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The Houston Dynamo came up with a last minute goal to get all three points against the LA Galaxy. Even though it seemed like the Dynamo were in control of the game, the Galaxy wouldn’t go away and it took a goal from Memo Rodríguez to seal the 3-2 victory. Below are my quick thoughts on the game, but please let us know what you thought about the Dynamo win over the Galaxy.
Quick Thoughts about the Game:
1) This game was one of the most memorable experiences for me because it had everything you could want in an exciting game. It had star power with Zlatan Ibrahimović getting a huge ovation when his name was called out. The crowd was electric. They were loud, they were invested in the game, and it was simply amazing hearing them and I hope we can keep getting crowds like this in the future. They even did the wave which lasted several minutes. The game itself was a back and forth affair with the Dynamo going up and LA clawing their way back as they attempted to silence the crowd, but the last minute goal by Memo was the icing on the cake and ended a truly incredible game.
2) Since returning to the starting lineup, Romell Quioto has notched 4 assists and 2 goals in just 4 games while being heavily involved on other goals. Against the Galaxy he had the early assist to Alejandro Fuenmayor on a set piece and he scored himself on another set piece early into the second half. Quioto has become the guy to play through because he’s so dangerous getting forward from the wing. His combination of speed, dribbling, vision, and ability to drive a ball across goal is ideal for guys like Alberth Elis to pounce on.
3) In Wilmer Cabrera’s system that leans heavily on its offense, the defense and midfielders must be careful with their distribution and aware of opponents near them. The worst thing that can happen is being dispossessed or turning the ball over another way which gives opponents a numbers advantage going at our goal. Darwin Cerén did this once that led to LA’s first equalizer. It’s not the only time he’s turned the ball over in this fashion either. Cerén and Eric Alexander both have tendencies to hold onto the ball a little too long and they both like to dribble the ball in situations where passing might be safer.
4) Another issue that we’ve seen from the Dynamo this season is that they tend to sit back on leads. I thought the Dynamo were largely better at not doing this overall – especially in the second half – but there were stretches during the first half where the team tried to possess the ball while keeping numbers in safer positions. The result was everything was a backwards pass. Yes we possessed pretty well, but we created no danger and when LA got the ball they got chances. They weren’t great chances, but they did try to take advantage of poor Dynamo tendencies. Eventually the Galaxy would get back in the game on a counter, but the Dynamo came out better in the second half.