Three things we learned: Houston Dynamo vs Portland Timbers

(image via Ricky Vega)

The Houston Dynamo won a thriller courtesy of a Mateusz Bogusz winner in the 105th minute against the Portland Timbers. After each game this season, we’re going to bring you three things we learned from the match. Here is our next edition after watching the Dynamo win all three points at home.

This Midfield is Deep

Even with captain Artur out with an injury and Agustin Bouzat serving a red-card suspension, the Houston Dynamo midfield stood strong. Diadie Samassekou made his first start for the Orange and looked the real deal, winning the ball back multiple times. Jack McGlynn controlled the game with 100 touches and the game winning assist. They were also greatly helped by great midfield help from the bench. Hector Herrera controlled the tempo of the game and showed his experience coming on at the half, and Ondrej Lingr showed up as the great Swiss Army Knife of this squad again, slotting in at right back and saving the Dynamo with a clearance to keep all three points in Houston.

Felipe Andrade Goes Above and Beyond

The Dynamo were already thin at the back coming into this season and with Antonio Carlos suspended, Houston relied on Felipe Andrade. The Brazilian was making his first MLS start, after recovering from a quad injury, to play as the left center back. Andrade controlled the left side of the field and didn’t look rusty at all, playing all 90 minutes and perfectly placing a shot from way out to give the Dynamo a 2-1 lead. With Lucas Halter suffering an injury and having to come out of the match, the Dynamo needed this Andrade performance to instill confidence into this backline.

Poor Starts to Games

The Dynamo have been slow coming out of the gate in their opening games, conceding the first goal in all 3 of matches so far this season, joining New England and Philadelphia as the only teams to have not scored the first goal in a game yet. In those games, the Dynamo have only averaged 0.34 xG in the first halves. In the second halves of those games, they have averaged double that number at 0.68 xG. While the Dynamo have been able to fight back to get wins in 2 of those games, they will be looking to change this trend in the coming away match at Dallas.