Dynamo make first visit to St. Louis: What to watch for

(image via Houston Dynamo FC)

The Houston Dynamo will make their first visit to St. Louis to take on Major League Soccer’s newest expansion side St. Louis CITY SC. The Dynamo are coming off a 6-2 loss Wednesday night in Vancouver. St. Louis did not play midweek, with their last game coming last Saturday, also against Vancouver, in a 3-1 win.

When: Saturday, June 3 | 7:39 PM CT kickoff

Where: CITYPARK; St. Louis, Missouri

TV/Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV - free

Radio: ESPN 97.5 FM (English), TUDN Deportes Houston 93.3 FM (Spanish)

Licking their wounds

There’s no way to sugar coat what happened to the Dynamo Wednesday night, they got demolished in Vancouver. The good news is, they get to get right back up on the horse and go again, this time in St. Louis. This team is still figuring things out. It’s naive to think a new coaching staff and basically a whole new roster would come into a season and have smooth sailing while competing at the top of the table. Wednesday night might have been an ugly loss but there are still things to take from that game to continue this team’s growth. “We licked our wounds, and we’re ready to go again,” head coach Ben Olsen said yesterday. “We’re fortunate that we have a quick turnaround and get back at it because you don’t want to sit on that kind of game for long. We addressed it. The Vancouver game was actually better than I thought after looking through it. The first half was as good an offensive half that we’ve had all year. So, still some positives. We just have to find that balance of attacking but still being secure in the defense. That’s the next evolution and transition of this group over the next month or two, to figure out the next stage of this group. There will be some growing pains.”

Under pressure

The New York Red Bulls are known for their high press and ability to create mistakes to capitalize on. St. Louis head coach Bradley Carnell is a product of the Red Bull system, having spent five years with RBNY as an assistant. Now the head man in St. Louis, Carnell has implemented the same type of system at CITY. The Dynamo played the Red Bulls earlier this year, a 1-1 draw, so they will be a little familiar with what they could see from tonight’s opponent. St. Louis has an incredible home atmosphere which only helps with their style of play, being right on top of you from the opening whistle. Olsen and the Dynamo know what they’re getting into and know they have to be ready. “Just that, energy. The pressing and some direct play,” Olsen said. “They can knock it about too, so they have a nice balance. I’m impressed with how they’ve gone about this first year. They have a good coach (Bradley Carnell). I’ve known him for years with the Red Bulls. He’s got his own thing going on here, but there’s certainly some Red Bull influence. We’re familiar with that, but it doesn’t make it easy. We’ll have to be ready for a physical match. Mentally, we need to recover and match that energy.”

Finding the goals

After a very slow start to the season on the offensive end, the Dynamo attack looks to be finally finding some form. Going back to the win over Minnesota in USOC play, Houston has scored four, two, and two goals in their last three matches. Forward Corey Baird has four goals and an assist in that time and looks to be flourishing with new signing Aliyu Ibrahim. The message for the Houston attack, keep it simple. “It’s about keeping things going
the way they’re going,” Baird said yesterday. “Not changing up too much for me and keep doing things that have gotten me into these goal-scoring opportunities.” If the Dynamo are going to come away with any points tonight, they will need to convert on their opportunities against a St. Louis team that leads the Western Conference in goals scored.

Availability Report

Houston Dynamo – Out: Ifunanyachi Achara (knee), Teenage Hadebe (leg), Tate Schmitt (knee)

St. Louis CITY SC – Out: Jared Stroud (suspension), Joakim Nilsson (knee), Caden Glover (ribs); Questionable: Rasmus Alm (abdominal), João Klauss (quad)

Predicted Lineup