Houston Dynamo at LAFC player ratings
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Dynamo had a tough 2-0 loss away to LAFC on Saturday, ending their unbeaten run. Let’s take a look at how everyone performed.
Starters
Jonathan Bond-8 (7.33 avg)
Jonathan Bond had a mixed bag in his third game for the Dynamo. The first goal for LAFC was a mistake from Bond, but then he went on to make eight saves in the match. It’s hard to not give him a very good score despite the early mistake.
Griffin Dorsey-7 (7.14 avg)
Dorsey had a good, not great, game where he was asked to do some more defending than normal. As usual, he was up for the task more often than not. Unfortunately, he looked incredibly flat going forward.
Erik Sviatchenko-6.5 (6.93 avg)
Erik had a good half defensively to open the game. After going down a goal, Ben Olsen asked Erik to be more adventurous in possession and take up the half spaces to create overloads on the right side. This was effective in ball retention, but as soon as a bad turnover happened, they conceded the second goal with Awodesu in a 1v2.
Obafemi Awodesu-2 (5.91 avg)
Femi had another night he will want to forget. Multiple lapses defensively combined with awkward clearances led to one of his worst performances of the season.
Franco Escobar-7 (7.80 avg)
Escobar was on course for another excellent score as he was a rock defensively and played a huge role in the possession game as usual. He then went on to get a late red card that lowers his score.
Artur-6.5 (6.95 avg)
Artur failed to make a huge impact on this game in a meaningful way. He was caught lacking in transition multiple times but had some good moments in possession. Not bad, but not great either.
Brooklyn Raines-7.5 (7.13 avg)
Brooklyn had another strong start playing against a tough LAFC midfield. He held his own for most of the game and put up some excellent defensive stats with four tackles, one interception, and a block.
Amine Bassi-4.5 (6.64 avg)
Bassi followed up his man of the match performance against Austin with a huge stinker that saw him subbed off 60 minutes into the match. He just did not get involved enough and was ineffective when given opportunities.
Ondrej Lingr-4 (6.67 avg)
Lingr struggled massively in his second start as the team failed to create many meaningful chances. He gets props for the amount of effort he puts into the match, but he just didn’t get involved enough for the team to find success.
Jack McGlynn-7.5 (7.40 avg)
Jack had another solid night on the right wing for the Dynamo. He was the most creative player on the field for Houston with three shot creating actions and nine progressive passes. It would have been nice to see him be a little more threatening around the box, however.
Ezequiel Ponce-3 (5.95 avg)
You have to feel bad for Ponce in a game like this where he just could not get on the ball or find any real chances due to the lack of creativity from his teammates. You could have replaced him with any player on the planet and it would not have made a difference on the night.
Substitutes
Sebastian Kowalczyk-6 (6.36 avg)
Kowalczyk came in for Bassi with 30 minutes to go. He was at least attempting to be inventive in the final third despite nothing really coming off for him. He did bring a spark, but nothing came of it.
Nicolas Lodeiro-5 (5.44 avg)
I am still yet to be impressed by Lodeiro, whether it is from the start or off the bench. He just doesn’t play well when he is not the focus of the buildup play. He has yet to really make any impact on this Dynamo team.
Gabe Segal and Junior Urso-N/A
Neither player played enough minutes to warrant a rating.
Head Coach
Ben Olsen-8.5 (7.25 avg)
Ben yet again did a great job setting his team up from the start. The unfortunate early goal unraveled his tactics quite a bit. He opted to let Sviatchenko float higher up the field, leaving so much space for counter attacks. The decision was not a bad one, but it did lead to LAFC’s second goal of the game. That is sometimes the gamble of making attacking decisions.
