Defending MLS Cup Champion Houston Dynamo drew 0-0 against Municipal at the Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City , Guatemala.
The result capped a solid international road performance that now sets the Dynamo up this coming Wednesday in the return leg at Robertson Stadium. The Dynamo achieved this result playing without injured midfielder Brad Davis and Stuart Holden who is away with the U.S. Olympic qualifying team.
The Dynamo looked sharp considering the lack of personel for this time in the season and employed a strong road work ethic to get the result. Professional performance, no injuries and emotional control earn a valuable result and poll position in the second leg next week.
Player thoughts:
GK Pat Onstad: Set the tone with an early save. Handled everything clean and provided confidence and composure.
Wade Barrett: Dependable as always, hard time getting into the attack but delivered a beauty of a ball to Wondolski that was headed wide.
Eddie Robinson: Solid in the middle and always motivates either Patrick Ianni or in this case Bobby Boswell.
Bobby Boswell: Kept himself central and let the game come to him yet he is not a given when Ianni returns.
Craig Waibel: A few saving plays from the “Peaceful Warrior” who played it well positionally for the majority of the match. Caught out once or twice but all in all a solid 90 minutes from a guy who had injury problem early in pre-season. His positional sense and soccer brain aka experience needed on this night.
Richard Mulrooney: Helped control the right side of the field in front of Waibel, nearly got on the end of a cross. Versatility personified and his experience was vital.
Ricardo Clark: Got alot of the ball and played away from pressure nicely and at appropriate times. His long range bomb almost won the Dynamo the game in the second half.
Dwayne DeRosario: Appreciate the defensive effort and selfless play from last year’s MLS Cup Mvp. A great reminder that he does as much work in his own half as he does in the attacking half. The artist turned aside his creative instincts to help get the draw.
Cory Ashe: Hard work helped secure left side. Ran out of ideas on the ball on occasion and made a few suspect choices yet produced a quality effort for a second year player. Little delivery from wide areas from both he and Mulrooney cut out the lifeline to Brian Ching but road chances were expected to be less on this night without Davis, Holden and less than ready Mullan.
Brian Ching: Turned into a fifth midfielder actually dropping deeper than Chris Wondoloski for much of the time. His work effort helped to preserve the important road draw. Did not get the normal wide delivery that he thrives on with the abscence of Brad Davis and Brian Mullan (only played the final few minutes).
Chris Wondoloski: No one can fault his work ethic and honesty as a player. He nearly scored a great header after delivery from Wade Barrett. Clearly he is getting the opportunity to win the job next to Brian Ching from Dominic Kinnear. Still it was night where it would have been nice to have a forward with some breakaway potential and ability to beat people off the dribble ala Joseoph Ngwenya.
Subs: Brian Mullan- NR
Franco Caraccio-NR
VERDICT: Dynamo pressed early and had good moments of possession on the road. Subtle balance problems were not punished by Municipal as the Dynamo got caught positionally a few times which at this point of the season is to be expected. Work ethic solid for the Dynamo at this stage and they are the favorites in the second leg at Robertson Stadium.
Their collective nature and willingness to play for each other helped them earn this important draw at this stage despite the fact that they are still working at integrating players into the team. STRONG RESULT
BEST CHANCE: Ricardo Clark nearly scored a spectacular goal from long range in the second half when chances were few and far between.
DC United and Harbour View in Jamaica ended in a 1-1 draw as Harbour View equalized late . Devon McTavish had the DC goal in a game that was far less entertaining then the Dynamo and Municipal. DC United are positioned well for the second leg.
Marcello Gallardo clearly will be one of the best passing midfielders in MLS this coming season. Clyde Simms will need to have his best season ever in MLS in support of Gallardo.
Post your thoughts on the game…..
Solid result on the road in a hostile environment. Getting Davis and Mullan back should provide the fowards with more chances in the second leg.
Comment by Marco — March 13, 2008 @ 12:41 am
I have to disagree on Wade Barrett. Maybe it was fatigue or him just being rusty, but we got beat and\or turned a number of times in the 2nd half. He did have that nice cross though.
I pretty much agree with what you said about the rest of the guys.
One thing I really enjoyed was the passing and the vision from the guys moving the ball around the field. It seems like they’ve really improved in that aspect of the game. For the most part it seemed like we were composed and played out of the back more instead of just blasting balls forward bypassing the midfield.
Can’t wait for next week.
p.s. If Nowak doesn’t play Holden tomorrow I hope a midget punches him in the crotch, Nowak that is not Holden.
Comment by Greg — March 13, 2008 @ 12:54 am
Greg,
Thanks for the post. This was a good performance based on the time of the year and of course a beauty of a result in an important international competition.
Sure Barrett got beat late in the second half yet what player didn’t make some bad decisions or got caught positionally on an occasion?
Craig Waibel got forward one time and nobody covered him and Municipal got into the space he vacated dangerously. The overall shape of the team was not perfect the entire evening and the Dynamo avoided danger.
Didn’t you feel in the last 20 minutes that fitness may become an issue?
Glenn
Comment by glenndavis — March 13, 2008 @ 8:41 am
I completely agree that it was a great result for this time of the year and against a team like Municipal. I definitely think fitness and the altitude was an issue near the end of the game. I just felt they were having too much success on the right.
It seemed to me like they had us scouted much better than we did them. It was as if Barrett didn’t quite realize how fast they were. He did hustle and ended up breaking up the play a number of occasions. It just seemed like for whatever reason he couldn’t or didn’t make that adjustment for their speed.
I don’t mean to suggest either that I was unhappy with the result or the play of the guys. I felt during the broadcast that we didn’t get the credit we deserved. Max kept saying how we should be down 0-1, 0-2, but we created some good opportunities ourselves. If Wondolowski’s shot was probably 2 inches to the right or Rico’s blast was 2 inches to the left we could have won the game 2-0.
Comment by Greg — March 13, 2008 @ 3:03 pm
after the beatdown by the japanese team, and the lucky draw in guatemala the defense kind of bothers me. our record scoreless minute streak does notappear to be in jeopardy this season. i know we were minus ianni, but too many balls drop in the box and clearance comes late. i am less concerned with the forwards, than i am with the defense. it is early, and it obviously can correct itself…hopefully. i will be there watching at robertson intently.
btw - was it just me, or was the referee a little too - hey everyone look at me
Comment by o4 — March 13, 2008 @ 3:17 pm
Great result under the circumstances: new 2nd forward, Davis, Holden, and Ianni unavailable, Mullan not fit.
Can anyone post who made the bench? I heard S. Wondo and Hayden in the booth, and wondered, who is on the bench if those two were in the booth?
Thanks!
Comment by Jason — March 14, 2008 @ 8:33 pm