The FCD Spin Doctor

One of the characteristics about the Dynamo is that they are, from back to front, an attacking team. This quality is even more impressive given the stout defending stats this teams puts up.

Last Sunday's match was a hot and humid one (In Houston? in August? Really?), and that took some of the energy out of the play, but I thought the team looked just at attack-minded if ever, and definitely more so that the Hoops did. We attacked down the flanks, with Jaqua driving in and Mullan providing wide service. We went up the middle, with D-Ro and Clark both penetrating and Ching providing the hold-up play for give-and-goes. We kept the ball on the ground and we went aerial at times.

The final 10 minutes of the match were the exception to the balance of play, given that FCD became desperate to find a last minute equalizer. Prior to this frantic foray, the only threats posed by the Hoops were a fast break by Alvarez and a couple of headers by Ruiz off set pieces. In the waning moments of the game our back line nearly cracked under the increased pressure, but, fortunately for us, FCD's ambition was too little too late.

So, once again, Dynamo Houston proves to be the better team, not only in results, but in style of play.

Given this, it surprised me when I found the following post-game quote by FCD Coach Steve Morrow in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "Apart from a lot of long balls and set plays they threw at us in the first half, we weren't in too much trouble."

This quote is elaborated upon at the US Soccer Players website: "'Apart from a lot of long balls and set plays they threw at us in the first half, we coped with it pretty well and weren't in too much trouble with anything else. At least we tried to play some soccer, get the ball down and knock it around.' FC Dallas coach Steve Morrow hints that opponents Houston played results-oriented soccer to beat his side 1-0."

Was Morrow watching the same match I was watching? I'm not saying the Hoops played awfully whatsoever, but it is a complete fabrication to suggest that they were playing the beautiful game while Dynamo-Houston relied on a couple of lofted passes from Ianni and E-Rob then bunkered in the rest of the game. There is a time and a place for Route 1 ball, but the Dynamo didn't employ much of that (much less rely on it) last Sunday. If anything, FCD was guilty of that (again, excluding the final 10 minutes).

Is Morrow basing his observations on only the final moments of the game? Or is he just trying to spin a positive out of a negative? Or is he unable to read a game?

Or am I guilty of watching the match through Orange-colored glasses?

Well the Dallas Morning News suggests my observations (biased as they are) may have been the more accurate of the two when it writes "Burse, the backup to injured starter Dario Sala, showcased good instincts and defended well against an aggressive Dynamo offense. But FC Dallas failed to establish a steady offensive rhythm in a 1-0 loss to Houston before 19,501 at Robertson Stadium."

The real test will be whether we can do better than a draw when we face the Hoops at Frisco in a few weeks. We have an 0-1-2 (W-L-T) record there thus far, excluding our MLS Cup win of course.

First up: the Crew. Did you know that, as lowly as the Crew has been, we haven't beaten them here in Houston yet? This weekend would be a good time to reverse that trend. Luckily, the Crew isn't a bottom dweller this year, or we'd surely lose (a la Colorado, RSL, and Toronto).