Houston Dynamo vs Chicago Fire player ratings
(image via Aldo Canale)
The Houston Dynamo came from behind to beat the Chicago Fire 2-1 on Saturday at Shell Energy Stadium. Let’s take a look at how everyone performed.
Starters
Jonathan Bond - 7
Bond made two saves on Chicago’s three shots on target. There wasn’t much he could do to stop Hugo Cuypers’ breakaway goal. A relatively quiet night for your goalkeeper is a good thing.
Duane Holmes - 7.5
The answer to “who replaces Griffin Dorsey” was “Duane Holmes” as many expected. Ben Olsen spoke after the game about the difficulty of being put into the starting lineup in a position he hasn’t played a lot of with just a few days notice and how proud he was of Holmes and how we played. He’ll only get better as time goes on and he learns more.
Erik Sviatchenko - 7
Having Sviatchenko in the Dynamo lineup is like a kid with their security blanket. The veteran rarely puts a foot wrong and he’s always there to clean up any messes on the back line.
Antonio Carlos - 7.5
The Brazilian wore the captain’s armband and he put in a captain-worthy performance. Antonio Carlos is similar to Sviatchenko in that he is a veteran and more times than not he is going to be steady and dependable on defense.
Lucas Halter - 7
A solid debut for the young center back. It helps that Halter has the two veterans with him in the three center back setup but outside of a tactical foul that led to a yellow card, he never looked out of place in his first match in Major League Soccer.
Lawrence Ennali - 7
Ennali is learning a brand new position as a wing back in this new 3-4-2-1 setup the Dynamo are using. He may be utilized a little differently in this role but with all the attacking talent around him, Ennali took to his new spot like a duck to water.
Agustin Bouzat - 6.5
With Artur out, a lot of defensive responsibility is going to fall on Bouzat. He probably wants to be a little more forward, as an 8, but McGlynn will do a lot of that work. Bouzat is a very talented player and he will find the balance soon enough.
Jack McGlynn - 8
The ball played through to Guilherme for the Dynamo’s first goal was world-class. McGlynn has that about him. If you look at his heat map on Fotmob, he was all over the place. McGlynn is just one of those talents that no matter where you put him on the field, he’s going to pop up with a big moment.
Mateusz Bogusz - 6.5
Bogusz made the mistake when he played an errant back pass directly to Chicago striker Hugo Cuypers that led to the Fire’s goal. Besides that, he played a really solid game. He smashed the post with a left-footed shot that could have been a wonder goal.
Guilherme - 9
What more is there to say about the Brazilian? His instinct to know McGlynn was going to play him through on goal, from his own half, is something you can’t teach. And following up Ponce’s shot for his second goal is what great scorers do. The Dynamo have a gem in Guilherme.
Ezequiel Ponce - 6.5
Ponce’s involvement on both goals highlights what he brings to this team, even when he isn’t scoring. Checking back to the ball in his own half and then dropping it off to McGlynn to assist Guilherme was so good. And the skill to bring down the cross into the box and turn and put a shot on goal (that Chris Brady saved and Guilherme scored the rebound) was very impressive.
Substitutes
Ondrej Lingr - 6
Lingr had a solid 11+ minute shift but what was most notable is that he replaced Holmes as the right wing back. We’ve seen Lingr play all across the attack and now he’s being utilized in a deeper position. He very well could be the Dynamo’s Swiss Army knife this season.
Diadie Samassekou, Franco Negri, and Nick Markanich - N/A
All three players came on late to see out the game.
Head Coach
Ben Olsen - 8.5
Changing a formation isn’t easy but Olsen showed that the 3-4-2-1 they were succesful with in preseason could work in the regular season as well. There are definitely things to work on, and a big test awaits this weekend, but Olsen pushed all the right buttons against Chicago to earn all three points on the night.
