Houston Dynamo vs Detroit City FC player ratings

(image via Billy Mears)

The Houston Dynamo crashed out of the US Open to Detroit City FC in an intense penalty shootout. Let’s take a look at how everyone performed.

Starters

Andrew Tarbell-2

Tarbell did well last season when called upon, but this was an utter disaster from the backup goalkeeper. Tarbell conceded three goals while only making one save. He only saved one of eleven penalties in the shootout while missing his own spot kick.

Griffin Dorsey-7

Dorsey recovered very well from his quick exit against FC Dallas. He did a great job to get open and put away the excellent delivery from Hector Herrera to open the scoring. He looked completely gassed in extra time, but can you blame him looking at all the ground he covered?

Ethan Bartlow-2

Bartlow has stepped up to the plate every time he has been called upon this season, until this game. He had an awful time marking Detroit’s forward players, leading to most of their chances. On the second goal, he was in possibly the worst position he could have been in to defend Yazeed Matthews.

Micael-7

Micael played for all the good minutes the Dynamo had in this game. His defending was solid and he barely gave Detroit’s forwards a sniff of goal.

Daniel Steres-2

Daniel had a very uncharacteristic performance where he was caught out too far forward on both second half goals for Detroit. His discipline was off and he found himself playing way too narrow at times.

Hector Herrera-8

Hector looked like himself again but only played the first half. His ability to dictate play and get the ball in dangerous situations was incredible as usual. He also put in some excellent deliveries on set pieces which led to the opening goal.

Jan Gregus-7

Jan surprisingly went the entire 120 and looked extremely tired by extra time. For the most part, he had a solid game. He didn’t make many mistakes or have any memorable plays. He was very well disciplined in his positioning and his pass accuracy was near perfect as always.

Sebastian Kowalczyk-6

Kowalczyk played as more of a midfielder instead of leading the line like he has been lately. He did a good job in the first half connecting play. His work rate was also incredible, especially with how many minutes he has been playing this season. Unfortunately, he continues to show that he is not super dangerous in the final third and that kills his ability to be a real difference maker.

Latif Blessing-8 (MOTM)

Latif Blessing’s true talent has finally arrived in Houston with him bagging his first goal for the club. He looked extremely hungry to make plays for the team which led to his very well-worked goal. He took both chances he had very well, but unfortunately one was ruled offside.

Brad Smith-2

Brad Smith offered absolutely nothing from the start once again. He looks completely out of his depth starting games at this stage. He offered nothing memorable on either side of the ball. There are times where you would forget he was on the field.

Gabe Segal-7

Gabe has had a hard time finding minutes in the starting XI of late. Ben Olsen finally gave him another opportunity and he repaid his head coach’s trust with a very solid performance. His work rate and his holdup play were much improved from recent performances. His assist to Blessing was his best play in Dynamo colors so far.

Substitutes

Artur-5

Artur came on for Herrera at half time and controlled the buildup very well. He had one defensive lapse which led to Detroit’s second goal.

Amine Bassi-7

Bassi continued where he left off against St. Louis, creating loads of chances for his teammates. Like in the St. Louis game, a lot of great plays were soured by poor touches, shots, and passes from his teammates.

Erik Sviatchenko-3

Erik came on in place of Micael in the second half. While the game was not completely on Erik, it was near the turning point where the Dynamo looked sloppy in the back. His poor positioning on the third Detroit goal allowed Maxi Rodriguez the space to score.

Coco Carrasquilla-8

Coco came on for Latif Blessing and picked up where he left off. Coco looked extremely lively and put his all into this performance. He once again came up with a clutch goal late in an Open Cup match.

Aliyu Ibrahim-3

Aliyu struggled again to compose himself in the box when opportunities came his way. He has so much potential to be a real force in this league, but he really needs to slow things down for himself in the box. He also missed the penalty that would have sealed the game in the shootout.

Tate Schmitt-N/A

Schmitt did not enter the game until the extra-time period. He put away his penalty very well in the shootout.

Head Coach

Ben Olsen-5

Ben put out a fairly strong lineup for an early Open Cup match. His team controlled the game extremely well for around 60 minutes. Unfortunately, his substitutions fell flat on the defensive end. As he said in the press conference, losing in the Open Cup is not the end of the world, as making the MLS playoffs is the ultimate goal.