Houston Dynamo player ratings vs Sporting Kansas City

(image via Houston Dynamo FC)

This weekend we saw one of the most intense and entertaining games this season in a 2-2 draw at home to Sporting Kansas City. Let’s take a look at how everyone performed.

Starters

Steve Clark-6

There weren’t many opportunities for Steve to change this game. SKC only had three shots against him, the first goal was very well taken and the second was a penalty. His play out of the back was solid. Not much to discuss with his performance.

Franco Escobar-8

Franco did not have a whole lot to do defensively in this game, but going forward he was terrific. His passing was quick and smart to open many opportunities. The pass he played to Herrera to set up the first goal was genius when most players lump that one into the box.

Ethan Bartlow-3

Bartlow was a disaster waiting to happen in lots of moments in this game. His pass that set up Kansas City’s first goal was extremely poor. There are other times he gave the ball away as well and put his team in a rough situation.

Erik Sviatchenko-7

Unlike Bartlow, Sviatchenko was as calm as ever on the ball and got the offense going multiple times. He defended tightly on Alan Pulido all night; his goals were not the fault of Erik’s at all. It was a really good night for Erik as he continues to be the leader in the backline.

Daniel Steres-7

Steres was back healthy again to hold it down at left back. He defended Johnny Russell superbly and kept him from scoring against the Dynamo, like he tends to do. Daniel was great in the box offensively, winning lots of headers to keep possession when they went all out attack.

Artur-4

Artur once again was brilliant for almost the entire game. His passing was superb and he made loads of defensive actions. Unfortunately, he gave away a really poor penalty to cost the team a goal. He also had three solid chances to get on the scoresheet and failed to put the ball in the net each time.

Hector Herrera-9

Near perfection from the captain as per usual. He was everywhere on both sides of the ball, doing everything to win this game for his team. Everything he did in the buildup for the first goal was actions you only get from Herrera within MLS. The long pass to start the play, the brains to run into the space to receive the pass from Escobar, the pass into Baird, then the brains to make that run expecting Baird to play a good pass, and finally the unselfish ball across goal to Aliyu. A perfect play from a near perfect player. He then also played the long ball to Thor to create the equalizer.

Amine Bassi-3

Another game goes by where Bassi gets lost in a lot of moments. He failed to get involved in a lot of the plays and he was not much of a goal threat either. Defensively he was also almost a non-factor. He really needs to step up his game in this last stretch of the season.

Corey Baird-8

Baird had a very impressive game, playing a massive role in the first goal. That backheel was one of the most inventive passes we have ever seen from a Dynamo player. We saw him take up a deeper position for a lot of this game, even playing center mid at times. His work rate and ability to play both sides of the ball effectively were massive in earning this point.

Nelson Quinones-4

Not great from Nelson, as he struggled to beat his man for most of the night. The one time he did beat his man he created an alright chance. This was however another preview of the type of player Nelson could be if he cleans up his game. It just was not enough from him in the present.

Ibrahim Aliyu-8

Aliyu was exceptional in this game, scoring a goal and showing off his insane work ethic. His work in both scoring the goal and the buildup was incredible. The ability to pick up the ball and find Escobar and then run into the perfect position to receive the ball from Herrera was very smart. Ben Olsen specifically shouted him out for having such a great game after failing to score as of late.

Substitutes

Thor Ulfarsson-6

Thor somehow managed to play 23 minutes and only had three touches. Well, he made the most of one of these touches, knocking the ball into the box that Franco ran onto to score the equalizer. Thor wasn’t great in this game but he impacted the game when it mattered most.

Sebastian Ferreira-4

Sebas somehow knew to not touch the ball in the buildup to Franco’s goal. Was it pure luck or does he have eyes on the back of his head? Who knows, but we do know that he doesn’t like it when players fake the kickoff as he tackled Gadi Kinda for doing so. It should have been a straight red card, not sure why it was only a yellow.

Ivan Franco-7

Ivan continues to look good in this sub role as he found a late equalizer for the second time this season. Like the last goal, this one also came off a dysfunctional play. You have to give credit where credit is due, being both times he made no mistake with the finish. Hopefully we can see him carry on from here with better performances.

Brad Smith-N/A

Brad only came in for stoppage time. It was nice to see him get another chance to impress, but not enough time to rate him.

Head Coach

Ben Olsen-7

Ben set up the team well and got the lineup right again. The team started off slow, but he was able to motivate his team and make tweaks after the Kansas City goal. Scoring in both halves’ stoppage time periods shows the resiliency of his team. His subs combined for the tying goal, that always makes a coach very happy.