A new chapter will be written when two of Major League Soccer’s title-winning franchises face off as the Houston Dynamo host the LA Galaxy Saturday night at BBVA Compass Stadium (7:30 p.m., KUBE 57). With stars on both ends of the pitch and both teams looking to build consistency, this matchup will be one between two sides hungry for a positive result.
The Dynamo are looking to bounce back from their away loss to Minnesota United and build a home winning streak while the Galaxy have lost three of their last four matches. While this match is taking place entering the third month of the season, the Dynamo know it’s just as important as every other on the schedule.
“We want to play everyone, and we don’t consider any team easier than any other, not in MLS,” said head coach Wilmer Cabrera. “In MLS you can win any game, and you can lose any game at any moment. That is the beauty of the MLS. We have just to go game by game, and we’re going to take every game as it comes.”
This week, the Dynamo defense will be tasked with defending a star-studded attack in Zlatan Ibrahimović, Romain Alessandrini, Giovani dos Santos and Jonathan dos Santos as well as MLS veterans like Ola Kamara, Sebastian Lletget and Perry Kitchen. The setting will also be one that could prove to be imposing on the Galaxy as the sold out crowd could make for a making for a raucous atmosphere.
The LA Galaxy will have problems of their own in trying to contain the trident of Alberth Elis, Mauro Manotas and Romell Quioto. The “Catracho Connection” of Elis and Quioto have linked up for a score in the previous two matches and fellow Honduran Boniek García believes the team’s luck will change if they can capitalize on a few more opportunities.
“We had a lot of opportunities in the first and second half, but we weren’t able to score,” said García on the team’s performance at Minnesota United FC. “We’re failing in that sense, but we need to keep working now that we have a hard test against the LA Galaxy and we hope to play a great game and to keep our points at home.”
On top of bouncing back from a road loss, the Dynamo are looking to build on their home form after dismantling Toronto FC in a 5-1 affair two weeks ago. With a 12-1-4 mark last season, the Dynamo were the second best home side behind the MLS Cup champions and the team believes they’re not far from returning to that form.
Injuries continue to be a factor early in the year for the Dynamo with seven names on the injury list. Despite missing some of last year’s starters, the team has amassed a 2-3-2 record and feels that there’s plenty of talent at the moment to guide the team to victory – it’s just a matter of eliminating mistakes.
“We have to be sure that we continue adjusting the details,” said Cabrera. “The last part is the finishing aspect, and also, we cannot make mistakes right now in the back because we are getting punished with goals. We have to continue growing. We have been playing well, we’ve been playing more solid, but we need to adjust those details, and if we adjust those details we’re going to be able to get better results, and we’re going to win.”
