Houston Dynamo 2, FC Dallas 4: Rate the Players and Quick Thoughts

The winless streak continues for the Houston Dynamo which now extends to 10 league matches. This one hurt a little more than the other 9 losses or draws as last Saturday’s 2-4 defeat to FC Dallas ensured that El Capitán would be headed up north to Frisco, TX. One of the few bright sides to come out of this game was that this was the first time during this streak that the Dynamo scored at least two goals.

Quick Thoughts about the Game:

1) This winless streak ties a franchise high streak without a win going back to the 2010 season. In that season the Dynamo actually did have one point up on this year’s go around though. There are a lot of places to find blame for what’s gone on over the past 10 games, but the place I find most is with the tactics of Wilmer Cabrera. I think the squad, as currently assembled and with the current injury situation, can compete in this league. However, I believe Cabrera is over thinking how to manage each game and the strategy and the starting lineup against FC Dallas this past weekend is a good example of that.

The lineup that was tweeted out did not seem like the formation that Cabrera rolled out. As a reminder here’s the lineup and formation that the Dynamo tweeted.

Now, that’s not a poor lineup or formation by any stretch, but the lineup actually looked like a 4-3-1-2. The result was a huge gap in the midfield between the forwards and the midfielders. Adam Lundqvist in the left midfield position struggled to push up the field and connect with Romell Quioto. Oscar Boniek García and Darwin Cerén sat pretty deep which exposed some of Boniek’s defensive shortcomings. In my view, Cabrera tried to do something new, but he over thought how to get the most out of our team.

2) A big difference between the Dynamo and FC Dallas was in energy and effort. FC Dallas looked like a team at the top of the table that wanted to stay there. We looked pretty defeated and gassed both mentally and physically. It’s hard to stay sharp when we’ve been in a three points drought, but the effort was lacking in one of the few remaining games that still had meaning.

3) Bad things aside, what a goal from Mauro Manotas:

4) The Dynamo are not out of playoff contention, but they will be soon and it’s time to start looking at what to do next. Obviously winning the US Open Cup later this month is a must and Cabrera must have his players ready to compete in that one. We should let the youngsters get more minutes and the front office will need to evaluate this season and come up with a good strategy for 2019.

Rate the Players: