Houston Dynamo player ratings vs St. Louis CITY SC

(image via Billy Mears)

The Houston Dynamo were back to their defensive best at home against St. Louis CITY SC to earn a point in a 0-0 draw. Let’s take a look at how everyone performed.

Starters

Steve Clark-7

Steve Clark earned himself another shutout in a game where he did not have a whole lot to do. Most of St Louis’ best opportunities were either blocked or went off-target. He did make three saves in this game.

Tate Schmitt-3

This was Tate’s first start in quite some time. He started out on the right where he was asked to do more with his weaker right foot. He had some really poor touches and passes that led to opportunities for St Louis. He also failed to score or provide for his teammates with the many times he found himself in strong attacking areas.

Erik Sviatchenko-9

Erik finally looks healthy again and he had himself a monster night. He made multiple goal saving tackles and blocks. His ability to play out of the press was also incredibly solid.

Micael-7

Micael also had a good game, but he had one awful giveaway that led to the best chance of the game for either team. Joao Klauss failed to even put the ball on frame, saving Micael’s night.

Daniel Steres-8

Daniel continues to impress at the fullback position on both sides of the ball. He got forward really well, taking two of the best shots of the night. One of his attempts hit the post and the other forced a save of the week candidate from Roman Burki.

Artur-8

Artur had another brilliant night controlling the midfield for 90 minutes. His passing was excellent and he was constantly breaking lines to set up Kowalczyk and Bassi. Defensively, he had a solid game, making three tackles and helping the team win the possession battle.

Hector Herrera-5

Hector made his first start of the season, and he clearly looks very rusty. He had multiple uncharacteristic give aways that led to some chances for St Louis. He did find himself in the box for an opportunity to score, but the finish was just too difficult.

Amine Bassi-9 (MOTM)

Bassi was easily the brightest player on the field for either side. He was the only one who looked like creating a goal for large periods of the game. Unfortunately, he was unable to score on either of his two long range opportunities. He created so many chances for both Aliyu and Schmitt, but neither were able to take advantage.

Coco Carrasquilla-6

Coco was extremely underwhelming for the entire first half while he played out wide again. He had a few opportunities for crosses but none of them were good deliveries. In the second half, he moved deeper into midfield, where he put in a really solid shift.

Aliyu Ibrahim-5

Aliyu was bright in some moments and a complete ghost in others. When he was able to get isolated with the opposing fullback, he mostly created a shot for himself or his teammates. His touch and ability to create in the box is just not clicking at the moment.

Sebastian Kowalczyk-6

Kowalczyk looked really good when coming deep to combine with Coco and Bassi. His ability to lead the line was lacking, however. He only managed to take one shot, which is just not enough for your striker in a game where you dominate possession. His movement off the ball was excellent to create channels for Bassi to operate in.

Substitutes

Latif Blessing-5

Blessing came on at half time for Hector Herrera and weirdly did not see a ton of the ball. In 45 minutes, he only made eight touches. He did look lively in those few touches, however. It may be his lack of playing time this season, but he looks very rusty in the final third.

Sebas Ferreira and Brad Smith-N/A

Sebas came on with only ten minutes to go. He barely saw the ball and created one good opportunity for Bassi from distance. Brad Smith came on in stoppage time and only touched the ball one time.

Head Coach

Ben Olsen-7

Ben put out what might have been the best lineup available while Hector and Sebas were on minute restrictions and Griffin Dorsey and Franco Escobar were unavailable. The team played well once again but just are not firing in the box. As Ben continues to mention, teams go through periods like this and sometimes all it takes is something small to click. This is a similar story to what the Dynamo looked like in the middle of last season.