Houston Dynamo 0, Minnesota United FC 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. These ratings are interesting because we all view how players perform differently. Rating websites like WhoScored.com view things from an analytical perspective, but a statistic, even one as big as a goal, doesn’t quite tell the entire story as some goals are bigger and more important to a game than others. I think seeing how we as a community feel can create fun conversations. 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) The Dynamo came out with a lot of energy and looked very much like the version of themselves that we see in Houston. The difference between these two versions though is that the home version finishes their chances. With 19 shots total only 4 were on target. It’s important to remember that Cubo Torres, Alberth Elis, and Romell Quioto were all absent this match and, yes, Minnesota United FC goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth had some huge saves, but at the same time we didn’t do ourselves any favors by shooting wide often. Alex had a golden opportunity to open the scoring when he was 1v1 with the Shuttleworth, but instead of firing with his right foot into the larger open area of the net he opted to shift with his preferred left and shoot at the narrow near post option. It didn’t work.

2) Although the disappointing lack of scoring despite having quality chances is the most apparent takeaway there were several players who did have strong performances. A. J. DeLaGarza kept this game from being a loss with a Save of the Week caliber off the line save and Memo Rodriguez produced several key passes for the Dynamo in his starting debut. Vicente Sanchez also showed some nice moves late in the game showing once again that he still has some left in the tank.

3) Wilmer Cabrera acknowledged that this was 2 points that the Dynamo dropped because of their lack of finishing which means he’s honest and was paying attention. The Dynamo could have been up 3 or 4 goals in the first half and usually if you keep shooting they’ll go in. Not this time. I think they’ll get some extra work in at training and will be very motivated when they travel to play D.C. United.

4) While this result definitely feels poor for the Dynamo given the number of opportunities they had on goal, it won’t feel as bad if they’re able to get a win when they face D. C. United at RFK Stadium this Saturday. 4 points in 4 days is okay by me. Of course, a loss in DC would make this one hurt a little more.

Rate the Players: