Houston Dynamo vs Toronto FC player ratings

(image via Diego Martinez)

The Houston Dynamo disappointingly lost 1-0 at home to Toronto FC. Let’s take a look at how everyone performed.

Starters

Steve Clark-4

Steve did nothing to impress in this game, making only three saves. The goal he let in could definitely have been saved. A poor game overall for the veteran.

Griffin Dorsey-4

Not a great game from Dorsey on either side of the ball. He failed to make an impact going forward, creating no huge chances, nor coming close to scoring himself. Defensively, he did nothing particularly wrong, but also nothing of note.

Erik Sviatchenko-7

Sviatchenko was solid, as per usual. He played really well in possession stepping up into midfield. He took one of the best shots of the game from outside the box, challenging Sean Johnson, unlike most Dynamo players on the night.

Micael-8

Micael saw a ton of the ball making over 100 touches. He was excellent distributing out of the back while also being a defensive monster. More of what we love to see out of Micael.

Franco Escobar-8

Franco was also a massive part of the possession game for Dynamo with over 100 touches. He was a real handful going forward and combining with Bassi and Hector. Defensively, he had a massive five tackles.

Artur-7

Your typical calm and collected performance from Artur. Nothing stands out, but he quietly does all the simple things at a high level. His passing was outstanding, as well as his defending in transition.

Hector Herrera-8

Hector was excellent at the heart of midfield, creating chance after chance. He led the team in both completed passes and shot creating actions. He added another three blocks to make an impact on both sides of the ball.

Amine Bassi-7

Bassi was not able to have as much of an effect on the game as he should have with how many great chances he created. You would love to see him be more ruthless in the box, but his creativity was excellent as always. His combination with Hector and Escobar on the left was magical at times. The Dynamo will wish he was more involved on the ball in the second half.

Latif Blessing-3

An odd 60 minutes for Blessing when he might as well not have been on the field. He barely had the ball and made no real impact when he did. Off the ball, his work rate was excellent but there was nothing to show for it.

Aliyu Ibrahim-3

Like Blessing, he just didn’t see a lot of the ball in his 60 minutes. Not a huge impact at all from a player that usually does a lot with a little number of touches. He needs to step up his game with Ennali breathing down his neck.

Ezequiel Ponce-5

You would love to see Ponce take some more shots, even when he only gets half chances. Only having Ponce take two shots is poor with how many good positions the Dynamo found themselves in. The wide service needs to be better in those spots because Ponce is usually in the right position to receive the service. He had just an ok game overall, where he never shined as everyone would have liked him to in a close game.

Substitutes

Lawrence Ennali-5

You can tell that Lawrence is going to be a blast to watch once he gets acclimated to the team and cleans up some sloppy touches. He is just so explosive and perfect to come off the bench. He did not make as much of an impact as he did in his last two games, but he was the ball of energy off the bench that could turn a game on it’s head.

Sebastian Kowalczyk-7

Sebastian made a good case to start over Blessing, until Coco Carrasquilla comes back, with a very solid display off the bench. He created a whole bunch of chances, including being heavily involved in Escobar’s shot that hit the bar.

Sebas Ferreira, Brad Smith, and Daniel Steres-N/A

All three came on with ten or less minutes to play, so there was not enough time to warrant a rating.

Head Coach

Ben Olsen-6

Ben put out his strongest lineup and the team played the way he intended them to play, but individual moments of weakness popped up again in front of goal. There is only so much Ben can do about that part of the game. However, the Dynamo do have an expectation of earning points at home, so whether it is all his fault or not, his score is affected by the result.