Coach, do we have to play on Field Turf?

I don't speak Spanish well at all, but watching the Dynamo-RBNY game on Telefutura today, it looked like we lost 0-3. That sure looked like non-orange players shooting into the net. Was that Ashe scoring a speedy strike? Oh, that's Dane Richards. (Ives Galarcep said Barrett shouldn't feel bad being smoked by Richards; about 20 American have been smoked by Jamaicans this week.)

Actually, the game stunk in any language. Here's a nice (well, maybe "nice" isn't the word) recap here.

Strange thing is that I didn't feel that we were outplayed by the Toros Rojos today, but we certainly were out hustled on about 6 occasions, 3 of which resulted in goals. It was very uncharacteristic of the MIO to be out-worked by an opponent. Can we chalk it up to 3 games in one week? (Two of which being in the taxing humid climate of Houston.)

The Dynamo offense frequently goes through dry spells. It's like Houston weather: monsoon one day, drought the next. So I wasn't completely surprised by the lack of scoring production. Technically we got 4 shots on goal, but none were particularly memorable. We didn't test Conway much at all.

We didn't have much creativity on the attack, but it was on the other end where the Dynamo were really out worked and out hustled -- and that WAS a surprise. On the first goal ERob ball-watches and stands flat-footed, not realizing someone might run into the box to do something with a cross. Too late he sees JP Angel's blur. The only thing ERob does is try to collar JPA at the last minute, but it was too late and was a poor tactic anyway. I have trouble faulting Barrett too much on the second goal. Richards out paced him and when Barrett saw Richards pulling away at the end, he tried a last ditch slide tackle that didn't go too well on the turf. Barrett possibly could have positioned himself better before the footrace began, but it really came down to the fact that Richards is blazing fast. The final goal was another ERob flub, where he just lackadaisically let Magee fly through for a 1-on-1 with Pat Onstad.

So that is 2 goals from being outworked, and one from being out paced. The Dynamo of old would have kept this to a respectable 0-1 loss. I wonder, does ERob sit next week? Or does he get the message this week that he let his team down?

Besides ERob, another AWOL player was DeRo. The difference is that DeRo looked like he was trying, he just couldn't get into the game. He and his fellow middies did do well enough that the Dynamo held their own in the middle, but there were still too many give-aways and too few coordinated passing plays.

Maybe Dom should have pulled Kei Kamara (who also seemed off, and was definitely off target), pushed DeRo to forward, and inserted Stuie as Attacking Mid earlier. Maybe Ashe could have gone in earlier to provide speed to counter Richards speed. Or maybe Dom expected ERob to show up and try a little harder.

Actually, the whole team seemed out of sync.

If there's any solace in this 0-3 loss (the second 0-3 loss of the season), it's that we weren't outclassed on the pitch. We were definitely out-hustled, out of ideas, and out of focus though. This happens too often when the Dynamo see the proverbial brass ring before them. It seems they crumble whenever there's an opportunity to position themselves for easy times. Maybe they just enjoy the hard road.

The embarrassment of today should ensure a better result on Labor Day weekend, when the Fire comes to town.