Houston Dynamo vs LAFC player ratings

(image via Ricky Vega)

The Houston Dynamo earned a point against a weakened LAFC team in a 0-0 draw. Let’s take a look at how everyone performed.

Starters

Steve Clark-7

A very easy evening for Steve in goal, only needing to make two routine saves. Another shutout to add to his impressive season.

Griffin Dorsey-7

Griffin put in an impressive shift on both sides of the ball. He was the most involved wide player from the Dynamo, creating lots of chances with his overlapping runs. He could have done better with his final ball at times, but an overall good performance.

Erik Sviatchenko-9

This is about as dominant as it gets from a center back against an elite attacking team. Erik made Olivier Giroud look like Will Bruin in his worst seasons. Erik also made a massive impact in the possession game, making his way further up the field dictating play alongside Artur and Herrera.

Micael-8

Micael was also very good making Giroud and Kei Kamara look average. His play out of the back was calm and huge in the Dynamo keeping as much possession as they did.

Franco Escobar-9 (MOTM)

We have seen Franco Escobar at his best over the last two games against LAFC. This is the Escobar Dynamo fans have been waiting to see for large parts of this season. He was everywhere on both sides of the ball making great tackles and immediately playing the ball forward to Aliyu or Bassi.

Artur-9

Artur was brilliant against LAFC, once again dominating their impressive midfield. He seemed to make no mistakes and kept the ball ticking throughout the 90 minutes. Like the defenders, he made players like Eduard Atuesta, Lewis O’Brien, and Ilie Sanchez look below average.

Hector Herrera-9

Hector was once again at the heart of everything positive for the Dynamo. His passing was dynamic and unlocked so many chances for the attackers to make something happen. He put in a massive shift off the ball as well. What more is there to say about Hector?

Amine Bassi-6

This was a game where Bassi looked brilliant at times and lost at other times. He had some really nice moves in the first half but there was not a whole lot going for him in the second. It would have been nice for Bassi to step up more in a tight game like this.

Sebastian Kowalczyk-7

Kowalczyk simply just did not see enough of the ball to get a high score. When he did have the ball, his passing was excellent as well as his movement off the ball to combine with Dorsey and Ponce. Although it made sense for Coco to come into the game for him, I would’ve liked to see Kowalczyk get even more involvement.

Aliyu Ibrahim-4

Aliyu continues his poor run of form with another dud where he created no real chances or popped up with any of his own. Just a quiet night on the ball for him. We know how good he could be, the Dynamo just need him to get back to what he was doing prior to Leagues Cup.

Ezequiel Ponce-6

Like Kowalczyk, Ponce looked excellent in his limited touches. We need to see Ponce get more of the ball in the box to create more shooting opportunities for himself. He has had some moments in the last two games where he picks up the ball in midfield and drives it himself, forcing big saves. If we see more of that closer to goal, he is going to score so many goals.

Substitutes

Brad Smith-3

Brad came on with over 20 minutes to go and did absolutely nothing. There was not even much to talk about here, he was just kinda there.

Coco Carrasquilla-6

It was nice to see Coco get some more minutes back from injury. He looked really really impressive at times with some crisp passes and off ball movement. He just did not produce enough to change the result of the match.

Head Coach

Ben Olsen-6

Ben put out the same lineup following last week’s win against LAFC, which was probably the right call. However, his substitutions made no real difference in the match and he failed to adapt to LAFC’s shape change throughout the match. LAFC’s diamond midfield clogged a lot of lanes for Bassi to operate in, making it very difficult for the Dynamo to create. No real adjustments were made to counter that major conflict in the match.