Houston Dynamo player ratings vs Columbus Crew

(image via Aldo Canale)

The Dynamo fell 1-0 to the MLS Cup champions, Columbus Crew, in leg 1 of the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16. Let’s take a look at how everyone performed.

Starters

Steve Clark-5

It does feel harsh giving Steve a 5 when he made five saves in the game, but his distribution was so bad he had to have his score knocked down. He had multiple giveaways that led to huge chances for Columbus to score. This included Steve running out of his goal to the halfway line only to miss the tackle and luckily have the Columbus player miss the open net.

Franco Escobar-7

It was very nice to see Escobar make his first start of the season. He carried on right where he left off last season, leading the team in tackles. He was very good stepping into midfield going forward. At times it seemed like he was the only defender capable of playing out of the back.

Erik Sviatchenko-N/A

Sadly, Erik had to be subbed out of the game 23 minutes in due to an injury. It’s another injury to add to the ever-growing list this season. Wishing Erik a speedy recovery.

Micael-7

Another strong defensive performance from Micael. He was a bit shaky with his clearances at times, but he had a great night allowing very little from Columbus’s strikers.

Griffin Dorsey-4

Another mediocre performance from Dorsey where his final ball was extremely lacking. He had an excellent chance to set up Aliyu in the first half and then a chance to either score himself or set up Gabe Segal. He managed to do neither of those things.

Artur-7

Artur looked a bit more like himself playing against his former club. Like Micael, he had a few shaky clearances, but his overall play was at his usual high standard on both sides of the ball.

Jan Gregus-7

Jan had lots of good balls played into attacking players’ feet throughout the match. Defensively, he struggled to keep up with Columbus’s stacked midfield. Overall, another solid veteran performance from Gregus.

Amine Bassi-5

Not enough end product from Bassi in his first start of the season. He had a few really nice moments in buildup, but never seemed to have the spark needed to get a goal in this game. Lots of good signs going forward when he is more match fit, but not enough on the night.

Coco Carrasquilla-8 (MOTM)

Coco continued his hot start to the season playing some of the most breathtaking passes you will see in the region. His skill to get out of tight spaces is out of this world. Unfortunately, his attacking teammates did not play up to his level all game long.

Aliyu Ibrahim-7

Aliyu is looking like the answer out wide with yet another very good performance. His ability to play out of pressure, dump the ball off, and make the right forward runs is much better than anyone on this roster. Unfortunately, he did not get on the score sheet despite getting in some very good areas. The service from Dorsey and Bassi just needs to be better.

Gabe Segal-2

As stated in previous ratings, he just looks out of place as a starter striker against MLS opposition. Multiple times Coco made some excellent smart passes to Gabe’s feet and he did not expect the pass or fumbled his first touch. He only got into one strong scoring area when Dorsey was through on goal.

Substitutes

Ethan Bartlow-7

Ethan is yet to look out of place this season while filling in for either Micael or Sviatchenko. His defending was brilliant and he even had a good night going forward. He scored a goal that was ruled offside in the buildup.

Sebastian Kowalczyk-5

Nothing special from Sebastian in his short cameo off the bench. He was not really bad in any way, he just struggled to make a mark on the game in such little time.

Brad Smith-N/A

Brad came on with four minutes to go when Aliyu came out with a knock. Brad barely even got a sniff of the ball to make any impact on the game.

Head Coach

Ben Olsen-7

Another game where Ben Olsen kept his team competitive against a much better opponent at full strength. He is making the most with what he has got currently, and he is very well aware the team needs reinforcements. Staying competitive against the reigning champions with all the injuries is impressive despite the result.