Dynamo 2sday: Dos fall apart late in loss to Tacoma

(image via Houston Dynamo FC)

“It’s going to be a battle.” Houston Dynamo 2 head coach Kenny Bundy said this in his talk to the press earlier in the week when describing how he felt the game versus Tacoma Defiance was going to be. That sentence from the gaffer would set the tone for what was about to take place on Sunday night at SaberCats Stadium on a beautiful night for soccer in Houston. 

DynaDos came out with a starting XI comprised of some familiar faces we see at Dos “on the usual” and some first team players that came down to get some minutes and stay fit for the battles ahead. The first chance for Houston would come from a ball that started at the feet of goalkeeper Andrew Pannenberg and ended with a shot that just went wide by Nelson Quiñones,after just 30 seconds of play. A few minutes later, in the 5th minute, Tacoma would have a shot of their own that also went wide. Both teams seemed to be doing great in transition in the first few minutes of the match. 

The high pressure by the Dynamo continued in the first half. They were not letting Tacoma go across midfield, you could almost count with your fingers the times Defiance were able to get into Houston’s half of the field. This persistent way of pressuring would make way for another shot on goal by Quiñones, and then another dangerous shot in the 24th minute. Houston was slowly getting closer to get on the board as the time and the pressure increased.

The clearest chance would come from a cross by Isaiah LeFlore into the box. Tacoma goalkeeper Andrew Thomas came out to try and punch the ball but missed it, leaving Mujeeb Murana, who was closing on the back post, with the ball at his feet. He got tangled up, giving the Defiance defenders the opportunity to get in front of the potential shot from the right back. It was great to see both full backs join into the attack. The more numbers in the box, the greater the chance to get the ball in the back of the net. 

The second half would start off great for Dynamo 2. After a short cross from Quiñones to find Avila inside the box, Beto would get a push from the back from the defender, giving Houston an opportunity from the penalty spot. Avila would step up and blast one to the left of the keeper to put Dos up 1-0 in the 48th minute. 

Diego Gonzalez would a corner kick into the box in the 57th minute and the rebound would land at the feet of Quiñones once again. His shot would go just wide after a deflection from a Tacoma defender. Quiñones, the first team player, would end up having a heck of a night on that left flank. Charles Auguste also got a shot of his own from outside the box that went slightly wide in the 61st minute. Houston continued to attack and continues to take shots, accumulating 16 shots (5 on goal) in the first hour of play.

Disaster would strike in the 70th minute. Tacoma had a break away and as their forward entered the box, LeFlore fouled the player. Not only did Defiance get a penalty kick, but LeFlore was shown his second yellow card of the game which turned into a red card and left Houston with 10 men for the last 20 minutes of the match. 

Hal Uderitz would convert the penalty kick to level things up for Tacoma, giving them the breather they needed from all the pressure Houston was putting on them the whole game up to this point. 

In the 87th minute, after a corner kick from the Dynamo and a few rebounds inside the 6-yard box, Tacoma goalkeeper Thomas was able to hold on to the ball for dear life and keep the game 1-1 and take this game to shots from the penalty spot. Or so we thought.

A couple of minutes later, in the 90th minute, Tacoma’s Travian Sousa would get the ball on the left side and send a cross across the box. Maples inadvertently hit the ball towards his own goal and Pannenberg was able to react quickly to keep the ball out. Unfortunately for Houston, the rebound landed at the feet of Raul Miglietti who found the back of the net to gives the victory and the three points to Tacoma Defiance. 

It was 70 minutes of an almost perfect pressing game from the guys in orange, but a few mistakes led to a red card and a penalty kick and that was enough to turn the winds the other direction. It gave Tacoma a glimpse of hope, which would be enough for them to turn things around in the last 20 minutes of the match. 

“That's our best performance of the season,” Bundy said after the match. “Overall, emotions are high right now because you dropped points at home, which is not something that is ever acceptable. The message to the players at the end of the day, I did it on the field because I do not think there is anything to say in the locker room. The message is essentially that they are not allowed to feel sorry for themselves. No one hangs their head, they can be disappointed, but that result is on us.”

Midfielder Diego Gonzalez who had a solid game said after the match, “we just keep the same energy that we have. When you start like that every game, the goals are going to come. The chances that we are creating they're good. If we just keep that going next weekend against KC on the road. It is going to help us get three points.”

The season is just getting started and this Dynamo 2 team is starting to look better and better as the games go by. Both Gonzalez and Bundy talked about working on the finishing side of things, since the creating of opportunities is there but that final touch is lacking for this squad. “I sound like a broken record because it's happened a number of times and we're working really hard to find a solution,” Bundy said. “But with that performance, I can't be disappointed in the effort and the quality that the players had on the field.”

Dynamo 2 will look forward to two road games against two tough opponents on their turf. The first stop is Sporting KC II on April 30th at 7 PM. They then travel to Canadian soil to take on Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on May 7th at 8 PM. 

Let’s keep supporting the growth and the vision the club has for this squad and like always, VAMOS LOS PIBES!!! HOUSTON CONTRA TODOS!!!