Well Houston broke the win/loss streak that had plagued them since April 1st...trouble is, it was with a second straight loss on a stoppage time goal. Not exactly what anybody had in mind. Juan Pablo Angel's 94th minute free kick strike sent Houston to below .500 for the first time this season and leave the team facing a cross-country trip to face the LA Galaxy on only two days rest. Not good. The only bright side right now for the Dynamo is the prospect of some time off to heal injuries, focus on training and try to right the proverbial ship when league play resumes at the end of June.
If you listen to Brian Ching, which you should, the Dynamo's struggles come down to focus and effort, neither of which the team seems to have enough of at times. It's the little things that are killing Dominic Kinnear's team and until they find a way to fix them, it's likely not to get any better. Minor positional mistakes, lapse of concentration, the kind of things that Houston fans are not used to seeing and the kind of things that send everyone's blood pressure through the roof. At least the issues the Dynamo are dealing with are fixable, it's just a question of what it will take to solve the problems and when that will happen. I think most would agree, the sooner the better is the only reason choice.
This is a proud Dynamo team, with a lot of veterans and guys who don't like losing and don't expect to lose. The inconsistency in the team's form is starting wear on everyone involved and at some point you had to figure something will click and things will get back on track. You can't change much in two days traveling from New York to Los Angeles, but you can use the emotion and use your pride to focus and try to get a huge victory over a seemingly unbeatable opponent. A victory on Saturday would give the Dynamo a huge boost going in to the World Cup break and restore some of the pride team that is feeling a bit wounded.
Nothing about this match-up is positive for the Dynamo and nothing about it gives me any reason to hope for Houston to get a goal, let alone win. Still, I'll go a little crazy and say Houston scores on the Galaxy, but still loses the game 2-1.
Photo: Katy Umaña
If you listen to Brian Ching, which you should, the Dynamo's struggles come down to focus and effort, neither of which the team seems to have enough of at times. It's the little things that are killing Dominic Kinnear's team and until they find a way to fix them, it's likely not to get any better. Minor positional mistakes, lapse of concentration, the kind of things that Houston fans are not used to seeing and the kind of things that send everyone's blood pressure through the roof. At least the issues the Dynamo are dealing with are fixable, it's just a question of what it will take to solve the problems and when that will happen. I think most would agree, the sooner the better is the only reason choice.
This is a proud Dynamo team, with a lot of veterans and guys who don't like losing and don't expect to lose. The inconsistency in the team's form is starting wear on everyone involved and at some point you had to figure something will click and things will get back on track. You can't change much in two days traveling from New York to Los Angeles, but you can use the emotion and use your pride to focus and try to get a huge victory over a seemingly unbeatable opponent. A victory on Saturday would give the Dynamo a huge boost going in to the World Cup break and restore some of the pride team that is feeling a bit wounded.
Nothing about this match-up is positive for the Dynamo and nothing about it gives me any reason to hope for Houston to get a goal, let alone win. Still, I'll go a little crazy and say Houston scores on the Galaxy, but still loses the game 2-1.