Player Ratings: Dynamo vs Chivas USA

Houston Dynamo Player Ratings:

Tally Hall (6) - Hall didn't have too much to do with his starting backline back and nearly error free. He can't be blamed for the only goal against the Dynamo which was just luck of the post (bad luck for us) that found the head of a rushing player.

Kofi Sarkodie (6) - Sarkodie was back at his usual RB spot and really didn't commit many errors. The Dynamo really dominated control in the midfield and in the final third which leads to fewer defensive miscues (I'll get to the one later). Sarkodie pushed down the right line often and put in some very threatening crosses.

Jermaine Taylor (5) - Jermaine Taylor was overall quite good, but again for a match that saw little threatening opportunities, the errors will cost you points on my scale. Taylor attempted to play the ball through the center of the field which quickly led to a counter attack that had Chivas USA on the board and equal with the Dynamo in the 50^th minute.

Bobby Boswell (5.5) - Boswell made a few misjudged tackles and headers that he missed but was quick to recover and apply pressure to force difficult shots. Boswell was tough in the middle for most of the game and didn't allow many opportunities to get through him.

Corey Ashe (6.5) - Welcome back Ashe! Ashe came back in a great fashion. His speed at LB was missed, and he didn't miss a beat challenging down the left side. His ability to push into the attack from the left also was missed as he made several accurate crosses in the final attacking third of the field.

Warren Creavalle (6) - All of the talk right now is who will partner with Ricardo Clark in the center of the field - usually between our newest acquisitions including our young DP Alex Lopez and Servando Carrasco. As of now though, it's Creavalle's position to lose, and the Clark - Creavalle partnership was very good in this game.

Ricardo Clark (7) - Ricardo Clark absolutely dominated the middle of the field. Having many of our players back and healthy makes this team dangerous, and Clark's ability to lockdown the center of the field by intercepting passes, making good physical tackles, and accurate passing was missing while he was ill.

Oscar Boniek Garcia (7.5) - Boniek looked so spry and agile on the pitch tonight. He literally pulled the ball anywhere he wanted to go, and was calm while faking out defenders. This team is beginning to look like the contender we hoped for so very long. Oh and Boniek nailed his first two goals in a single game as a Dynamo player and gave a fantastic celebration in honor of his wife's pregnancy with twins.

Brad Davis (7.5) - The assist king earned another notch on his assist belt and this one came from an old standby: a corner kick. Davis's corner kick in the 39^th minute found the head of Giles Barnes. Davis was active in other ways too - he provided long balls over the top, with accuracy I might add, and of course shook a few defenders on the dribble as well.

Giles Barnes, MotM, (8) - Giles Barnes has returned it seems. Barnes was the most active player for most of the game and found the net twice. I believe that when the service from the midfield is there, Barnes doesn't track back as often which doesn't strand Bruin, which means we actually have a threatening forward duo.

Will Bruin (7) - Bruin had a couple of missed opportunities early in the game and this looked like Bruin would continue to struggle to find the net. Bruin's goal however was amazing and proved to be the one that exclaimed to Chivas USA "there will be no more equalizers". Will Bruin's touch as he got passed defenders and then his shot were both beautiful. He followed that up with a great assist to Boniek showing that he wasn't going to waste bad shots - like he had been doing for awhile as he struggled, and that he wanted to get other players involved.

The Subs:

Cam Weaver (5.5) - Weaver came on for my man of the match Giles Barnes and the lack of pace was noticeable, however Weaver was able to make several great passes and provided hold up play in the final third. Weaver has obviously been working on his technical skills as he has been showcasing a very good dummy pass which he did to set up Boniek for his first goal.

Servando Carrasco (5.5) - The newly acquired Carrasco made his second appearance for the Dynamo and played important "get up to speed" minutes to help get him in the Dynamo style of play quickly.

Omar Cummings (6) - Cummings came on and looked healthy and fast - two very good signs. If he can stay healthy, he will be a huge part of our playoff push and our post season run. The one thing that I said this last week about Cummings was that return to health comes first, the scoring touch returning coming back is second. Let's hope that comes back quick.

Coach Dominic Kinnear (7.5) - Dominic Kinnear earned his team 3 points at home and moved us into 4^th place in the Eastern Conference and he did so in a commanding way. Yes it was against Chivas USA, but Chivas had been playing better as of late and definitely hadn't lost this bad to anyone in a while. That being said, the pieces are now coming together. We saw our starting defenders back and only making one costly error (still need to work on that), our midfield create chances both out wide and from the center, our forwards scoring, and our set piece prowess returning. All in all this game was important to the playoff picture standing, but also boosted the confidence of this team, which is a really important thing at the end of the season.