The Houston Dynamo defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 at BBVA Compass Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Here are three points that stood out from Saturday’s match:
1. Cabrera’s not afraid to mix things up
Dynamo head coach Wilmer Cabrera featured his seventh different starting lineup in as many games, but there was one glaring distinction with this particular one. The Dynamo came out in a 4-4-2 formation for the first time this season, and they performed well.
A big reason for the changes in the lineup was due to the injury bug going around the locker room this season. Juan David Cabezas came in at defensive midfield for an injured Ricardo Clark and Kevin Garcia got his first MLS start in place of A.J. DeLaGarza, who’s been out with a calf injury.
Cabrera mentioned at the start of the season that there would be plenty of minutes to go around for everyone but the changes have probably come sooner than expected for the Colombian head coach. On Saturday he wasn’t afraid to change his formation and the good results will buy his players extra time to recover.
2. The Dynamo were better offensively in the second half
A big concern the last few games has been the huge disparity in the two halves by the Dynamo. On Saturday, the team had enough in the tank to close out the game in the second half.
The offense, limited to two forwards instead of one because of the formation change, generated four shots in the first half and nine shots in the second. More importantly, they spread the workload around from Erick Torres, Alberth Elis and Alex to the second half trident of Mauro Manotas, Romell Quioto and Andrew Wenger.
The key to this team playing a full game, as it looks, is to pace themselves in the first half. Having viable options on the bench is a definite plus but, again beating the drum of the injury problems, it helps when those options are healthy.
3. The return of Leonardo helped the defense regain its composure
The pairing of Leonardo and Adolfo Machado looks like the winner for the Dynamo in central defense. Jalil Anibaba has been a good replacement for Leonardo, but on Saturday we saw why the Brazilian is an important part of this defense.
His presence in the middle was felt by Chris Wondolowski, who was limited to minimal attacking opportunities. When Leonardo plays, it also allows Machado freedom to help the midfield more during games. Again, as players return to full health, the Dynamo will succeed.
