The Dynamo were eliminated last night in the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals after a 3-0 loss to Atlante of Mexico who were buoyed by a one goal one assist performance from teen-ager Fernando Navarro.
A mistake filled night from the Dynamo was punished by the Mexican squad who had not scored more than a goal in a game since Jan. 24 and had only scored 3 goal in their last 6 Mexican league games.
The Dynamo did not look assured starting this game.

23rd minute: Atlante hit for the game’s first goal that was surely preventable. First the Dynamo let goalkeeper Federico Villar walk the ball up to about 15 yards of the base of the center circle in his own half without any pressure. He then measured and hit a driven ball over 55 yards that put left back Wade Barrett in huge trouble turning him.
Navarro made a favorable touch off his head to separate himself from Barrett and then beat Pat Onstad for the 1-0 lead. A crushing blow.

36th min: Another huge mistake from the Dynamo. Julius James meandering out of the middle and Wade Barrett inexplicably allowed Fernando Navarro to get a cross in without pressure. Dynamo center back Craig Waibel got caught drawn to the ball and Rafael Marquez Lugo pounded his header in for the 2-0 lead.

90th minute: Luis Gabriel Rey then beat Cory Ashe off the dribble and was not pressured by three Dynamo players. Rey found Giancarlo Maldonado at the back post who took it off his chest and then smashed it in off the underside of the crossbar for the 3-0 win.

WHAT WENT WRONG?
For whatever the reason the Dynamo did not live up to the moment. You can say it is pre-season…..you can say they were missing players and in the end those are excuses and challenges .
Clearly evident on all three goals conceded was the lack of pressure that the Dynamo got on Atlante. On all three goals players were allowed to delivery that was costly. Look back at the three goals and you will see it was vivid. It was indicative of a night where the Dynamo never found their pressing, active pressuring game.

They also clearly missed the “edge’ and leadership of Bobby Boswell at the back. This was a night were they did not live up to the moment.
The squad also struggled to find their forwards Brian Ching and Kei Kamara. Ching did not look sharp after scoring twice against Montreal this past Saturday and Kamara struggled at important times with his control.
The better team won on this night but it is still a tough one to stomach with the opportunity that Concacaf presented and the success that USL teams have been having.
Which leads us back to the same question heading into the season about the impact of Dwayne DeRosario and replacing him as well as some of the veterans and how impactful they can continue to be? These are all fair questions for a team that has produced a remarkable run of games over the last three years plus winning titles! We also must not forget the playoff system in MLS and that timing it right and finding your game at the right time is key. This is going to be an interesting and exciting season and one that is going to bring different challenges.
It is difficult to make judgement on two games on a team in pre-season yet this may now add to the pressure of the Dynamo finding another unpredictable attacking player.

What are your thoughts on this match?

The Dynamo next will play in Austin on Saturday against the Aztex which will be a great opportunity for Dynamo fans to make a road trip.
I warn you though, apparently the Austin home field has football lines etc. and is artificial.

*For those of you emailing me yesterday on where my column was. The entire soccer page now has been moved to Saturday’s. Be on the look out this Saturday in the Chronicle.