Houston, Texas — The Houston Dynamo will face Jack McInerney and the Montreal Impact tomorrow night at BBVA Compass Stadium, just four days after the Impact sealed their place in the CONCACAF Champions League final by beating Alajuelense on away goals.
The Impact’s hard fought win versus Alajuelense in Costa Rica was historic, not just for Major League Soccer but for Canada. The Impact are only the second Major League Soccer team and the only Canadian team to ever to make it to the CONCACAF Champions League final.
The Dynamo may have lost to Seattle 1-0, failing to capitalize on a one man advantage for much of the second half, but it was arguably their best performance of the season so far; passing well, out shooting, and crossing the Sounders — not to mention keeping Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey at bay for much of the game.
Yes, Martins produced a moment of magic to spin past the onrushing Jermaine Taylor and slot the ball past Deric, but the three men in the center of midfield ensured that Oba and Dempsey were well shut down.
The biggest problem with the Dynamo offense this season has been the lack of a link between midfield and attack. This had led the Dynamo to being last in the league in average shots on goal (8) before the Seattle game, but versus Seattle the Dynamo managed 16 shots on goal. The problem is that they continued their shot accuracy woes, leaving only 2 of those on frame.
The attack is getting visibly better. That’s a work in progress. Owen Coyle has told the media time and time again that it was never going to be as easy as “sprinkling fairy dust” and watching things all fall into place. But do Dynamo fans have cause to be concerned after scoring just two goals in their first 5 games?
The Dynamo will likely line up in a 451 formation with Nate Sturgis supposedly playing the number 10 role behind Giles Barnes. The Dynamo lined up in a similar fashion from the off in every game this season barring one — the opening day win versus Columbus Crew SC. Though the goal game after the switch to 451, the Dynamo created better chances with the 442 — something their fans wish they’d have done against Colorado in their last home game.
Coyle says he wants the team to go out there with the mentality that they can win every game but a conservative 451 formation at home, against teams who are visibly struggling, doesn’t say winning mentality to me — it says caution.
Passing is getting progressively better, the Dynamo are moving the ball around better but the next step is to move the ball into better areas to create clear-cut chances. Houston hasn’t created many clear cut chances this season at all. Most shots on target have either been soft, or from set pieces. In fact, it almost looks like Coyle’s team are playing for set pieces.
The keys to this game:
Keep the ball on the ground. I cannot stress this enough. Giles Barnes and Will Bruin combined win about 32% of all aerial duels. That’s particularly poor considering someone of Bruin’s size and stature. On corner kicks the Dynamo need to look for players like David Horst and Jermaine Taylor to contribute more in the air. They won 7 corner kicks against Seattle with nothing coming from any of them.
Shoot! Coyle, and Giles Barnes, have told media in recent weeks that the problem creating chances can be rectified by making better decisions in the final third. Sometimes this means shooting when there is an opportunity to rather than making the extra pass. Rob Lovejoy and Leo Miranda did it in the game versus Colorado and Nate Sturgis his a speculative volley against Seattle — outside of those three instances I can’t think of many shots from range the Dynamo have had.
Attack the game. Now is not the time to be cautious for Owen Coyle’s men. They have had a tendency this year to start games off slowly and feel their opponents out. Against a Montreal team who have travelled a long way this week from Canada, to Costa Rica, and then to Houston on just four days rest, the Dynamo must impose themselves on the Impact early.
Tomorrow’s game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT and will broadcast live on ROOT SPORTS Southwest (7 p.m. pregame) and on tape delay on Telemundo Houston (11 p.m. broadcast). The game can be heard on Yahoo Sports Radio 1560 AM and La Ranchera 850 AM (Spanish).
The Dynamo went 2-1 against Montreal least season, with two home wins, including a 3-2 victory last September with two goals from Giles Barnes.
Following tomorrow’s game, the Dynamo visit D.C. United on Saturday, April 18 at RFK Stadium.
Probable Line ups:
Houston Dynamo (4-2-3-1): Deric, Sarkodie, Taylor, Horst, Beasley, Garrido, Clark, Garcia, Sturgis, Davis (c), Barnes.
Montreal Impact (4-1-3-2): Bush, Toia, Cabrera, Soumare, Camara, Reo-Coker, Bernier, Duka, Oduro, McInerney.
Injury Report.
Houston Dynamo: Raul Rodriguez — concussion/facial laceration (OUT)
Montreal Impact: Maxime Crépeau – shoulder injury (OUT); Adrian Lopez – knee injury (OUT); Justin Mapp – elbow surgery (OUT); Cameron Porter – knee injury (OUT)
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