Houston Dynamo player ratings vs Austin FC

(image via Houston Dynamo FC)

Now that was a much better performance! The Houston Dynamo dominated the second half to beat a good Austin FC team 2-0 on Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium. Let’s take a look at how each individual player performed.

Starters

Steve Clark-7

That was much better from Steve. Clark did not need to make any wild saves but he was a lot more commanding in the box and had great hands on the shots he did have to deal with and coming for crosses. His distribution also saw an improvement from the first two games.

Daniel Steres-8

Is it crazy to think Steres can be a regular at right back? Maybe, but in his second game we have seen of him there he looked great defensively and did not do much wrong at all. Yes, he is not giving anything going forward, but shutting down Diego Fagundez and Ethan Finlay all game lands him a great score.

Ethan Bartlow-8

This was by far the best performance we have seen from Bartlow as a Dynamo player. Ethan was calm and collected with the ball and dealt with just about everything that came at him for the entire game. Bartlow also headed the ball towards Lundqvist’s hand to win the penalty for the opening goal.

Teenage Hadebe-7

Teenage just continues to put out these solid performances. He had a lot to deal with in the first half with Austin attacking the Houston left side for most of the half. While there were some shaky moments, Teenage was able to put out most of the fires from Emiliano Rigoni driving at them.

Tate Schmitt-6

If I was just rating the first half, he scores very low, but Tate managed to pick himself up massively in the second half. Throughout the first half, Rigoni and Jon Gallagher were giving Tate all sorts of issues and he seemed positionally lost. In the second half, however, he played more into the pressing game and got forward better, pinning Austin in their own half.

Artur-9

Wow, this is what tne Dynamo have been missing over the last few seasons with Matias Vera and Darwin Ceren playing as the defensive midfielder. Artur was incredible, playing almost a flawless game. There was very few times were he let Sebastian Driussi get any time and space to make things happen. When Driussi did get the ball in good spaces, Artur was quick to disposes him and start launching the next attack.

Hector Herrera-9

These are the kind of performances Dynamo fans expect from the most valuable player most weeks. Herrera was everywhere, leading every Dynamo player on the field in touches. He was the heart beat of everything positive the team was doing and capped off his incredible performance with his first goal in orange,

Coco Carrasquilla-4

A four might be a bit harsh but I have much higher expectations for Coco. Yes, when he drops deeper he is great at keeping the ball ticking but the Dynamo need more from him going forward. They already have a facilitator with Herrera, so they need Coco producing in key offensive moments and he’s not.

Ivan Franco-5

It still is just not clicking for Franco in the big moments. Just like the last two weeks you can see the potential and what he is trying to do but it just does not seem to be coming off for him. He was inventive as always, having a few chances, including an overhead kick that was saved.

Amine Bassi-7

Bassi is going to be an issue in this league when he starts building chemistry with the team. Amine played incredibly well in his first start constantly moving around the field to get open and make things happen. There were a few moments where his final ball was not perfect or he was not on the same page as his teammates, but that should improve with more games. Bassi also struck his penalty well enough to get past Brad Stuver, even with him getting a hand on it.

Corey Baird-3

Another week goes by and we are still asking the same question. What did Baird do? Again, the answer is nothing of note. At least he took two shots this game but again it is not good enough. He provides a threat with his speed, but nothing seems to come out of it.

Subs

Sebastian Ferreira-5

It was another frustrating night for Ferreira as he began the game on the bench for the second match in a row. Sebas did miss what was possibly the best chance of the night while also playing a massive part in the buildup of the second goal drawing multiple defenders in with his hold up play.

Griffin Dorsey-7

Dorsey was subbed on late in the game as a winger this time, instead of a fullback. Just like against Cincinnati, Dorsey looked great in a sub role providing instant impact. His movement to get open and the cut back to Herrera were all superb in creating the second goal.

Luis Caicedo-6

Caicedo was brought on with only stoppage time to go, so not too much to talk about. He was brought in to add some more defense to the midfield, and he did that wel,l being the Dynamo were able to see out the game and keep the clean sheet.

Coach

Ben Olsen-8

Olsen definitely turned some heads again with the lineup, dropping Ferreira once again and playing Steres as a right back. The Steres decision paid off, shutting Fagundez down all game. The game plan to put extra emphasis on the midfield and stop the link up between Driussi and Fagundez worked perfectly in securing all three points.