Houston Dynamo Player Ratings vs. FC Dallas

Quick Thoughts:

1) The Dynamo were beaten in the midfield and then were beaten on the counter attack. Turnovers were costly and Dallas's accurate passing and shooting made it so the Dynamo were constantly chasing the ball (and the lead).

2) Dallas's high pressing defensive line supported their midfield in disrupting our runs and build up play.

3) This was a game in where very little went right: players didn't link well, defensive errors happened often, we saw a red card and a penalty called against us (and converted), and Miranda had probably the silliest yellow card for handling a cross. Still, I don't think this was the worst FC Dallas loss this year.

Houston Dynamo Player Ratings:

Tyler Deric (6.5) - Deric made 7 saves but leaked 4 in as FC Dallas had 11 of their 12 shots on target. It's hard to fault Deric for any of the goals as the defense got caught sleeping or ball watching too many times by a potent FCD offense. The score line could have looked much worse if it weren't for a few excellent saves by Deric.

DaMarcus Beasley (7) - Defensively, Beasley was very tuned in to many of FC Dallas's movements and he often shut down attacks that came through his side of the field. Beasley had 5 tackles and 7 intercepted passes, but never looked in sync with the midfielders and forwards when he pushed up the field.

Raul Rodriguez (5) - Passed accurately out of the back to push the ball up to the midfielders, Rodriguez intercepted the ball incredibly well but struggled to maintain positional focus against FCD's offense which led to the 3^rd goal of the match. Rodriguez was sent off for a hard tackle in the 90^th minute which opened up FC Dallas to score their 4^th goal.

David Horst (5) - Like Rodriguez, Horst also passed well out of the back and around the center line, but Horst's lack of pace was hurt by the speed and technique of Fabian Castillo. Horst also blocked Mauro Diaz's shot in the 26^th minute to keep the Dynamo goal deficit at 1.

Oscar Boniek Garcia (5.5) - In a huge gamble, Coyle started Boniek at RB over Sheanon Williams and it became clear (to us and to Coyle) that Boniek was not ready to be thrown into the fray with Castillo. After Williams subbed in, Boniek moved to central midfield which helped him assist Ricardo Clark for the Dynamo's lone goal.

Leonel Miranda (5.5) - Miranda struggled on the defensive end and lacked support for large stretches of the game as Dallas simply passed around Miranda when pushing the ball up to Castillo. Miranda was able to spread the field out for the Dynamo offense and contributed to a good chance on goal, but the biggest highlight of his game was the yellow card he received for slapping a crossed ball out of the air.

Rasheed Olabiyi (4.5) - Olabiyi had a good run of games leading up to the Texas Derby, but it's clear he still has some growing to do as the trio of Mauro Diaz, Fabian Castillo, and David Texeira was simply too overwhelming. Olabiyi had a few quality passes and some decent defensive work, but a foul on Castillo in the box led to Coyle shuffling the lineup and Olabiyi was taken off.

Brad Davis (6) - Davis's service didn't quite seem up to his usual standard, though he did have a few excellent balls sent in. Davis passed the ball accurately from a variety of positions, but few chances seemed too threatening.

Ricardo Clark, MotM, (7) - Clark was the bright spot in midfield as his awareness and positioning defensively along with his vision offensively helped establish him on both sides of the ball. His passing accuracy was very good for a central midfielder playing a team that pressed their defenders high into the midfield. Following Mauro Diaz's penalty kick, Ricardo Clark restored some life in the Dynamo by equalizing the game in the 36^th minute with a low dipping shot from outside the 18 yard box through traffic.

Giles Barnes (5) - The forward group had it rough as the midfield struggled to get the ball to its primary scorers. Barnes often had to track back deep into the midfield, where he passed flawlessly, but by doing so he took himself out of a position to make runs in dangerous areas.

Will Bruin (5) - Like Barnes, Bruin didn't see a lot of the ball and the effort and pressure that we saw from him against the Colorado Rapids just wasn't there against FC Dallas.

The Subs:

Sheanon Williams (6) - Came on at right back for Olabiyi in the 30^th minute which pushed Boniek into central midfield. Williams helped stabilize the defensive line for the remainder of the 1^st half and for the first few minutes of the 2^nd.

Rob Lovejoy (6.5) - Entered the game in the 61^st minute for Leonel Miranda and immediately brought back the hustle and drive that we saw earlier in the year. Lovejoy created a number of opportunities - some good, some not so good, but his effort was refreshing.

Luis Garrido (4.5) - Was substituted on for Boniek Garcia in a bit of a surprise move given the 3-1 score line. Garrido didn't have a huge impact on the game defensively and contributed little on the other end.

Coach Owen Coyle (5) - Coyle's gamble to play Boniek over Williams at RB was a poor choice. Williams's experience and reluctance to push higher up the field (compared to Boniek) would have helped the Dynamo create some rhythm early in the match. Bringing Garrido on while trailing 3-1 was also a head scratching move. The Dynamo simply looked out of gas for large stretches of this game and didn't seem prepared for the offensive potential that this Dallas team possesses.