Before I put any thoughts out there, I am hoping the man in charge of the pyrotechnics during the pre-game is ok.
Calling the game on HDNET our cameramen caught this scary incident and it was bone chilling to see this poor man being carted off. I must say it was in my mind the whole night.

THE GOOD: * Fantastic turnout from Dynamo fans , over 20,000. I love the fact that these are not fair weather fans.
* Ring ceremony and honoring last years championship nice touch with former President Bush.
* Ricardo Clark- solid in midfield
* Geoff Cameron and Ashe off the bench brought youthful energy and danger in latter stages.
* Teams truly do not like each other, their was “true” emotion.

I INTERRUPT THIS BLOG FOR A QUICK MILAN DERBY UPDATE:
AC Milan have absolutely come out storming in the second half. Kaka is running wild have set up Pipo Inzaghi and producing a goal himself in the first ten minutes of the second half against Inter Milan as they now have a 2-0 lead. This game has huge implications for AC Milan in Europe and Inter winning the title.

THE BAD: *JOZEF BATKO was in over his head in only his 11th MLS match as a referee on this night and allowed the time wasting. MLS will look at this and realize that this is not aiding quality soccer.
* foul filled game was choppy and did not ever really find a rhythm which ultimately was Chivas’s aim
* Road tactics of Chivas USA which earned them a point. It doesn’t make for attractive soccer but beware
because few teams will come to Robertson Stadium and open up against the Dynamo. The plan will be to slow
the game down through re-starts and fouls and play for the counter attack which on a few occasions Chivas USA
looked dangerous through Razov, Galindo and Klejstan.
* Brian Mullan is struggling to get past people out wide.
Summary:

* The Dynamo is a frustrated team right now and you can see it in their body language.
Even at training this week some of the squad looked heavy legged, fatigued and the ball just doesn’t seem to be jumping off their feet quickly. Even in shooting drills it looks as though some are laboring and dragging to get off shots quickly. It just hasn’t been sharp despite the hard work.

* The remedy for the Chivas USA tactics ( defend deep, counter attack, break rhythm of game up) which were obvious was to produce an early goal, on the night the Dynamo had 3-4 clear chances.
Dwayne DeRosario, Cory Ashe the most noteworthy but producing a first half goal would have grabbed the tactical advantage and made Chivas USA come out and play more, opening up the game and space. It didn’t happen.

* I am a big fan of Brian Ching and the career he has put together . The man has overcome injury and disappointment throughout his career to reach great heights as a soccer player but right now he seems to be playing with the weight of the world on his back. He just doesn’t seem fresh, lively. It all seems a struggle.

*Franco Caraccio and Ching: The chemistry currently is not there. Their habits and tendencies are not meshing this is not a pair of strikers playing like a tandem. Still a work in progress.
Yes their is an adjustment period but you can bet your bottom dollar the Dynamo are looking for more options and will definetly check on the status of Joseoph Ngwneya who if not happy in Austria could be a possibility down the road …..Chris Wondoloski has faded out of the mix up front. Still an area of concern.

*As much as the Dynamo had the territorial advantage due to Chivas tactics, simple things let them down.
Numerous attacks broke down due to poor control and a poor first touch. Franco Caraccio had two great shooting opportunities go to the wayside because his touch narrowed his shooting angle.

MILAN DERBY UPDATE: Amazing goal from Julio Cruz , now 2-1 AC Milan

* Penetration: One of the great ways to break down deep defending teams is to beat people off the dribble. The Dynamo penetrators…DeRosario, Mullan just could not get past people often enough on the dribble to unbalance the Chivas USA defense.
At the end of the night they just didn’t create enough GOOD chances overall.

Dwayne DeRosario did not put a big enough stamp on this game. That might have simply meant converting the clear chance that he had.

Chivas ended this game without three of four starting defenders with Lawson Vaughan (injury), Claudio Suarez (ejected) and Shavar Thomas (injury) all exiting and the time wasting tactics were pretty poor yet that is not an excuse for the Dynamo.

*The good news is that teams in the western conference are not winning so with a win next week the Dynamo are right back in the mix.

The Dynamo still seek out their first win of the MLS season and and will entertain the Colorado Rapids and Christian Gomez next weekend at Robertson.

Your thoughts on the Dynamo and Chivas USA.