Houston Dynamo Player Ratings vs. Sporting Kansas City

Quick Thoughts:

1) This was an important win for a lot of people: the fans, the players, and the coaching staff. It stinks being in last place and with the win we moved out of the league bottom position and hopefully have developed momentum to move forward.

2) The passing accuracy was horrendous and has trended that way the last few games. Only 4 players passed above 70% and only 1 was above 80%. That led to a large amount of turnovers that created chances for Sporting Kansas City. While the Dynamo were able to capitalize on their chances and forced SKC to take poor shots, they'll surely want to increase their time of possession to control tempo and their own opportunities.

3) A huge boost for the Dynamo came when a few of the long balls sent from the back were won by the Dynamo and that created quick chances on goal against unorganized defenders that had crept forward.

Houston Dynamo Player Ratings

Tyler Deric (7) -€” In Deric's first full game back and just his second game all year, the number 1 choice at the goalkeeper position showed command of his defensive backs. Despite 17 shots by Sporting Kansas City, only 3 of the shots were on target which were easily saved by Deric. However, where Deric excelled was his communication with his defenders which allowed the Dynamo to earn their first clean sheet since March 12^th.

DaMarcus Beasley (6) -€” Intercepted the ball well inside the Dynamo defensive half, but gave up the ball just outside of the 18 yard box and didn't pass too well as long balls out of the back in general led to turnovers.

David Horst (6.5) -€” Despite incredibly poor passing, Horst helped keep balls away from the 6 yard box by clearing them and occasionally springing a quick counter. Horst had intercepted 5 passes and nearly capitalized on a spilled ball by Tim Melia.

Agus (6.5) -€” Could we end up seeing more of the Agus and Horst partnership? The two are very similar players and could make for one of the toughest backs in Major League Soccer. Agus had several intercepted passes, and passed more accurately than Horst, but gave up several fouls in poor positions.

Jalil Anibaba (5.5) -€” A surprise start for Anibaba over Sheanon Williams or Raul Rodriguez, Anibaba didn't start his game perfectly as he had trouble keeping up with players on the right side of the field, but he gradually improved his performance. Anibaba had several tackles across the back, but passed the ball just over 55% due to a reliance on long ball service.

Ricardo Clark (7.5) -€” Clark absolutely dominated the midfield as he intercepted 5 passes, had several tackles, and he was 2^nd for the best passing accuracy among Dynamo players (Leonel Miranda was 1^st who was a substitute). Clark blocked a shot, nearly found the net with a well placed header, and drew a foul just outside the 18 yard box of Tim Melia's goal.

Alex Lima (7) -€” Defensively, Alex was a stud as he pulled n 5 tackles, 2 blocked shots, and was able to afford Clark a few opportunities up the field. However, his passing was at 57% due to a significant number of long balls and he gave up fouls in poor locations. Still, his defensive efforts more than outweigh his offensive short comings in this match.

Cristian Maidana (6.5) -€” Chaco rejoined the starting XI and nearly had a goal himself, but his shot went straight to Tim Melia. Maidana also set up Andrew Wenger's goal beautifully by recognizing the winger's run to solidify the Dynamo's lead. However, Chaco rarely provided defensive help and often played as more of a 2^nd forward to Cubo for much of the game while his passing game also left plenty to be desired from a playmaker.

Giles Barnes, MotM, (7.5) -€” This is the kind of performance we want to see out of our Captain. Barnes was active on both sides of the ball not only scoring the game winning goal in honor of Leo Ponce, but he contributed on the defensive side -€” which has been a criticism many have had of his game, that led to preventing corners and him intercepting passes.

Andrew Wenger (7.5) -€” Showed off his swagger on both sides of the ball by intercepting the ball all over the right side of the field and also contributing one screamer of a goal that Tim Melia had no chance of stopping.

Erick Torres (7) -€” Cubo has continued to show promise in the minutes that he's been shown and in this game he provided the opening assist to Giles Barnes. Cubo doesn't quite have the hold-up game that Will Bruin possesses, but he's proven he can win balls some 2^nd chance balls. Whether or not this was a "schedule start" for Cubo given the large amount of games the Dynamo play this coming week, the one thing Cubo fans can delight in is that he's finally fighting and earning minutes.

The Subs:

Will Bruin (5.5) -€” Bruin entered the match early in the 2^nd half for Cubo Torres in the 57^th minute and Bruin did well to provide some defensive cover and hold up play, but never really saw enough of the ball as SKC began increasing their possession late in the match.

Abdoublie Mansally (5.5) -€” Only 1 of Mansally's 4 passes found their mark when he came on in the 67^th minute for DaMarcus Beasley. Mansally did however provide tremendous defensive cover notching 4 intercepted passes since he came on the pitch.

Leonel Miranda (6) -€” Came on for Maidana in the 75^th minute and quickly provided support on the attacking end which included a perfect through pass to Barnes that nearly put the Dynamo up 3-0. Miranda also intercepted a pair passes on the defensive end.

Coach Owen Coyle (6) -€” Coyle promised to make some changes and he did. He put in two tough center backs over the cerebral Raul Rodriguez, he put playmaker Chaco Maidana back in the starting XI, and he started Cubo Torres as his lone striker. The changes paid off as both Chaco and Cubo provided assists and the Dynamo earned a clean sheet. However, there are still some problems worth noting. The team has trouble transitioning the ball from the back to their advanced midfielders and forwards. This leads to turnovers and chances for opponents and creates additional work for defenders. The team NEEDS to pass more effectively if they want to run this scheme moving forward.