The Houston Dynamo begin the final stage of preseason on Saturday against the Colorado Rapids in the opening game of the Desert Diamond Cup from Tucson, Arizona (8 p.m. CT; HoustonDynamo.com/live).
The preseason outing will offer head coach Owen Coyle another opportunity to test his squad against MLS competition and, with two weeks until the March 6 season opener, begin to make lineup decisions while continuing to increase player fitness and sharpness.
“We can do all the training sessions in the world, but nothing beats realistic game-to-game match efficiency, match fitness,” Coyle told HoustonDynamo.com on Friday. “As we look for tomorrow, we’ll look for our passing to improve, be more sharp and precise as we go each week and each game, and tomorrow affords us the opportunity to do that, to continue improving.”
The positive news from the team’s brief return to Houston last week was the return of Cristian Maidana and Ricardo Clark and the arrival of Spanish newcomers David Rocha and Agus Garcia. Maidana and Clark missed all three of the Tucson Desert Friendly matches with ankle and groin injuries, respectively. Maidana played 45 minutes against Houston Baptist on Saturday and 57 minutes against the Dynamo Academy on Tuesday while Clark made his debut with a 45-minute outing on Tuesday. Rocha and Garcia both played 45 minutes in each of the Houston scrimmages.
Saturday could mark the debut of new left back Abdoulie Mansally, who was acquired by the Dynamo in a trade with Real Salt Lake on Thursday and was conveniently stationed in Tucson ahead of the Dynamo arrival.
The Dynamo do not face the Rapids in the regular season until Oct. 8, the 31st of 34 games, so both managers could be aggressive with lineup choices. Conversely, the Dynamo could field a different lineup in Wednesday’s Diamond Cup match against New England, with the regular-season opener between the same teams just 11 days later possibly affecting lineup decisions.
“It’s a tournament, of course, and like anybody else we’d like to win it, but the most important thing we get out of this, these three games, is match fitness, match sharpness, and be ready to start the season against New England. We know the quality that we await, but it doesn’t change in terms of our beliefs in terms of preparation and the principles of play that we want to attach to the games.”
Coyle could deploy a starting group on Saturday consisting of a mix of two lineups used against Houston Baptist a week ago. With Tyler Deric in goal, a back four of Sheanon Williams, Raúl Rodríguez, Agus Garcia and DaMarcus Beasley rounded out the first half lineup. In the second half, a veteran group of attacking players took the field, featuring Andrew Wenger, Alex Lima, David Rocha, Maidana and Giles Barnes in midfield and Will Bruin up front. Clark and David Horst, two of the regulars from the 2015 squad, are also candidates to start.
Midfielder Rob Lovejoy sustained a hamstring injury against San Jose on Feb. 6 and is the only Dynamo player carrying an injury to Tucson.
The Rapids will look to bounce back after falling 3-1 to the Swope Park Rangers, set to join USL in 2016 under Sporting Kansas City, in their Diamond Cup opener on Wednesday. The Rapids beat another USL team, the Sacramento Republic, 1-0 last Saturday. Colorado’s biggest offseason signing was Shkelzen Gashi, a Switzerland international forward who led the Swiss Super League in scoring the last two seasons.
