Player Ratings: Dynamo vs Union

Houston Dynamo Player Ratings:

Tally Hall (5.5) - The Houston goalkeeper really wasn't tested very often, and though he recorded a clean sheet with 0 saves, the one disallowed goal could be completely considered Hall's fault - had it counted.

Kofi Sarkodie (5) - His Royal Highness lined up at left back for Corey Ashe and actually did pretty well for his first real showing at the position. Occasionally he was caught out of position, but overall did well to intercept balls and get into the attack.

Jermaine Taylor (5.5) - Taylor came back from international duty in a very solid fashion. Philadelphia had a tough time breaking through the center of the defense and often lobbed balls across or over in order to gain chances and Taylor made a number of great blocks on threatening balls in.

Bobby Boswell (6.5) - Probably the best battle of the entire game was Boswell vs Conor Casey. The two are big and physical and Boswell disrupted his contributions the entire night.

Warren Creavalle (5.5) - Creavalle moved to RB following a short stint at CB and handled himself pretty well overall. He moved the ball well, as he's grown accustomed to in midfield, and marked his man very well on defense.

Jason Johnson (6) - Johnson got the start again at RM due to the 1 game suspension of Boniek Garcia, and he held his own for the most part, going at the defense and playing a decent ball in here and there.

Ricardo Clark, MotM, (7) - Clark came back into the starting lineup in great fashion. Not only was his goal the game winner, but he was a menace for anyone trying to push through the middle of the field. He eagerly pushed into the attack and made the right passes when we needed him to.

Giles Barnes (5.5) - Barnes started for the first time this season as his natural CAM position, but the results were a bit mixed. On the plus side he looked very comfortable, but the ball really didn't work through the center as much as it did the outside, which marginalized his contributions. Still, it was nice seeing him in this position.

Brad Davis (6.5) - Davis did a lot of defensive work on the left, but it was his assist that stood out. It was vintage Davis: precision set piece delivery onto the head of a teammate into the back of the net. It was even more impressive considering the distance that he took the kick from. Davis did a lot on both sides of the ball, and the rejoining of him and Boniek will do a lot to push the Dynamo into the playoffs.

Cam Weaver (5.5) - Weaver missed two great chances back to back, but other than that did a lot to create chances for others through his great hold up ability and his subtle passing game - usually accurate passes off his head. Had he scored he could have really threatened Bruin for the starting spot.

Will Bruin (5.5) - Bruin was fairly quiet tonight, but he played more of a role player attempting to set up fellow forward Cam Weaver whom, in one case nailed the cross bar. He showed that he could pass better than the last few games but was absent in front of goal, and didn't show up on defense as much as he could have.

The Subs:

Servando Carrasco (5.5) - The man that dates Alex Morgan (sorry I had to) that we got for Adam Moffat came in and really only had a few touches on the ball, but he looked very comfortable for his first showing. I've followed Carrasco a bit and haven't been overly impressed, but I think in the right system he could flourish. This could be it.

Omar Cummings (6) - Cummings is back. Yeah I know he didn't score, but when he came on the pitch he looked great. He ran at the goalkeeper, he made great passes, and really just looked comfortable. I hope we see him involved more in our playoff push because I loved his energy and efforts coming back after a lengthy absence.

Brian Ownby (5.5) - Ownby always brings energy to the Dynamo attack and he brought some of that again. Unfortunately he was taken down after a nasty challenge only a few minutes after he entered the game. Here's hoping he's ok, because Ownby can be a handful due to his energy and grit.

The Assistant Coaches (Wade Barrett and Steve Ralston): (5.5) - Filled in for the suspended Kinnear (who dropped some sweet TV F-Bombs on his way out of BBVA against the NYRB) took 3 points on the road and they did it without the suspended Boniek Garcia. They also bumped the Dynamo into the fourth playoff spot in the process which is fantastic. This could be the first step in a real playoff push. Sure, some of us have to question why our newest designated player didn't see action, but it's hard to argue with a shutout (even it was suspect) victory over a conference opponent.