Player Ratings: Houston Dynamo vs New York Red Bulls

Houston Dynamo Player Ratings:

Tally Hall (3.5) - Really didn't have a lot to do all things considered as the Red Bulls only took 5 shots against the Dynamo...unfortunately for them 3 of them went in. Hall never took control of his defensive line, which looked unorganized and made crucial mistakes.

Kofi Sarkodie (5.5) - HRH was the best defender for the Dynamo as he made very good stops and got into the attack, providing darting runs down the right side and sent in very good balls.

Jermaine Taylor (3) - Taylor, possibly fatigued from international duty, looked slower and off beat. He made one of the flukiest defensive miscues in Dynamo history: in an attempt to clear a ball, his pass bounced off the back of Corey Ashe and allowed for an easy goal for the visitors.

Bobby Boswell (3.5) - Boswell never got control of his line which looked disorganized and was mistake prone. From the get go, which saw Tim Cahill score the fastest goal in MLS history, Boswell wasn't covering for Taylor. A Dynamo defense which saw very few threats all day, leaked too many at home - and that just isn't okay.

Corey Ashe (4) - Ashe did his best to try to work his way into the attack, but too often had to track back to defend, which made him pretty ineffective pushing forward.

Warren Creavalle (6) - Creavalle again played a pretty good game to keep his position and pairing with Ricardo Clark in the center of the field. My one gripe with his play is with his shots on goal. Nearly all of them came from crosses that the Dynamo nearly put away, and suddenly the ball lands at his feet and Creavalle one times it into the stands. A little more composure, a touch to the side, or a pass would have been preferable.

Ricardo Clark (6.5) - Once again a force in the middle of the field, Clark really tried to get the offense going, which didn't reward his efforts. Clark made key challenges in the midfield that prevented the Red Bulls from gaining offensive momentum. Clark was so effective at preventing the ball getting to Henry and Cahill that Henry dropped back to defend deep.

Oscar Boniek Garcia, MotM, (7) - Boniek was by far the best player for the Dynamo. He stole the ball, created opportunities for himself and others, made darting runs at goal, and was just overall awesome, as usual.

Brad Davis (6.5) - Davis apparently got into a little heated exchange with Tim Cahill before the start of the 2^nd half, though both players deny everything. Davis provided good service and set up a lot of good chances for the Dynamo forward duo to bring the Dynamo back to life, but that never came to fruition.

Giles Barnes (4) - Giles Barnes disappeared for large stretches of the game. He looked best when Omar Cummings came into the game and he dropped back into his natural CAM role. That being said, he started the game as a forward and he looked lost. The Barnes forward experiment needs to and should end because it hasn't really worked since early May.

Will Bruin (4) - Will Bruin - and the rest of the forwards on this team - simply put, are underperforming. The job of a forward is to produce goals, whether that is in a set up fashion or by making them oneself. Last week I cut Bruin some slack because he took good shots that were brilliantly saved by SKC. This week his shots were lacking, he looked stranded on his lonely island, and he didn't threaten the keeper the way a hungry bear should.

The Subs:

Omar Cummings (4) - Cummings came on for Creavalle which pushed Barnes back to his natural position, and Cummings looked to show what a veteran goal scorer/forward can do. Cummings probably wants to retake the shots he took, because he normally finishes those. Maybe next time Omar.

Andrew Driver (5.5) - Driver replaced Davis and made a few good runs along the left side of the field, but Driver lacked the creative element that Davis brought to the table. Driver was also forced into playing more defensively as NY was able to make late pushes against the Dynamo.

Cam Weaver (-) - I'm not sure Weaver even had a touch on the ball as NY made a late push which saw the Dynamo forwards see little to no action in the last leg of the game.

Coach Dominic Kinnear (4) - There needs to be some kind of change as we head into our final match of the regular season against DC United. We know that Barnes is struggling as a forward so he either needs to be a CAM or come off the bench if the preferred central mid pairing is Clark and Creavalle. Bruin is also struggling, part of which is due to Barnes, but his shots just aren't going in. Cummings should be a starter and maybe Weaver if Bruin can't do it. The defense is looking unorganized and is mistake prone - maybe Brunner should start over Taylor. Brunner certainly has made a case for the job. The narrative of the Dynamo this season has played out like this: defense makes costly mistakes, the midfield can create and possess the ball, and the forwards struggle to make an impact. This team was one of the deepest and most talented squads in MLS, and now we might not make the playoffs. I'm confident that if we do make it in, we'll make a good run - but it's that "if we make it" that concerns me.