The Houston Dynamo collected its first point on the road in the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” on Wednesday night in a scoreless draw with Minnesota United FC. Here are the three things to take away from the encounter:
1. No shortage of opportunities
The Dynamo were without three of their main attackers as Alberth Elis, Romell Quioto and Erick Torres were unavailable due to their participation in the Gold Cup quarterfinals on Thursday night. The three account for 22 of the team’s 34 goals scored this season.
Despite the absences, the Dynamo generated 19 total shots. The problem on Wednesday night was more about placing those shots on target – only four of the 19 were on frame – and finishing them.
The biggest positive is that they looked dangerous offensively on the road, with Alex, Vicente Sanchez and Andrew Wenger creating prime chances. The addition of Tomás Martínez to a midfield that has had no problem generating opportunities without him, will only help the team keep that dangerous flair.
2. Memo gets his first MLS start
21-year-old homegrown player Memo Rodriguez obtained another milestone in his career by collecting his first start in an MLS match. Rodriguez continues to build on his 2017 season that included his MLS debut earlier this year, first goal with the Dynamo in Open Cup, and his first MLS goal in the last home game against Montreal.
After mustering no minutes in his first MLS season in 2015 and being waved from the team and signing on with the USL affiliate RGV FC Toros last year, the El Campo native has ascended quickly through the ranks of this team. That is undoubtedly attributed to his continued work but head coach Wilmer Cabrera deserves his share of the credit.
Cabrera has shown no hesitation to give opportunity to anyone on this roster – and in the Dynamo development system which includes Rio Grande Valley FC. Rodriguez is just the latest example of players who are successfully seizing that opportunity.
3. The defense saved the draw
As good as the Dynamo looked offensively, it was the defensive effort in the second half that kept the home team at bay. That effort – which included an A.J. DeLaGarza save off the goal line – is what prevented the team from moving on to D.C. with no points.
The defense has had as much fault as the offense at times when it comes to figuring out why the Dynamo have struggled on the road. On Wednesday night, however, they did their part to keep themselves in the match and held one of the league’s top scorers in Christian Ramirez to zero goals and few chances.
All you can ask of the defense is to give the offense a chance to succeed to clinch the three points. If they can do it again, and the offense can provide the goals, there is optimism for more points at D.C. United on Saturday (6 p.m. | KUBE 57).
