Will Bruin scuffs his shot badly wide versus the Colorado Rapids in the 9th minute.
Houston, Texas — When the ball fell to Will Bruin 6 yards from goal versus Colorado, the Texan Army was poised to set off the orange flares and celebrate an early Houston Dynamo goal. Unfortunately, Will Bruin skewed his shot badly wide.
It was the Dynamo’s best chance of the game, and barring a few speculative shots from Rob Lovejoy and Leonel Miranda the Dynamo never really looked like scoring.
The game versus Colorado was supposed to be a game the Dynamo could keep momentum going from the fantastic draw they held LA to in California. But with four international players away and three at less than 100% fitness, the Dynamo couldn’t open up a Colorado team that has now not conceded a goal in over 270 minutes.
The biggest surprise was the inclusion of Ricardo Clark. The USMNT international was suffering from a fractured rib and Owen Coyle had told media at practice this week:
“Ricardo Clark could be weeks. He’s a valuable player for our team, but i’d be very surprised if he was ready to play this weekend” adding “You know when Ricardo comes out of a game that he’s hurt, but he’s got the heart the size of a lion.”
Sure enough when the lineups were announced, Ricardo Clark was in the team.
“We actually shaped up yesterday with him not in the team” said Coyle. “He came on the field yesterday, I thought just to have a little jog and see how he felt, but he said coach i’m ready put me in the team. I told him i’d put him in the other team because I didn’t think he’d be ready but he says to me after the [practice]game i’m sore, but i’m willing to bear the pain.”
Ricardo Clark is a veteran on this Dynamo team and has played in two World Cup’s. If he says that he’s good to go, you have to put him in the game. But the inclusion of Clark alongside Nathan Sturgis is something that impacted the teams offensive production.
Without Clark in the team, the projected line up was 4-4-2 with Chandler Hoffman partnering Will Bruin at the striker position. With Clark in the team Hoffman dropped out, not Sturgis, leaving the Dynamo to play a 4-5-1 in which Brad Davis was moved to the “number ten” role and rookie Rob Lovejoy played wide on the left.
The problem is that Will Bruin — or any Dynamo striker for that matter — in Coyle’s 4-5-1 system looks like he is on an island. The Dynamo didn’t force Clint Irwin into any meaningful saves, but Coyle remains confident that the 4-5-1 is the way forward for the Dynamo.
“When I came in I didn’t think we could come in and sprinkle fairy dust, we all have a clear vision of how we’re going to take this club forward… we know we’ve got goals in us and we’ll welcome back Giles Barnes and Boniek Garcia [vs Seattle]who can open up defenses.” Coyle told media during the post game press conference Saturday adding that he thinks that “when people analyze the game theres a tendency to over-analyze.”
Playing a 4-5-1 at home versus a team who were coming into the game at a 0-16-2 clip over their last 18 games — it’s eight months since the Rapids last tasted victory — doesn’t need much analysis. This was a game that Owen Coyle, despite the missing players, could have gambled and played 4-4-2.
The 4-5-1 with Davis playing “number ten” just didn’t work. Nathan Sturgis and Ricardo Clark were clearly not 100% and Davis, subconsciously, dropped deep to get the ball, meaning Bruin had to drop deep too, which forced Rob Lovejoy and Leo Miranda to wait for help on the counter.
The Dynamo finished the game with just 2 shots on target: A weak curling shot from Brad Davis straight to the midriff of the Clint Irwin, and a hard shot from Leo Miranda that Irwin could only parry to safety.
The second half wasn’t pretty to watch. The Dynamo struggled to create, and so did Colorado — it’s not a surprise the Rapids haven’t scored in 510 minutes — until the 83rd minute when Chandler Hoffman entered the game.
Hoffman came on for Leonel Miranda and was supposed to play wide on the right, but seemingly shifted more toward the center to support Will Bruin. In the 7 minutes Hoffman was on the field the Dynamo looked like they might score, because they had somebody who was linking the play. It’s as though they were playing a 4-51 on defense, but a 4-4-2 on offense.
Chandler Hoffman brought the offense together for the 7 minutes he was on the field. Here he is playing in Zach Steinberger late in the game.
Hoffman’s work in the give-and-go was spectacular, releasing Kofi Sarkodie and debutant Zach Steinberger on two separate occasions. He tracked back and won the ball, playing the ball back to David Horst who started a move on the opposite side of the pitch, which resulted in a dangerous Brad Davis cross that Hoffman and Bruin fell over themselves trying to get to.
When the ball fell to Zach Steinberger for his effort from 20 yards in the 88th minute the ball got there because Hoffman won a header in the box. Hoffman passed the ball at 88% and won 2 of 3 aerial duels.
The point is when there is somebody to play off of Will Bruin or Giles Barnes the Dynamo look more dangerous. The passing game is coming together, the Dynamo passed the ball at 77% as a team, but there’s a missing link. For now, at least, that should be the job of Giles Barnes or Chandler Hoffman. Houston had missed a link between midfield and attack until Hoffman’s inclusion.
“As frustrating it is [not winning the game], there’s an awful lot to be pleased about” said Owen Coyle of the result.
The Houston Dynamo travel Thursday to Seattle in preparation for their match versus the Seattle Sounders on April 4th.
