Center Attacking Midfield position is his great work defensively. Creavalle handled himself fairly well out there, but Clark's presence is usually missed in the Center Defensive Mid position. However, Clark could move back if Barnes moves to the CAM spot which is possible due to recent struggles.
Warren Creavalle (6) - Creavalle earned the starting spot at Center Defensive Mid due to a struggling Adam Moffat, and his own breakout. While an improvement in my mind over Moffat at this point, Creavalle did not steal the position in the way that he would have liked as he put in a pretty average day at the office. Still, he's proven himself a valuable utility player which means he will see minutes and develop further.
Brad Davis (7) - Brad Davis returned to the Dynamo after serving time away with the US national team. Davis spoke before the game about having more confidence after his time with the USMNT and it showed. His service was great, his touch was as deft as ever, and the Dynamo looked more confident and composed with him on the field and over the ball. It's a shame we can't tally an assist or two for him. It was difficult not giving the Man of the Match award to Davis, but we need to start seeing some goals from our forwards which I'm confident we will with Davis back.
Andrew Driver (6.5) - Driver filled in for Boniek at Right Midfield who did not make the game day sheet. Driver was a threat down the right side and his play of the game was his play that kept the ball alive in the 23rd minute. He didn't give up on the play and it nearly led to a goal. Not giving up really describes Driver's style of play.
Giles Barnes (5.5) - Barnes has cooled off a bit after his securing of the second forward spot. Barnes was really at his best off the ball, as he would steal defenders away from other players on set pieces. Other than that he didn't take any shots and was subbed out fairly early for Barnes.
Will Bruin (6.5) - Will Bruin continues to struggle to find the net, but he continues to make great efforts to attempt. His hold up play is improving, although at an inconsistent rate, and his passing and vision are still there too. What Bruin is missing is his scoring touch, which we all know he has. He was very dangerous for the Dynamo taking 5 shots, 2 of which were on target, but Bruin needs to start scoring soon. That could be due to a diminishing relationship with Barnes. Could we see Cam Weaver or Omar Cummings lined up next to Bruin in the next few weeks?
The Subs:
Cam Weaver (6.5) -Weaver came on for Giles Barnes in the 60th minute, a very early substitution for Dominic Kinnear to make. Bruin was a better player with Weaver on the field than he was with Barnes. Weaver fought for the header that set up Bruin twice, and his quick free kick nearly saw Bruin find the net as well. If Weaver continues this kind of form he will see more minutes.
Omar Cummings (6) - Omar Cummings came on for Warren Creavalle in the 74th minute. Cummings looked very active early, showing signs of his pace and his incredible touch. I was also very impressed by his long range effort just 10 minutes into the game for him. He was that confident which is what we need from our forwards now.
Adam Moffat (-) - Moffat played the final minute of the game and stoppage time coming on for Ricardo Clark. Moffat didn't have too much time to make an impact on the game. One has to think about if Dominic Kinnear was just trying out Creavalle in Moffat's spot due to his impressive performances lately, as well as Moffat's less inspiring performances, or has Moffat lost favor for the starting spot.
Dominic Kinnear (6.5) - Dominic Kinnear welcomed back Brad Davis to the starting lineup which must have been a huge relief to have his captain back. The personnel changes he made I thought benefited the play for the Dynamo. Bringing on a target forward in Cam Weaver helped the Dynamo win headers in key parts of the field setting up Will Bruin for attempts on goal. Cummings helped spread defensive lines from out wide and looks to be healthy enough to see more minutes. Overall, while the obvious struggle of finding the net remains; the return of some of our starters like Davis is an obvious benefit to the team. The other benefit to having players like Weaver and Cummings back at full or near full health is they put pressure on an offense that is struggling to produce goals at the moment. This allows more flexibility for Kinnear and I wouldn't mind seeing Barnes at CAM, Clark at CDM, and Bruin - Weaver/Cummings up top.