Player Ratings Houston Dynamo vs. Minnesota United FC

Coming back into MLS action following a brief break due to the CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage, the Houston Dynamo were hoping to get back on track and record their first win away from Houston as they took on Minnesota United FC. Unfortunately with that break came some rust – specifically on the offensive end as the Dynamo outshot Minnesota 20-4, but with only 4 on target resulting in no goals. The bright side of this otherwise disappointing result in their 0-0 draw is the way the Dynamo came out and played early on. Normally on the road the team plays a little too compact, they’re conservative with how they attack opponents, and they surrender too much space in the midfield. The Dynamo came out like they do at home where they’ve been so good this season. The only difference is they were unable to get the ball in the net.

Personnel wise I think the ratings are pretty fair. A. J. DeLaGarza was definitely the MotM, but I would argue that Wilmer Cabrera should be a little higher than 5.3 given how well the team began the match.

The Top Performers:

A. J. DeLaGarza, Man of the Match, (7.5) –DeLaGarza was easily the best player for the Dynamo in this game. He was good at supporting runs up the field in the first half, he passed well, tackled and intercepted passes, blocked shots, and produced a Save of the Week caliber goal line clearance to keep the Dynamo level with the Loons.

Memo Rodriguez (6.5) – In his MLS starting debut Memo showed a lot of promise. Although he lined up as a forward just ahead of Alex Lima, Memo really provided a lot of the creativity and playmaking that fueled the Dynamo early on. He also was active on the defensive end notching 3 intercepted passes and 2 tackles.

Tyler Deric (6.5) – On paper it wasn’t a very active night for Tyler Deric as he was only able to collect 2 total saves throughout the full 90, but he did have an impressive save in the 89^th minute which saw him wincing in pain from a collision with MNUFC striker Christian Ramirez.

Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera (5.3) – I think Cabrera deserves to be a little higher than 5.3 as his team came out very strong and created a lot of chances to score (it isn’t his fault the players are missing after all). I do think early in the 2^nd half the team sat back a little deeper than usual, but the team adjusted to that when it brought on Vicente Sanchez which helped them keep a little more possession higher up the field.

The Rest of the Starters:

DEF: DaMarucs Beasley (6.3)

DEF: Leonardo (6.3)

DEF: Adolfo Machado (6.3)

MID: Alex Lima (6)

MID: Juan David Cabezas (6.1)

MID: Ricardo Clark (5.9)

FW: Mauro Manotas (5)

FW: Andrew Wenger (5)

The Subs:

FW: Vicente Sanchez (5.8)

MID: Jose Escalante (4.1)

MID: Joseph Holland (4.6)