Dynamo vs Sporting Kansas City - Player Ratings

After each game we’ll be handing out player ratings on a 1-10 scale. Saturday night’s 1-0 loss at Sporting Kansas City was the Houston Dynamo’s first loss of 2022, so expectedly, there weren’t too many standouts. All stats referenced are from fbref.

Starters

Steve Clark – 6

Clark made 4 saves on the 5 shots he faced, conceding Remi Walter’s goal in the second half. His short and medium passes were nearly flawless at 100% and 93%.

Adam Lundkvist – 5

The Swedish left back did well getting forward, with 5 progressive carries. Lundkvist led the team with 22 pressures. His passing could use some cleaning up, connecting on just 75%.

Tim Parker – 5

Parker had a couple of interceptions but recorded no tackles. He had less than half of the touches he did last week, with just 52 on Saturday, showing how much less possession the Dynamo had.

Daniel Steres – 6

Teenage Hadebe is still on the bench, partly because Steres has played pretty well. He led the team Saturday with 7 clearances. There were a couple of instances where he got pulled out of position by runners, but Steres did well to recover.

Zarek Valentin– 6

William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports

Valentin started for the injured Griffin Dorsey and put in a solid 85-minute shift. The veteran was solid defensively and showed some runs forward to help the attack. It will be interesting to see if he remains the starter at right back after his possible replacement made his debut Saturday.

Matias Vera – 5

The Argentine put in a solid shift, nothing great but nothing terrible. 45 of 47 passes is just what he does on any given matchday. Vera picked up a yellow card in second-half stoppage time that you would prefer to not see him get.

Darwin Ceren – 5

Ceren pretty much is what he is. He’s a defensive midfielder that will move the ball from station to station. His passing was great in this game, but the team needs more out of the midfielders, he is a bit redundant to what Vera does. His yellow card in the second half came right before Sporting’s goal and his substitution.

Memo Rodriguez – 5

Memo’s passing was improved this week but with Ceren and Vera starting, a lot of the creativity and playmaking is going to fall on Rodriguez, and he has not shown the flash yet. His 2 shot-creating actions led the team (tied with Fafa) but the team is still missing links from the midfield to Sebas.

Fafa Picault – 5

This goes for Baird too but, the Dynamo wings have got to play better, plain and simple. Fafa had some nice carries into the attacking third, but his passing was quite bad on Saturday, completing less than 60%.

Corey Baird – 4

Baird played 75 minutes and managed 1 shot, that was blocked, no shot-creating actions, and no dribbles even attempted. Corey is a strong defensive winger and tracks back to help win the ball but at some point, you have to think we may see a lineup change here to try and get the offense on track.

Sebastian Ferreira – 5

Can I just copy and paste what I said for Sebas last week? Good strikers need service and Ferreira didn’t get any on Saturday. He did have a shot on target and got into some battles in the box for loose balls, but the Dynamo didn’t pay $6 million for a shot and some effort. Something is going to need to change in the lineup and/or tactics so Ferreira can be at his best and getting chances to score.

Subs

Darwin Quintero – 6

Darwin played 25 minutes and was probably the best offensive player on the field for Houston. He got a silly yellow card late but when he was on the ball, he was at least trying things. We need to see a start or longer spells from him and soon.

Adalberto Carrasquilla – 6

William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports

See above. No, but seriously, Darwin and Coco played a combined 50 minutes and had 2 of Houston’s 9 shot-creating actions. Hopefully, Carrasquilla is back to full health soon because the Dynamo need him in the lineup every week for the majority, if not all, of games.

Thor Ulfarsson – 4

Thor played 15 minutes and touched the ball once. If that doesn’t sum up the struggles I talked about with Ferreira and creating goal scoring opportunities, I’m not sure what else to tell you.

Tyler Pasher - 5

Pasher should be starting. Baird brings the team a defensive presence but if Pasher is healthy, his ability to run at defenders and create for himself and others is almost non-existent on the rest of the roster. Pasher had a shot on target and some good passing, we need to see more than 15 minutes now.

Zeca – N/A

The Brazilian made his Dynamo debut in a brief 5-minute cameo. We didn’t see a lot of him, but he looked sharp on the ball at a time when the Dynamo were looking for a late equalizer. Valentin has been adequate so far, but Zeca looks to be in line to start when he is fit, and Dynamo fans will be eager to see more of him.