Houston Dynamo: 3 Key Takeaways from the Portland Match

Saturday saw Houston play their first game on the road this season at Providence Park in Portland. Dynamo vs Timbers was grueling match up until the 2nd half where the Timbers took a 4-2 win to top MLS with nine points.

In typical Houston Dynamo road woe fashion, Saturday’s game ended in a 4-2 defeat to the Portland Timbers in a match that saw Houston collapse completely in the second half. The Timbers rallied behind striker Fanendo Adi and their dangerous attacking six. As goalkeeper Tyler Deric and his defensive unit absorbed Portland pressure all second half while struggling.

The match was marred by questionable refereeing resulting in a penalty goal for both the Timbers and Dynamo. The first half ended 2-1 to Houston after Elis found Quioto on the back post to finish past Gleeson.

But, the second half was all Portland as Guzman and Adi finished the Dynamo off 4-2. The match saw the two hottest teams in MLS square off in week three and proved Houston to very much be a first half team that can struggle in possession out the back.

Let’s take a look at three takeaways from the Dynamo’s performance:

1. Counter Attacking

"HT: What a ball. This beautiful link-up between Elis & Quioto has @HoustonDynamo in front 2-1. #PORvHOU https://t.co/PjFe6Wvgkw— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 19, 2017"

Saturday showed how Houston have the counter attack down to a dime! In the second goal right before halftime the Dynamo went full fledged counter on Portland after one of their corner kicks.

Cubo Torres headed a ball to Elis on the right wing where he used pace to get past Vytas and played inch perfect pass to Romell Quioto who coolly slipped the shot to the right of keeper Jake Gleeson. Although the Dynamo showed defensive struggles one thing is that Wilmer Cabrera doesn’t have to worry about his players ability to bite off the counter.

2. Ghost of Dynamo Defense (2016)

The second half saw the midfield not able to retain possession and several turnovers out the back as well. What many critics said about their doubts of center back pairing Leonardo and Machado, seemed to come true in the second half. Machado had a very poor clearance on the 3rd goal in which Nagbe ended up finding Guzman for the resulting goal.

Dynamo fans might not want to think about the second half performance too much, as it might give them flashbacks to last year’s possession-less and error prone midfield/defense. It didn’t help that the substitutes of Wenger and Boniek Garcia did not pay off, as Andrew Wenger seemed to kill off several possession and attacking attempts with wayward turnovers.

3. The Cubo Torres Train

Mar 18, 2017; Portland, OR, USA; Houston Dynamo forward Erick Torres (9) reacts after scoring a gail on a penalty kick against the Portland Timbers in the first half at Providence Park. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports

Erick “Cubo” Torres is a man on fire this MLS season as any woes he had with Houston and Cruz Azul the past two years seem to be a thing of the past. Cubo scored in his third successive game for Houston and exudes a certain confidence all Dynamo fans should be excited about.

Many could say it is too early to say Torres is back to his scoring ways but compared to last year he seems very driven and with a new confidence and happiness unseen before by the young Mexican striker. If Torres keeps this up he could find himself in Juan Carlos Osorio’s plans for the Mexican national team’s Gold Cup roster this summer that will be mainly comprised of “B team” players.

So, Dynamo fans let me know in the comments or on twitter what your takeaways were for the match!