HOUSTON – A dominant performance.
That’s what one would gather after looking at the scoreline and stats from the Houston Dynamo’s 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake on Sunday afternoon.
Houston led in possession, 71 percent to 29, had more passes, 690 to 279, had more shots on target, 5 to RSL’s 2, and higher expected goals, 1.95 to RSL’s 0.49.
But stats don’t tell the whole story.
In fact, Houston played right into Real Salt Lake’s tactics of absorbing pressure and hitting La Naranja on the counter. And that style proved fruitful when Real Salt Lake midfielder Diego Luna scored in transition to tie the game at a goal a-piece in the 54th minute.
“Their back five gave us trouble and almost lulled us into a sense of security,” said Houston Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen after the game. “I felt when the ball turned over, we weren’t dialed in enough in the transitions, and it cost us energy and cost us a few chances on the other end.”
That Real Salt Lake bunkered and attacked on the counter didn’t surprise the Bayou City club. Hector Herrera — who netted the game’s first goal — admitted as such after the game. The midfielder noted the Houston knew that Real Salt Lake’s strength lies in their transition game.
But knowing how the Claret and Cobalt attack and stopping it are two different things.
“It looked like we had the game under control. We were creating opportunities but leaving space behind for their attack. In that aspect, we have to be more attentive to that,” said Herrera of Real Salt Lake’s tying goal. “And we need to be more determined because we created a lot of opportunities but failed to convert them when it came time to.”
Houston did capitalize on an opportunity late in Game 1 to seal the victory. In the 79th minute, Amine Bassi pounced on a loose ball in the box and smashed it into the back of the net. While Olsen is thrilled with the win, he knows his side wasn’t at their best and credits Real Salt Lake’s defensive structure for making things difficult for his team.
“A playoff win – it’s hard to get ’em, believe me,” said Olsen.
“I’ve been doing this long enough where it is very, very difficult to win playoff games. You see why. Because you’re going against opponents now that are cagey, experienced, you’re going against a coach that’s been in these situations many times and has had success. These are what playoff games look like.”
Dynamo midfielder Artur concurs with his coach, and the Brazilian should know. Artur has been through the MLS playoff wringer, having played in 10 matches entering Sunday’s game.
“It’s the playoffs. It doesn’t matter how you win. What’s important is that we won,” said Artur.
“The first step is done. Our first objective was to win the first game, and now we need to try to win the second game so we don’t have to play the third game. It’s now about focusing on what we need to fix and keep doing what we do well.”
Houston will take its 1-0 series lead to Salt Lake City for Game 2, and Olsen is looking forward to going into the film room and figuring out the kinks and adjustments that Houston needs to make now that the Dynamo head out on the road.
“We’ll figure it out. We have a lot of thinking over the next two days,” said Olsen. “But it’s the fascinating part of this best-of-three series, right? The familiarity brings a little bit of contention, but also, the tactical battle is going to be a lot of fun.”
Jesus Acevedo Jr. is the Editor-in-Chief of The Bayoucitian. He’s an award-winning bilingual journalist from Houston, TX. A graduate of the University of Houston, he has written for the Houston Chronicle, La Voz de Houston, MLSsoccer.com, and ProSoccerUSA.
Before becoming a journalist, Jesus spent his early 20s drumming his way across Houston with two bands — Shortcomings and InsertNameHere. The memories that Jesus made as a musician were the seeds that started the idea for the comedy, Houmans: The Series.