Houston Dynamo 2, San Jose Earthquakes 0: Rate the Players and Quick Thoughts

At the beginning of the year I introduced a new way for the Dynamo Theory community to be a part of Player Ratings. After matches everyone will get a chance to submit how each player did on a scale of 1 to 10 which will be averaged out in a later article. I think it’s interesting to see how we collectively felt about a player and use that as a discussion piece, but of course how we feel individually matters as well so please comment about player performances as you wish in the comments.

Quick Thoughts about the Game:

1) Leonardo rejoining the back line helped the organization of the defense immensely. Juan David Cabezas in central midfield also provided plenty of cover for the group and the defense should be happy with how they performed limiting San Jose to just 2 shots on target and (finally) earning a clean sheet.

2) The key to this week’s success was in the tactical changes Wilmer Cabrera made to begin the game. Was it a diamond 4-4-2 or a 4-3-1-2? It doesn’t matter because it worked. Alex at the CAM position was given flexibility to push into the attack as a CF, changing the formation to a 4-3-3 when we were attacking and then collapsed back into a 4 man midfield when we defended. This was also key to us managing the lead the way we did. There were a couple of nervous moments as the Dynamo did find a few lulls, but as a whole it’s hard to find too much to complain about in a solid 2-0 win.

3) The goals the Dynamo scored showed how the team can capitalize on mistakes. In the case of the penalty kick taken, it’s their ability to score from the spot after a foul in the box. On Cubo’s 7^th goal of the year, he started with a stutter step and finished easily down the center of the goal to open the scoring. Alberth Elis’s goal took advantage of San Jose Earthquake keeper David Bingham missing a ball sent in from a corner kick and Elis finishing without anyone standing in his way.

4) This was a great game to put an end to the slump the Dynamo have been in. The New England and Minnesota United games stand out so it was nice to get a clean sheet and finish off an opponent that prior to the match was just 1 point behind. The 3 points keeps us near the top of the pack in the Western Conference.

Rate the Players: