DON’T FORGET SOCCER FANS your soccer program is on the air tonite. THE DYNAMO SOCCER REPORT with GLENN DAVIS airs on Houston’s 55 tonite at 9:30……I have some interesting things in store for you from the world of soccer…Ok, on to last night in Chicago…
It was MLS PRIME TIME THURSDAY on ESPN2 and the FIRE”S CHRIS ROLFE lived up to the bright lights. How you might ask? A first half hat trick in 33 minutes helped crush the NEW YORK RED BULLS at TOYOTA PARK in BRIDGEVIEW, ILLINOIS last night.
RED BULLS head coach JUAN CARLOS OSORIO called it “an embarrassment”, and it was.
CHICAGO now have some momentum going into their first round playoff game against NE but I am still not convinced especially against an opponent like the RED BULLS. Yet NE has been struggling themselves so this series should be interesting and hard to predict.
The Red Bulls could conceivably still make the playoffs depending on this weekends results from KC and DC United who are still in the running for playoff spots in the East. If they do make the playoffs it would be as the eighth seed and would mean a match-up against defending MLS CUP CHAMPIONS the HOUSTON DYNAMO.
And speaking of the DYNAMO, hey DYNAMO fans……..so where are the postings when the team got beat 3-1 from UNAM PUMAS this past WEDNESDAY night. I know you were there because the attendance of around 8000 fans was pretty amazing with severe weather in the area. So what gives? We only post when it is a win?
I want your feedback on what players performed well and why UNAM was the better side?
Dynamo will look to win the reserve division Championship on Sunday in Carson, CA. A $20,000 bonus is at stake.
It’s for the 3rd and final playoff spot in the West this Saturday night at DICKS SPORTING GOODS PARK as the traditional late run from the COLORADO RAPIDS is in full flight.
With a win they get into the playoffs. But what about the regal and high flying REAL SALT LAKE…….With a draw or a win they will make history and get into the playoffs for the first time in their history.
CRAZY RUMOR: Now I have been sworn to silence from my source but this is amazing stuff. Apparently the HUNT SPORTS GROUP in DALLAS have given their new coach SCHELLAS HYNDMANN a seven year deal at $400,000 per season!!!! Close to a 3 million dollar deal. Now lets examine this…….A college coach making the jump at this money is pretty amazing. One because few college coaches ever jump straight into MLS, only Bruce Arena and Sigi Schmid have done it prior and two because of the salary that he has commanded.
Now their is obvious personal ties between Hyndmann and the HUNT SPORTS GROUP but to give a coach a seven year deal is bizarre and to me truly kills incentive. Is this another example of poor decision making to offer any coach this type of deal. You wonder if this organization wants to win.
Now back to Hyndman, I do not blame him nor should any other bitter MLS coaches when they find out about his salary. He just set the bar higher so for all of you coaches that make the playoffs, just get in to the boss tell him what the standard for coaches pay is in Dallas and get that raise. And after you do that, make sure that you send Schellas a thank you note. Wow, amazing stuff that doesn’t seem to make sense but then again lots of decisions from Dallas have been baffling over the years. I long for the days of the Cotton Bowl and the Dallas Burn, a little more edge, Leo Alvarez in midfield, Hugo Sanchez bringing in the fans of the Mexican league. Jason Kreis bombing from long range and big Dave Dir lifting up injured players not to mention GM Billy Hicks. After that glorious move to Southlake (who made that decision? They should be fired?)….Don’t get me going.
FC DALLAS and LA take each other on this weekend ironically in a game that is meaningless since they are out of the playoffs.
And Dallas fans who read this, don’t get mad at me , get vocal with your organization. There is no reason this sport professionally should not be thriving more in BIG D. Put some healthy pressure on your organization.
Don’t forget it’s the SUPERCLASICO this Sunday between Chivas and CLub America. Both teams struggling in Mexico will want this one.
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how much does DOM Kinnear make? The game against pumas the dynamo were just manhandled, pumas was just a tad bit faster you wonder if the 42 games are starting to catch up with the team.
Glenn, I was really depressed about Houston’s perfomance against Pumas. Pumas looked faster and the fluidity of their play was visible. You never got a true feeling that Houston would get back in the game even after the own goal.
Now the thoughts are creeping back in my head of the “tired” factor. Are all these games now catching up with them? How will Dom use the players on Sat for a useless season ender? What about Firpo next week? I know MLS Cup is the #1 priority and it should be but the Houston fans want to move on the next stage of the CCL. My concern is that it will be very difficult to secure 4 points over the next two in the CCL.
I don’t think the team was tired. The problem was that the young guys didn’t take this game seriously. Pumas was better and deserved to win, but the youngsters made it easier on them by ‘phoning in’ their performances. It’s amazing how this very same team gave such an excellent performance against a more experienced UNAM team in Mexico City. Holden worked hard, but nobody supported him. I think it’s clear the younger players still don’t get the full significance of these international matches.
Marco,
I am not buying the “phoned in performance” theory.
Do you really think these kids don’t understand the history or significance of playing UNAM Pumas.
I did back in 1986 when I played against them and they had Manuel Negrete and Luis Flores, hell we didn’t even regularly see Mexican league football on tv but I sure knew them from the World Cup.
How about just a sub-par performance to a better team on the night.
UNAM was clearly sharper and deserved the victory.
If it is clear that they don’t know significance of this game something is seriously missing…This is for a shot at going to the World Club Championships…do you know what that could do for the profile of this league?
I also don’t subscribe to the “phoned in” theory. However, I believe that Pumas made the adjustments after our first game against them and we really did not. Another reason why (IMO) we should have ran the first team out against them as it would have given them a different look as far as the players concerned. We may have still lost as their “young” guys were clearly hungrier that night but that is the way it goes in this game sometimes. Now, to Dallas: If this Coaches contract is real, your front office has finally lost the last marbles it may have had remaining. Incredible.
Pumas just outplayed the Dynamo!!
I thought Cameron really stood out vs. UNAM he had yet another really solid game, and Holden worked hard all night, and was lucky not to pick up a second yellow. At times this year the Dynamo seem to have struggled versus teams with quick transitions and speed through the midfield. Wednesday was no different, we seemed to be chasing guys from behind a lot. Which equaled fouls from Holden and that one in the box by Ianni. what do you think Glenn, could that be a problem that is exposed in the playoffs?
I agree with Offebacher that I would have liked to see more “first team” guys out there early pressing hard for a win, and then lots of rest vs. Chivas and Firpo. I’m not suggesting a lack of effort from the guys that did play, its just that now the orange must bring home a win next week in El Salvador, no one wants to go into the final game of the tournament needing a win to advance, especially when the players will be looking forward to some much deserved time off after winning their third MLS cup !!!
I didn’t post here, I was on bigsoccer and working.
Now that I’ve calmed down I can make a brief appraisal of the game:
1) As far as game play goes, we have a problem, lack of depth, at central defender. I haven’t had time to look through the game guides to confirm this but the starting pair for the Pumas game has given up a lot of goals. I think it comes down to one player in particular, who shall remain nameless. Swap that one for Boz or even Cameron and I think we’d have done much better, not to mention the other guys temper problem might not have surfaced.
2) Crowd was small and, outside the supporters groups, dominated by Pumas fans. I think this is yet another reason for having our own stadium. An earlier start would have helped greatly.
That’s all I’m saying for now…
In regards to Dallas:
It’s so incredible and unbelievable that it has to be true
i think we should call him zlatan PIKOLINovich!!
All right, maybe ‘phoning it in’ was too strong. However, I do stand by my comment that the team played with a lack of urgency, especially in the second half. I fully expected them to pour on the pressure and back Pumas into a corner when they were down a goal. UNAM Pumas took it ‘personally’, and that attitude was reflected in it’s performance. Perhaps, I’m too demanding, but I guess success tends to that to you as a fan.
The dynamo team just lacked enthusiasm heart and desire except for holden. i think Pumas took it to the heart the 4-4 tie in Mexico city.but to me i think its clear as day that when mexican teams take tournaments with more seriousness more positive results follow. example the four MEXICAN teams are basically all qualified for the concachampions next round and the four MLS teams are all about to be eliminated and Chivas just went into Argentina and beat River Plate.
Glenn, its always league first, cup competitions second but considering both, Dom simply got it wrong v Pumas. The Chivas match at the weekend is meaningless so better to roll with the, or at least SOME of the big guns against a lesser Pumas side. Lock up the Champions League knockout stage and sit the horses for the weekend and play the reserves v Firpo next week. Now we have to show up for the oh-by-the-way match at Chivas and bring the A-team against Firpo just to stay alive in CCL.
In my opinion, Dom chose the Pumas match to send a vote of confidence to the young guns who have played well btw. Frankly, given the circumstances, it wasn\’t a bad idea to unleash them on a weakened Pumas, at home, in a cup match that they could still afford to lose. If the Dynamo win, Dom\’s a genius; the youngsters win a major international confidence builder, and the starters get a much needed rest. Too bad someone forgot to tell the Pumas reserves the plan.
I still believe we can do the double but the path to get there just got a lot tougher.
Pumas was the better squad on Wed. night. Really, it was defensive breakdowns by the Dynamo in the midfield area that led to the penalty on Ianni and the fast break goal.
Goal 3 was a golazo and you can’t do too much on that.
I thought Dom should have put out a full “A” squad on Wed. and then rested all of the guys this weekend and at Firpo. I think our complete first team would have knocked off the Pumas reserves.
What will be disappointing is if I see Ching and Boswell go the full 90 in a meaningless game with Chivas when they could have been out there vs. Pumas. I see no way that any of our first teamers (save Onstad) make the trip to Firpo this week. It will be alot like when DC sent only 15 guys down to Cruz Azul.
My only criticism of Dom is player selection vs. Pumas, only because the weekend game is meaningless so the balancing act was not as tough this week.
Now, we have to see if our reserves can get a result at Firpo to keep us alive.
well i havent said too much on this match beacuse i dont wanna get beat up. lol. i was glad that pumas won because thats my FMF team, always has been. pikolin scored an awesome goal, and it made up (to me) for the mishap in the Nissan South amreican cup in 2005 when he cost us the cup against boca jrs. well it tied the game then we lost in penalties. so thats why i really want pumas to go through. but at the same time, i want dynamo to go through. if they face each other again in an elimination round, i will be happy for whoever wins it. the game wednesday is going to be a memorable one for me. come on, how often do you see two of your favorite teams from different leagues play each other?
I too miss those days in the Cottonbowl. It was a great atmosphere, just something about it that’s missing at PHP (even aside from fans in the stands).