MINNEAPOLIS – The Houston Dynamo continue to look for their first road victory of 2017, after letting chance after chance go begging in their latest away outing.
Despite taking 19 shots against Minnesota United on Wednesday night, the Dynamo failed to score, settling for a scoreless draw. Head coach Wilmer Cabrera saw the result as two points dropped, not one taken.
“We lost an opportunity to win a game due to a lack of finishing,” Cabrera told reporters after the match. “We do very well at home. Today, everyone in front of goal lacked finishing. We missed some unbelievable opportunities. We lost a chance to win our first game [on the road]. It’s on us.
"The first half, we should’ve finished 3-0 easily. We just kept missing and missing.”
With regulars Erick “Cubo” Torres, Alberth Elis and Romell Quioto out on CONCACAF Gold Cup duty, Houston’s attacking depth was put to the test. This included Memo Rodriguez making his first MLS start.
“It felt great,” the Homegrown attacker said. “The team did a really good job defensively. We had good chances to put away and we didn’t execute.”
While Cabrera brought in attacking reinforcements after the break, neither Vicente Sánchez nor José Escalante was able to find the net.
“In the second half, we gave them opportunities to come after it,” Cabrera saidd. “One good chance at the end, the other ones were 50/50 situations. We had so many chances that we should be upset with ourselves.”
However, Houston’s back line was able to hold the fort. Leonardo and Adolfo Machado kept Minnesota's dangerous Christian Ramirez away from the ball for most of the match, with the striker registering just one shot on the night.
“It’s not just the back four,” said fullback A.J. DeLaGarza, whose critical goal-line clearance in the second half kept Minnesota off the scoreboard. “The whole team was collectively together. We weren’t stretched out like we were against Colorado. Yeah, they had 65 percent possession but most of it was between their center backs. They won’t hurt us there.”
Houston will try to carry the defensive momentum and ramp up their attack as they continue the search for their first road win on Saturday at D.C. United.
“Hopefully, we keep the momentum going,” DeLaGarza, a Maryland native, said. “I’ll be returning home and playing in front of 200-plus of my family and friends, so I’m excited about that. I’ll be up for it.”
