Houston Dynamo vs El Paso Locomotive ratings
(image via Aldo Canale)
The Houston Dynamo beat El Paso Locomotive 4-1 to advance in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Let’s take a look at how everyone performed.
Starters
Jimmy Maurer - 6
Maurer got the start in goal for this cup match, ahead of Blake Gillingham. The veteran didn’t have much to do. El Paso had just one shot on goal, Beto Avila’s screamer that beat Maurer for Locomotive’s only goal of the match.
Aliyu Ibrahim - 7.5
Aliyu got the start as the right wing back and was solid. He helped Houston stretch the field and was even good defensively, winning 6 of his 7 ground duels and making 4 tackles.
Agustin Resch - 7
The rookie made his first start for the senior team and went the full 90 minutes. He looked comfortable as the central center back, almost playing as a sweeper, moving side-to-side to clean up El Paso attacks.
Felipe Andrade - 7
The Brazilian completed 91% of his passes to go along with 3 tackles and 5 recoveries. All and all, a solid night for Andrade.
Franco Negri - 6.5
Negri picked up a silly yellow card, which docks his rating a little. Besides that, he didn’t have to do much defensively, with just 1 defensive contribution on the night.
Sam Vines - 7
Vines had a bad giveaway to give El Paso a chance that hit the post. Outside of that moment, Vines was good as the left wing back, showing his ability to get forward into the attack.
Hector Herrera - 7.5
He may be 35 years old but this is the kind of performance Dynamo fans have grown accustomed to from Herrera. HH had 95 touches in his 70 minutes on the field and helped Houston control the game and keep El Paso off the ball.
Agustin Bouzat - 7.5
Like Herrera, Bouzat was on the ball a lot. Once El Paso went down a man, the Dynamo were able to control the game, thanks to their two center midfielders.
Ondrej Lingr - 8.5
Lingr opened the scoring with an acrobatic finish just 90 seconds into the match. He added an assist on Bogusz’s goal and made a strong case for more minutes in league play.
Guilherme - 7
The Brazilian played the first half and was able to rest up for Houston’s match on Saturday. He didn’t get a goal or assist in this match but Guilherme was still dangerous when he was on the ball.
Nick Markanich - 8.5
Fans wanted to see Markanich get minutes and he took advantage. His assist on Lingr’s goal was very well done and his finish to score Houston’s third showed his finishing ability.
Substitutes
Mateusz Bogusz - 8
Bogusz came on at half time and scored 30 seconds later. He also tallied an assist to Ponce. This game should help Bogusz’s confidence going forward.
Ezequiel Ponce - 7.5
Ponce needed that goal. He had another chance that he scuffed with a bad touch minutes before that. But for a striker who has been in a slump, hopefully that goal can awaken him.
Antonio Carlos - 6.5
What you would expect from a veteran. Antonio Carlos came off the bench and helped see the match out, although El Paso did get a goal back.
Diadie Samassekou - 6.5
He only played 20 minutes but Samassekou completed 14 of his 15 passes to help the Dynamo continue controlling the possession.
Lawrence Ennali - 6
Ennali came on late and wasn’t involved much.
Head Coach
Ben Olsen - 8
Olsen brilliantly rotated the team and managed minutes. Going a man up after 25 minutes certainly helped but this was a very good performance from the Dynamo against a team they were expected to beat. Now Houston heads to Orlando for a MLS match with some renewed confidence.
