It may not be how the Houston Dynamo drew it up, but the club is off to six points at home after a 1-0 victory over New York City FC on Saturday night — and though it's still early, that's good for a playoff place in the current standings.
Amine Bassi scored from the penalty spot to deliver the game-winning goal in the 55th minute. The defensive unit came away with a second straight shutout. Suddenly, Houston, who had lost its first two games on the road, is climbing up the Western Conference table, sitting in 8th place following back-to-back matches at Shell Energy Stadium.
"I'm thrilled we put on the performance that we did," said head coach Ben Olsen. "We were able to get another win at home in front of our fans and we've talked a lot about making sure we protect this place. We know what that means. If you do a good job of winning the home games here, it gives you a really good shot at the postseason. To get two home games, six points, some shutouts. That's a big deal."
Midfielder Brooklyn Raines and forward Nelson Quiñónes made their first MLS starts as part of two changes to last week's starting lineup. These were spurred in part by the absences of Adalberto "Coco" Carrasquilla (international call-up) and Ivan Franco (personal matter).
Designated Player Sebastian Ferreira was relegated to the bench for the third straight game. Goalkeeper Steve Clark earned his second consecutive clean sheet of the season and 52nd overall.
Experience makes the difference
The match-defining moment, like last week, came from the penalty marker. Midfielder Hector Herrera drew the foul, which needed a look in the video review booth from referee Guido Gonzales Jr., in what looked to be a veteran move off a young defender on 20-year-old homegrown player Tayvon Gray.
Regardless, the Dynamo DP was at the right place to get the break leading to the three points on the night. It capped off another all-around performance for the Mexican national team player that was brought in to make these types of contributions as a big-salary player.
"There's a lot of good performances again, and that's what we need," said Olsen. "Crucial moments like that last 10 or 15 minutes where we don't fold. It’s a mentality and mentality is backed up with belief. You have to get those wins to get the belief."
Artur has also been a notable addition and a massive upgrade at the defensive midfielder position for Matias Vera, an underperforming player offloaded this winter. The Brazilian was named man of the match despite getting an early yellow card in the 18th minute.
The 18-year-old Raines also had an impressive outing and it was helped by Herrera and Artur being the pillars of experience. The leadership of those two players worked as the engine that led Houston to get another pivotal three points.
A more composed Dynamo
The Dynamo looked more composed in these two home matches than they looked last year. While NYCFC didn't pose much of a threat offensively, previous versions of this Houston team would have likely found a way to lose or drop points in a draw.
Certainly, Olsen deserves his share of the credit for what has been done. The Dynamo did enough defensively to secure two home victories and keep an organized shape.
"It was a group effort," said midfielder Artur. "Everybody was covering each other well, but also everybody was prepared mentally because we knew that they are very good. They have a lot of quality players. Everybody was well prepared covering and moving their legs. I think we did a very good job."
Having a player like Herrera after a full preseason helps a lot, however, and he is a player that none of the prior head coaches in Houston had the luxury of having on their rosters at this level. The way Herrera asks to dictate play, the boldness of some of his attempts on goal like the ball he struck early in this match, all of that is exactly what a DP should bring and the reason for these two latest victories.
The team has shown patience to withstand a nil-nil scoreline at home until their opportunity to take the game, in their case the two penalties, arrived. As the season gets tougher, this composure will be tested, but for now, they have six points in their pocket thanks to playing a bit smarter.
The questions ahead
There are still some big questions to answer for Olsen and his staff. The glaring one is the situation with Ferreira, acquired for a reported transfer fee of around $4 million, who has spent the start of the season mostly on the bench.
Despite Corey Baird's defensive help, a reason Olsen gave last week for the preference over the Paraguayan, a forward's job is to score goals. Ferreira is the most talented man the team has and has gotten less and less playing time on a team that has only generated one goal that wasn't from a dead-ball opportunity.
"All strikers need to score," said Olsen. "We can't survive on set pieces and penalty kicks all year. But when you don't have that, you rely on other things and you always have to be able to have a couple different ways to go about winning games. We've been getting away with it, not having a full run of play."
The other big question is in defense with the arrival of former FC Midtjylland captain Erik Sviatchenko. Acquired on a reported TAM deal hovering around $1 million, a player of his caliber is certainly not being brought in to ride the bench.
What will Sviatchenko's arrival mean for the likes of Ethan Bartlow or DP Teenage Hadebe? These are the problems to solve as the season rolls on but they are much less stressful to figure out with a perfect home start.