Lots of good stuff going on with the Orange, so much so that I've not blogged. I've been trotting around enjoying other blogs though, leaving my opinions sprinkled about as I go. It's a good time to be a Dynamo fan ... and a US fan for that matter. The US has had its ups and downs, but the Dynamo are undefeated since my last post...maybe I shouldn't post...
To recap what's happened since my last post:
May 23 - We said "See Ya!" to Nick Garcia and his fellow Quakes. Nick was impotent and proven to be the "mental midget" as the MIO crushed the Quakes 3-1. Ching scored in the 4th, Kamara in the 12th, Waibel (!) in the 50th, and San Jose's Johnson (assist by Cam Weaver) in the 53rd.
May 27 - The Dynamo pick up Dominic Oduro from the Red Bulls. Oduro spent 2006-2008 with FC Dallas.
May 30 - DeRo comes to town for the only time this season. Davis-Kamara-Holden each score a goal from minute 20 to minute 24, and Hainault and Onstad are the only Canucks with three points after the 3-0 victory.
June 1ish - Clark leaves for the USMNT, where he plays in a WCQ 2-1 win over Honduras, then the Confederation Cup Tournament in South Africa. Ching departs as well, but comes back injured before the WCQ match.
June 5 - The MIO travel to Chicago. Holden scored in the 3rd minute, but the Dynamo are mostly outplayed and concede numerous chances, but the lone goal stands and they leave with 3 points. (Chris Wondolowski came on in the 75th minute in what turned out to be his final game as a MIO.)
June 7 - Cam Weaver sits on the bench in Dallas as San Jose leaves with a 2-2 draw. Six days later Cam would return in Orange and score a brace.
June 8 - Cam Weaver comes to Houston from San Jose, while Orange Reserve mainstay Chris Wondolowski heads home to San Jose. We wish Wondo well with the Quakes.
June 9 - San Jose say "C'ya" to Nick Garcia and ship him to The Great White North.
June 10 - Chivas USA comes to town and is completely out-classed, but we eke out only a 1-0 victory...but at least it's a victory. Holden gets the goal, with Cam Weaver getting the assist in his first game as a MIO. It was a nice flick-on from an Onstad goal kick in the final minute of the first half, and it fell in front of a streaking Holden who side-stepped the goalie and slotted the lone goal in. Cam Weaver also got a legit goal, but it was illegitimately called off for being offside (which he wasn't). Luckily we didn't need the goal, but it hurt Cam's stats.
June 13 - Pooped from the arduous Chivas match three days before, the Dynamo travel to Frisco to face an inspired Dallas. The ex-Burn played perhaps their best match, but the Dynamo, led by our new Cam Weaver's 2 goals and a blistering shot from distance by Mulrooney, go up 3-0 before conceding a late goal to leave with a 3-1 win, 3 points, and El Capitan. My wife and I were able to enjoy this at the Dynamo viewing party at the Hooters on Kirby.
June 20 - It was a weird match all in all when RSL came to town. There was an early injury to Waibel that caused him to be subbed out 7 minutes into the game, a water break for the teams around the 25th minute, an OG by Bobby Boswell 50 seconds after the restart, an OG by RSL that was called off because Hainault was offside on the freekick (but was he part of the play?), to a free kick pass-back to the RSL keeper that Rimando picked up but the ref allowed the kick to be retaken, to a halftime substitute that brought in Ching (has Dom ever made 2 subs by the 46th minute? Or even the 60th minute?) to a red card to RSL's Olave for a stupid delay of game when he had a yellow already, to a missed PK by Brad Davis, to a late brilliant play by Ching to fly through the air to score and give us 1 point. There were highlights: such as in the 13th minute when the Dynamo had six 1-touch passes among 4 people to set Kamara up with a fast break from the left side. Also in the 87th, second half sub Ching (who had been out with an injury since the Toronto match) made a long pass from the center to Mullan on the right, then sprinted up the middle for Mullan's return cross, skying in the air and driving the ball into the net to give his side the tie they so desperately earned but looked to have been denied. There were also lowlights (beside the reffing): the 16 uncontested passes by RSL after the water break, then a cross and a backheel pass that led to a poor shot on goal that Boswell knocked in with his knee.
So now the Dynamo are alone in the Supporters' Shield position, and Dom is set to coach the MLS All Star Team versus Everton.
Tomorrow, we venture to LaLa Land to face the Galaxy without Hainault (Canadian National Team), Waibel (injury), Barrett (injury), and Clark (USMNT). Hopefully our cobbled-together defense can hold off LA's weak offense...
Go Dynamo!
Showing posts with label El Capitan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label El Capitan. Show all posts
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
An Orange Moon Bodes Well
I'm glad I went to the game yesterday, seeing as the first 19 minutes of television coverage was pre-empted by ESPN2's coverage of men's NCAA volleyball. (I understand that ESPN Classic carried the first few minutes of the Dynamo game.)
The Dynamo-Dallas match went as expected. The Dynamo carried the run of play. Dallas had a few dangerous forays into our defensive third. A few tempers flared. The game was low-scoring.
The MIO had chances a-plenty in the first half with the best being a Boswell header (10th minute) that was cleared off the line by a Dallas defender. Brad Davis had perhaps the best play a bit later (38th), picking a long pass from Mullan out of the air with his left foot, tapping the ball back to an open Ching with his right foot, thus setting Ching up for a shot on a nearly open goal. (Ching flubbed the kick spectacularly, which is a shame because it's stuff like that that fuels discontent with him at the USMNT level.)
Ching actually had another poor shot on goal in the second half -- this one from wide on the right, which ended up in the side net -- but it was his role as provider that really sparked our attack. He had some creative and athletic passes that set up others, including a remarkably crafty blind pass to Kamara late in the game that Kamara (unfortunately) was not ready for. Ching's most effective work was in the 57th minute when he settled a long header from his back line (from Cameron or Boswell), then laid the ball smoothly to Davis wide on the left. Davis pushed the ball forward for a hungry Holden to run down. Holden saved the ball from the goal line and sent a curling cross to the head of Kamara to give the Dynamo the only goal they would need.
But it sure would've been nice to have more. Dallas almost made us pay in stoppage time, were it not for Onstad's great hands.
For a long while I wondered how this match would turn out. We were controlling the play, but not really hammering the goal like we should have been. But when I saw the moon glowing orange to the southeast of the stadium, I thought that was a good harbinger. (I told my son that it helps having NASA in the hometeam's home town.) And we can't lose on a night with fireworks, right?
Hats off to Kei for getting the goal we needed, thus proving the omen correct, but hats off mostly for him honoring his mom afterwards with his undershirt ("4 U Mom") on Mother's Day weekend.
Now we just have to win one of the two times we're in Frisco, and El Capitan will be in its rightful place. We have a lot more winnin' we'll need to do before that, though; and that's going to require a lot more scorin'. We need to improve our finishing.
Other thoughts...
Ade Akinbiyi is big and looks strong, but I thought he was supposed to be fast too. He looked slow out there on one fast break. And he could've done better with at least one time where he had the ball at his feet in front of goal.
When we're trying to possess the ball and kill the clock at the end of the game, what's with Wondo (fresh off the bench) getting the ball in our half with plenty of space around him, and he just boots the ball downfield to lose possession? I hope he learns to do better next time.
Holden and Davis both had good games. And I love seeing Ashe's speed near the end of games when the opposition is tired.
In ex-Dynamo news...
How about Serioux netting one and DeRo netting two in Toronto's 3-3 tie at DC? That first goal by DeRo was pulled out of a hat and was a great display of timing and balance, but that second goal -- a rocket from about 30 yards out after a clear run with the ball -- was vintage DeRo. I miss that type of finishing (and the Dynamo can use it this season). I also miss the "funky chicken" after his goals. (He calls it the "Shake-and-Bake.")
The Dynamo-Dallas match went as expected. The Dynamo carried the run of play. Dallas had a few dangerous forays into our defensive third. A few tempers flared. The game was low-scoring.
The MIO had chances a-plenty in the first half with the best being a Boswell header (10th minute) that was cleared off the line by a Dallas defender. Brad Davis had perhaps the best play a bit later (38th), picking a long pass from Mullan out of the air with his left foot, tapping the ball back to an open Ching with his right foot, thus setting Ching up for a shot on a nearly open goal. (Ching flubbed the kick spectacularly, which is a shame because it's stuff like that that fuels discontent with him at the USMNT level.)
Ching actually had another poor shot on goal in the second half -- this one from wide on the right, which ended up in the side net -- but it was his role as provider that really sparked our attack. He had some creative and athletic passes that set up others, including a remarkably crafty blind pass to Kamara late in the game that Kamara (unfortunately) was not ready for. Ching's most effective work was in the 57th minute when he settled a long header from his back line (from Cameron or Boswell), then laid the ball smoothly to Davis wide on the left. Davis pushed the ball forward for a hungry Holden to run down. Holden saved the ball from the goal line and sent a curling cross to the head of Kamara to give the Dynamo the only goal they would need.
But it sure would've been nice to have more. Dallas almost made us pay in stoppage time, were it not for Onstad's great hands.
For a long while I wondered how this match would turn out. We were controlling the play, but not really hammering the goal like we should have been. But when I saw the moon glowing orange to the southeast of the stadium, I thought that was a good harbinger. (I told my son that it helps having NASA in the hometeam's home town.) And we can't lose on a night with fireworks, right?
Hats off to Kei for getting the goal we needed, thus proving the omen correct, but hats off mostly for him honoring his mom afterwards with his undershirt ("4 U Mom") on Mother's Day weekend.
Now we just have to win one of the two times we're in Frisco, and El Capitan will be in its rightful place. We have a lot more winnin' we'll need to do before that, though; and that's going to require a lot more scorin'. We need to improve our finishing.
Other thoughts...
Ade Akinbiyi is big and looks strong, but I thought he was supposed to be fast too. He looked slow out there on one fast break. And he could've done better with at least one time where he had the ball at his feet in front of goal.
When we're trying to possess the ball and kill the clock at the end of the game, what's with Wondo (fresh off the bench) getting the ball in our half with plenty of space around him, and he just boots the ball downfield to lose possession? I hope he learns to do better next time.
Holden and Davis both had good games. And I love seeing Ashe's speed near the end of games when the opposition is tired.
In ex-Dynamo news...
How about Serioux netting one and DeRo netting two in Toronto's 3-3 tie at DC? That first goal by DeRo was pulled out of a hat and was a great display of timing and balance, but that second goal -- a rocket from about 30 yards out after a clear run with the ball -- was vintage DeRo. I miss that type of finishing (and the Dynamo can use it this season). I also miss the "funky chicken" after his goals. (He calls it the "Shake-and-Bake.")
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Operation REC
Today we meet Dallas in our first match of Operation Recapture El Capitan. As you know, we won the inaugural El Capitan in 2006 and retained it in 2007 then lost it in 2008 after we tied Dallas in all three matches. Because of the ties, El Capitan was awarded to the team with the highest number of away goals, which favored Dallas since they had twice as many away games to accrue goals. Still, the Dynamo have nothing to complain about as they were the ones who tied a lousy time three times, twice at Robertson.
Now that the two teams face each other an odd number of times, one team would have the advantage by having more opportunities to get away goals. So this week, the tie-breaker rules were changed for this and future seasons:
1. Head-to-head regular season series (W-L-T)
2. Head-to-head goal differential in regular season series
3. Result of playoff series (if applicable)
4. Result of CONCACAF Champions League series (if applicable)
5. Result of SuperLiga playoff match (if applicable)
6. Result of SuperLiga group match (if applicable)
7. Result of Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match (if applicable)
8. Holder retains trophy
Dynamo should win El Capitan outright in the regular season. And they should win tonight. They outclass FCD at every position (Dallas' David Ferreira could be a shining exception), but it's rivalry matches such as this one that can turn a struggling team's fortunes around. FCD has some fight in it, Cooper and Cunningham can use their size and speed (respectively) to punish us. So we should win, but FCD won't make it easy and could steal a point (or three) if we're too cavalier.
After tonight, we play Dallas twice at Pizza Hut Park: Saturday, June 13 (live on Fox Soccer Channel), and Thursday, August 6 (live on ESPN2).
The Dynamo website has a couple of articles that reflect on some nostalgic moments from the "Texas Derby":
Top 10(+1) plays in Houston-Dallas rivalry. The "+1" is the special mention of the Ricardo-Ruiz incident at the end of the 2007 regular season -- not a highlight, but definitely memorable. That explosion wasn't really due to the rivalry as much as due to Carlos Ruiz being a cheating, violent scumbag who finally got under Rico's skin.
Top 5 matches in the Houston-Dallas rivalry. We can thank Alvarez who, gifted though he is, lingers in mediocrity due to his lack of focus, professionalism, and maturity...and these traits helped significantly in our victory that became the #1 match on this list.
See you at the game! (I heard the pitch is finally green!)
Now that the two teams face each other an odd number of times, one team would have the advantage by having more opportunities to get away goals. So this week, the tie-breaker rules were changed for this and future seasons:
1. Head-to-head regular season series (W-L-T)
2. Head-to-head goal differential in regular season series
3. Result of playoff series (if applicable)
4. Result of CONCACAF Champions League series (if applicable)
5. Result of SuperLiga playoff match (if applicable)
6. Result of SuperLiga group match (if applicable)
7. Result of Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match (if applicable)
8. Holder retains trophy
Dynamo should win El Capitan outright in the regular season. And they should win tonight. They outclass FCD at every position (Dallas' David Ferreira could be a shining exception), but it's rivalry matches such as this one that can turn a struggling team's fortunes around. FCD has some fight in it, Cooper and Cunningham can use their size and speed (respectively) to punish us. So we should win, but FCD won't make it easy and could steal a point (or three) if we're too cavalier.
After tonight, we play Dallas twice at Pizza Hut Park: Saturday, June 13 (live on Fox Soccer Channel), and Thursday, August 6 (live on ESPN2).
The Dynamo website has a couple of articles that reflect on some nostalgic moments from the "Texas Derby":
Top 10(+1) plays in Houston-Dallas rivalry. The "+1" is the special mention of the Ricardo-Ruiz incident at the end of the 2007 regular season -- not a highlight, but definitely memorable. That explosion wasn't really due to the rivalry as much as due to Carlos Ruiz being a cheating, violent scumbag who finally got under Rico's skin.
Top 5 matches in the Houston-Dallas rivalry. We can thank Alvarez who, gifted though he is, lingers in mediocrity due to his lack of focus, professionalism, and maturity...and these traits helped significantly in our victory that became the #1 match on this list.
See you at the game! (I heard the pitch is finally green!)
Thursday, June 26, 2008
A new low in the Season Of Mediocrity
The Season Of Mediocrity (SOM) continues. Tonight, we continued our chronic inability to shoot balls on frame. Add an amateurish coffee break by the usually stalwart defense (Ianni and Barrett not communicating, thus allowing Cooper an open header on goal). Sprinkle in spineless officiating by a ref who is afraid to force players to play quality soccer; on that note, it was a smart play by Richetti to trip Holden from behind when Holden was going 1v1 with the keeper, but the price for his smart play would have to be leaving his team with 10 men for the final 13 minutes. It's a heavy price, but a worthy one...and one it turns out he didn't have to pay thanks to the spineless ref.
The result: a 1-1 tie, the third draw in this three-game series. With 4 away goals to our 2, Dallas takes El Capitan for the first time. Enjoy the gun in 2009, fellas; your cynicism earned it tonight (and Caig's cold hands gave you the 2 decisive away goals you needed on April 6).
Pet peeve of the night: Shooting the ball so high or so wide that Sala just glances casually at the ball as we blow another chance.
Pet peeve of the night, runner up: With 4 minutes of stoppage time and the clock at 4:01, our defenders pittypat the ball around the back rather than driving the ball quickly forward. Slim chance you score in the last moments with a rushed ball. No chance you score when the ball is at the halfway line and the final whistle blows. Another example of our non-champion mentality this year.
Without a doubt, Houston was the best team on the field tonight -- just as we were for most of the 7 draws we suffered this season (on schedule to set a MLS record for most draws in a season, woo-hoo!). But there is also no doubt that Houston is borderline incompetent when it comes to the attacking third. Also, there's no doubt that they are uncharacteristically lax and cavalier on defense at inconvenient times. This is not the Houston Dynamo that won the 2006 Championship nor the 2007 Championship, doing so both times with a crushing defense and potent (if sometimes inconsistent) offense. The only thing that remains from those teams is the ability to penetrate along the flanks from the back, and the ability to possess the ball and generate opportunities in the middle. But until we fix the problems up front, and until we regain the continuous (as in "non-stop") professional composure in the back, we can't expect to win the MLS Cup.
There are other things that we can achieve instead of the MLS Cup this season, including (in descending order of prestige): winning SuperLiga, winning the US Open Cup (maybe this should be first, since it guarantees a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League), and winning the Reserve League that we currently lead. Personally, I hope we fix our attack first.
The Supporters' Shield? Oh that's out of the question. You have to win consistently to get that. Even the stalwart teams of yesteryear couldn't do that.
Of course, with half the teams getting into the post-season in this silly league, the Dynamo should remain in contention for the MLS Cup, even with their bajillion draws. But we've seen plenty of harbingers that suggest this season will not be like the last two. The most recent harbinger is losing El Capitan for the first time, but there have been others, including losing by more than one goal at Robertson (New England, 0-2, June 12).
Having said that, this team tends to deliver results when the odds are stacked against them. If that's the case, then they're setting themselves up for some crazy-awesome results later this season. Here's hoping.
Until then...Go Dynamo!
Addendum:
Here are the game quotes. Kinnear: "The guys are disappointed, as we should be. At the halfway point [of the season], I don't think we are getting as many points as we want or need."
But he claims the team is still one of the league's elites. Disappointing season aside, I agree with him. The team is one of the best; it just has to become more composed and more consistent. How about Ching's take on the defense? "You look at our team and what has made us successful the past couple of years. It's defense. We have been one of the best defensive, if not the best, defensive team in the league. But now we've got guys letting in mistakes. They are making big mistakes and costing us games. It's the same guys costing us 3-4 games, so it's disappointing." Wow: It's the same guys costing us 3-4 games. I can't disagree with that, but that's not something you hear from a teammate like Ching too often. And while the defense could always counter by pointing out the chances repeatedly missed by the forwards, I hope they instead focus on what they can do to make the team better. That would be the mature and honorable thing to do. In other words: the Orange thing to do.
The result: a 1-1 tie, the third draw in this three-game series. With 4 away goals to our 2, Dallas takes El Capitan for the first time. Enjoy the gun in 2009, fellas; your cynicism earned it tonight (and Caig's cold hands gave you the 2 decisive away goals you needed on April 6).
Pet peeve of the night: Shooting the ball so high or so wide that Sala just glances casually at the ball as we blow another chance.
Pet peeve of the night, runner up: With 4 minutes of stoppage time and the clock at 4:01, our defenders pittypat the ball around the back rather than driving the ball quickly forward. Slim chance you score in the last moments with a rushed ball. No chance you score when the ball is at the halfway line and the final whistle blows. Another example of our non-champion mentality this year.
Without a doubt, Houston was the best team on the field tonight -- just as we were for most of the 7 draws we suffered this season (on schedule to set a MLS record for most draws in a season, woo-hoo!). But there is also no doubt that Houston is borderline incompetent when it comes to the attacking third. Also, there's no doubt that they are uncharacteristically lax and cavalier on defense at inconvenient times. This is not the Houston Dynamo that won the 2006 Championship nor the 2007 Championship, doing so both times with a crushing defense and potent (if sometimes inconsistent) offense. The only thing that remains from those teams is the ability to penetrate along the flanks from the back, and the ability to possess the ball and generate opportunities in the middle. But until we fix the problems up front, and until we regain the continuous (as in "non-stop") professional composure in the back, we can't expect to win the MLS Cup.
There are other things that we can achieve instead of the MLS Cup this season, including (in descending order of prestige): winning SuperLiga, winning the US Open Cup (maybe this should be first, since it guarantees a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League), and winning the Reserve League that we currently lead. Personally, I hope we fix our attack first.
The Supporters' Shield? Oh that's out of the question. You have to win consistently to get that. Even the stalwart teams of yesteryear couldn't do that.
Of course, with half the teams getting into the post-season in this silly league, the Dynamo should remain in contention for the MLS Cup, even with their bajillion draws. But we've seen plenty of harbingers that suggest this season will not be like the last two. The most recent harbinger is losing El Capitan for the first time, but there have been others, including losing by more than one goal at Robertson (New England, 0-2, June 12).
Having said that, this team tends to deliver results when the odds are stacked against them. If that's the case, then they're setting themselves up for some crazy-awesome results later this season. Here's hoping.
Until then...Go Dynamo!
Addendum:
Here are the game quotes. Kinnear: "The guys are disappointed, as we should be. At the halfway point [of the season], I don't think we are getting as many points as we want or need."
But he claims the team is still one of the league's elites. Disappointing season aside, I agree with him. The team is one of the best; it just has to become more composed and more consistent. How about Ching's take on the defense? "You look at our team and what has made us successful the past couple of years. It's defense. We have been one of the best defensive, if not the best, defensive team in the league. But now we've got guys letting in mistakes. They are making big mistakes and costing us games. It's the same guys costing us 3-4 games, so it's disappointing." Wow: It's the same guys costing us 3-4 games. I can't disagree with that, but that's not something you hear from a teammate like Ching too often. And while the defense could always counter by pointing out the chances repeatedly missed by the forwards, I hope they instead focus on what they can do to make the team better. That would be the mature and honorable thing to do. In other words: the Orange thing to do.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
The Final Battle for El Capitan 2008
Tomorrow we face FC Dallas for the third and final time this year. (Game preview.) Each time we've faced them this season, they've been led by a different coach. The dull tactician (with a myopic sense of self-evaluation) Steve Morrow led the "Hoops" to a 3-3 tie at Robertson based on a lousy performance by Tony Caig in our goal, then the interim gaffer Marco Ferruzzi saw his team let victory slip through their fingers as the Dynamo squeezed out a 2-2 tie in Dallas. Now, Schellas Hyndman's first match versus the Orange gives him the chance of winning El Capitan for Dallas for the first time ever.
According to the rules of El Capitan, the Dynamo must win to keep the cannon. A loss gives Dallas the points necessary to win the cannon for the first time; a tie gives Dallas the advantage in away goals (currently 3-2 in their favor, with no chance of us upping our total). Away goals serves as the second tie-breaker when there is no difference in points and no difference in goal differential. Funny how there is no difference in points or in goal differential when we've had only draws so far this series. I wonder what they'd do if both of the previous games had ended 2-2, and tomorrow's match ended 0-0. The tie breakers are as follows:
* goal-differential in the series;
* most road goals in the series; and finally
* most goals scored in the series.
This tie-breaker system would not settle El Capitan's fate with two 2-2 draws and a 0-0 draw. With no other differentiator available, I think the final tie-breaker should be decided by the two head coaches racing the length of the pitch after the final game, with the winner claiming the cannon. We won't have to worry about that this year though; tomorrow's match will decide the victor. I think I'll voice my proposed final tie-breaker for use in future years though...
The Chron talks about the two missing MIO, Robinson and Mulrooney. Both are injured and won't play, although there's a chance Mulrooney could see some minutes.
Since the match will be broadcast on ESPN, the network's website has a preview of the match. The summary of our season: The Dynamo has been stumbling along for most of this campaign, and their 2-2-2 record in their last six matches is a fair reflection of their season. Commentary on Ching: The Hawaiian has always tended to score goals in bunches...But there has always been more to the Dynamo forward's game than just goals, with his hold-up play and passing doing plenty to get Houston's attack going.
Here's an article about former Dynamo, Adrian Serioux, who'll face the Dynamo tomorrow night. I wonder who he'll hack down in this match? Any guesses?
According to the rules of El Capitan, the Dynamo must win to keep the cannon. A loss gives Dallas the points necessary to win the cannon for the first time; a tie gives Dallas the advantage in away goals (currently 3-2 in their favor, with no chance of us upping our total). Away goals serves as the second tie-breaker when there is no difference in points and no difference in goal differential. Funny how there is no difference in points or in goal differential when we've had only draws so far this series. I wonder what they'd do if both of the previous games had ended 2-2, and tomorrow's match ended 0-0. The tie breakers are as follows:
* goal-differential in the series;
* most road goals in the series; and finally
* most goals scored in the series.
This tie-breaker system would not settle El Capitan's fate with two 2-2 draws and a 0-0 draw. With no other differentiator available, I think the final tie-breaker should be decided by the two head coaches racing the length of the pitch after the final game, with the winner claiming the cannon. We won't have to worry about that this year though; tomorrow's match will decide the victor. I think I'll voice my proposed final tie-breaker for use in future years though...
The Chron talks about the two missing MIO, Robinson and Mulrooney. Both are injured and won't play, although there's a chance Mulrooney could see some minutes.
Since the match will be broadcast on ESPN, the network's website has a preview of the match. The summary of our season: The Dynamo has been stumbling along for most of this campaign, and their 2-2-2 record in their last six matches is a fair reflection of their season. Commentary on Ching: The Hawaiian has always tended to score goals in bunches...But there has always been more to the Dynamo forward's game than just goals, with his hold-up play and passing doing plenty to get Houston's attack going.
Here's an article about former Dynamo, Adrian Serioux, who'll face the Dynamo tomorrow night. I wonder who he'll hack down in this match? Any guesses?
Monday, April 07, 2008
Dallas Drawl
Sunday, Dallas got their first point in Houston. The 3-3 draw came as blessed relief for the Dynamo faithful, because we were looking at no points until the rookie Geoff Cameron hamered home the equalizer in the 90+ minute. Relief aside, the result is actually a poor reflection of how dominant the Dynamo were, except for some overly lax defending and an inability to handle the fast break.
Fact is, Dynamo had solid possession, controlling both the ball and real estate for a majority of the match. FCD relied on a Route 101 philosophy that hoped for some luck on the fast breaks. They got that luck in spades when they took out Onstad and forced our backup keeper, Tony Caig, into an MLS baptism by fire. In retrospect, only one of Caig's goals looked like a complete flub by the keeper, but I'd wager that Onstad would likely have also stopped at least one of the other two goals conceded to Dallas.
I'm pretty disappointed in Dallas' play because I thought with all those South Americans they'd have a strong and creative midfield. In fact, they seemed to by-pass the midfield completely and go straight from defense to blitzkrieg. Maybe it was the heat or maybe it was a desperate road strategy. If they stick with that style of play, it'll be an ugly year for the Frisco crowd.
And the ugly play turned downright criminal with the on-field mugging the Hoops players repeatedly inflicted on the Men In Orange. They took out Onstad and Robinson, who are both tough as nails, and were probably encouraged by the blind eye given by Abbey-O, who continues his tradition of poor and inconsistent officiating. If Dallas knocked Onstad and Robinson out of the Saprissa match this Wednesday, then they are as moronic as they are barbaric, hurting an MLS side's ability to carry the MLS banner internationally.
There was ugly on the Dynamo side as well. The Dynamo defense bears little resemblance to the defense of the 2007 campaign. They're not helping their GK (whoever he may be) very much. They had better find their chemistry quickly in this campaign or the forwards will require superhuman finishing if they wish to offset the GAA. Only 1/15th of the way into the season, they've let in over 1/4th the total number of goals we conceded last year.
Here's what some of the media outlets have to say:
Here's B-Fall's blog in the Chronicle. It has his player grades and links to his game article and game notes. I do disagree in his assessment of the first goal being Caig's fault. While the goal looked ludicrous, Caig was positioned to block the more likely direct shot on goal.
The league's official recap is here.
The US Soccer Players' recap is here. "Gift Houston an own-goal"? Uh, that was no gift. Ching was knocking that ball in whether Moor was there or not, and Moor wouldn't have knocked it in had Ching not struck when and where he did. How about that quote from FC coach Steve Morrow? I think it's great that he continues his blind assessment of his own team's quality: "We're very disappointed. It feels like a loss. I think we should have had the game won by then. We had two or three chances to go up 4-2. We should've finished off the game." Yes, his team managed to score three goals (but were lucky to have two of the three they did get), and yes one or two of his team's misses could have feasibly gone into goal, but those were the exceptions to the Dynamo's dominance. Dallas did not at all carry the play and were more than lucky that the Dynamo did not put away one or two more of their own. Quotes like Morrow's are good news for Dynamo fans: Morrow's continued myopia in terms of his team's failings means he'll be less able to fix the problems. And his reliance on fast breaks will ensure they remain the second best MLS team in Texas.
Having said that, they ARE in a better position to win El Capitan this year than they have been in past years. But, in addition to playing them once in Frisco (Wed, May 28), we get them one more time in Robertson (Thur, June 26). If we can tie them away and beat them in Robertson (reasserting our natural superiority, natch), we'll keep the cannon.
The neutral folks at Soccer by Ives have a less favorable review of Dallas' performance than the biased Steve Morrow does. "FCD shouldn't be in this game much less winning it. They're proving so far they can defend and score against the run of play." "Nice to see Dallas switch to the 9-0-1 formation."
Now we need to switch our gaze from the second best team in Texas to the best team in Costa Rica. It looks like we'll be without ERob (gulp!). Let's pray that we'll have a healthy Onstad, not to mention a magical DeRo and prolific Ching/Caraccio.
Fact is, Dynamo had solid possession, controlling both the ball and real estate for a majority of the match. FCD relied on a Route 101 philosophy that hoped for some luck on the fast breaks. They got that luck in spades when they took out Onstad and forced our backup keeper, Tony Caig, into an MLS baptism by fire. In retrospect, only one of Caig's goals looked like a complete flub by the keeper, but I'd wager that Onstad would likely have also stopped at least one of the other two goals conceded to Dallas.
I'm pretty disappointed in Dallas' play because I thought with all those South Americans they'd have a strong and creative midfield. In fact, they seemed to by-pass the midfield completely and go straight from defense to blitzkrieg. Maybe it was the heat or maybe it was a desperate road strategy. If they stick with that style of play, it'll be an ugly year for the Frisco crowd.
And the ugly play turned downright criminal with the on-field mugging the Hoops players repeatedly inflicted on the Men In Orange. They took out Onstad and Robinson, who are both tough as nails, and were probably encouraged by the blind eye given by Abbey-O, who continues his tradition of poor and inconsistent officiating. If Dallas knocked Onstad and Robinson out of the Saprissa match this Wednesday, then they are as moronic as they are barbaric, hurting an MLS side's ability to carry the MLS banner internationally.
There was ugly on the Dynamo side as well. The Dynamo defense bears little resemblance to the defense of the 2007 campaign. They're not helping their GK (whoever he may be) very much. They had better find their chemistry quickly in this campaign or the forwards will require superhuman finishing if they wish to offset the GAA. Only 1/15th of the way into the season, they've let in over 1/4th the total number of goals we conceded last year.
Here's what some of the media outlets have to say:
Here's B-Fall's blog in the Chronicle. It has his player grades and links to his game article and game notes. I do disagree in his assessment of the first goal being Caig's fault. While the goal looked ludicrous, Caig was positioned to block the more likely direct shot on goal.
The league's official recap is here.
The US Soccer Players' recap is here. "Gift Houston an own-goal"? Uh, that was no gift. Ching was knocking that ball in whether Moor was there or not, and Moor wouldn't have knocked it in had Ching not struck when and where he did. How about that quote from FC coach Steve Morrow? I think it's great that he continues his blind assessment of his own team's quality: "We're very disappointed. It feels like a loss. I think we should have had the game won by then. We had two or three chances to go up 4-2. We should've finished off the game." Yes, his team managed to score three goals (but were lucky to have two of the three they did get), and yes one or two of his team's misses could have feasibly gone into goal, but those were the exceptions to the Dynamo's dominance. Dallas did not at all carry the play and were more than lucky that the Dynamo did not put away one or two more of their own. Quotes like Morrow's are good news for Dynamo fans: Morrow's continued myopia in terms of his team's failings means he'll be less able to fix the problems. And his reliance on fast breaks will ensure they remain the second best MLS team in Texas.
Having said that, they ARE in a better position to win El Capitan this year than they have been in past years. But, in addition to playing them once in Frisco (Wed, May 28), we get them one more time in Robertson (Thur, June 26). If we can tie them away and beat them in Robertson (reasserting our natural superiority, natch), we'll keep the cannon.
The neutral folks at Soccer by Ives have a less favorable review of Dallas' performance than the biased Steve Morrow does. "FCD shouldn't be in this game much less winning it. They're proving so far they can defend and score against the run of play." "Nice to see Dallas switch to the 9-0-1 formation."
Now we need to switch our gaze from the second best team in Texas to the best team in Costa Rica. It looks like we'll be without ERob (gulp!). Let's pray that we'll have a healthy Onstad, not to mention a magical DeRo and prolific Ching/Caraccio.
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