No excuses, no shifting the blame from the Houston Dynamo after a 4-1 defeat at home to the LA Galaxy on Friday night.
“That’s nowhere near good enough, for the standard that we’re looking for, that we set in previous games,” proclaimed Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle.
Will Bruin echoed: “Not good enough. I think the fans, the club, everybody deserves better. We need to fix it.”
It took just 57 seconds for the Dynamo to jump out to a lead at BBVA Compass Stadium, but three minutes after that the lead was gone. It took until the 21st minute for the Galaxy to take the lead, which they would only add to in the 31st and 49th minutes.
The performance led to a rare triple-substitution in the 57th minute by Coyle, bringing on Boniek García, Leonel Miranda, and Erick Torres, though there would have been more if the laws of the game allowed it.
“If I had 11 substitutes at halftime, I would have changed them,” Coyle pronounced. “I know there are good players in that locker room but there’s got to be that strength of character, that mentality.”
The attitude out of the home locker room on Saturday night was one of utmost disappointment, in their performance on their own turf and in the display provided for the Dynamo support.
“This is our house, but today I’d want to pay for their tickets to today’s match because there aren’t any more words to further explain,” Miranda said. “It was a disaster and I want to thank the fans for coming, but I hope they’re with us during the bad times as well as the good times.”
The Dynamo manager promised changes in his team selection as they looks to rebound on the road in a match against Columbus Crew SC, but declined to offer specifics in the heat of the postgame press conference. He did offer a challenge to squad, however.
“I think it’s fair to say that there will be changes because I’m not accepting that. I don’t think our fans are deserving of that level of performance. And it absolutely bugs me.
“And I’m asking the players, when they go home tonight, do they care enough to make a difference? Because that’s what it’s got to be. They’ve got to do whatever it takes to get good results and we didn’t do enough tonight and that’s the sad thing.”
Captain Giles Barnes agreed with Coyle’s assessment, and promised a dedication response to finding a fix.
“We’re the ones that are out there day in and day out to keep the shirt and with today’s performance, we don’t deserve it. We’ll be back in tomorrow, we’ll be working hard, because we know we’ve got to get this right.”
