That felt good! Dynamo vs. Galaxy

What a game! Not the prettiest soccer I’ve ever seen, but being in the stands for the Dynamo/LA Galaxy game felt good. At this point we’ve:

• Been undefeated at home this season
• Maintained a clean sheet at home for all three games
• Got a player (Amine Bassi) who has gone four games and scored a penalty shot in each game. This is the longest consecutive penalty shot streak in MLS history.
• Got a solid back-line and midfield setup that can manuever around the field and create open spaces to play into as well as service from the back.
• Have a team that is controlling the ball and is generally possessive for most of the game.

What we don’t have:

• Someone who can consistently get in the penalty box and effectively shoot on goal.

What the LA Galaxy game showed us was a team that is effectively playing together, trusting each other to play their positions and getting creative on how to open up the opponents defense. Ben Olsen promised us that you would see more players crashing the box and that is what we saw.

And our defense! I LOVE our defensive line! Bartlow, Hadebe, Steres, Clark…legitimately fun to watch.

He also promised us a gritty play style that punished opponents and wore them down. If the number of fights on the field and red cards on Saturday was any indication, these players got under the LA Galaxy’s skin and made them lose their cool. When the fights broke out, the fans went ballistic as well, showing that Houston’s desire to bleed orange is there, ready to be rekindled with a team that can be dependable.

A 3-0 victory felt nice! And if you think about the fact that 2 of the 3 teams we’ve lost to this season are sitting at the top of the league (and deserve to be there), our record is looking pretty positive at this point. We’re definitely a work in progress, but I’m feeling really good about the fact that this team is lightyears ahead of last year and the year before.