HOUSTON – Major League Soccer columnist Matthew Doyle summed up the Houston Dynamo’s performance over the past four games in one tweet.
Houston Tie-namo
— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) July 4, 2021
In its last four games, the Dynamo have drawn away at LAFC 1-1, let a 2 goal home lead against the Portland Timber evaporate into a 2-2 draw, tied Real Salt Lake 1-1 in Utah, and on Saturday, it drew FC Cincinnati 1-1 in front of a crowd of 20,021, the first full capacity game since February 2020.
The draw extends Houston’s unbeaten streak to four games and extends its winless streak to five games. In the Dynamo’s four draws, the club has played well enough to win, and bad enough to lose, yet it’s managed to rescue a point each time.
“I didn’t think we played well away at RSL in that draw, but we got a good result,” Houston Dynamo head coach Tab Ramos said.
“We played pretty well against Portland and at home, and we should have got a win. And today we should have got a win too. So I mean, there’s only so much I can ask of the team. At the end of the day, I think they made a great effort today and today should have been three points and it just wasn’t.”
In a tough-as-ever Western Conference, every point matters to get above the playoff line. Houston (3-3-6, 15 pts) has six draws this season, tied for the most in MLS, with three of the ties coming at BBVA Stadium.
The latest tie had the Dynamo going up a goal via a 3rd-minute strike from Tyler Pasher. The Canadian national received a long diagonal pass from Sam Junqua and one-timed it into the back of the net.
The celebration would be short-lived.
Two minutes later, Cincinnati caught Houston sleeping. FC Cincinnati centerback — and former Dynamo player — Geoff Cameron sent a long pass upfield to Álvaro Barrea who put it past Dynamo’s keeper Marko Maric.
Ramos knows the Dynamo must do better. And while he acknowledges that Cincinnati defended well and that, “they did all the things they needed to do to get a tie out of the game,” he wants his players to push and break through those obstacles. In this instance, breaking down FC Cincinnati.
In the second half, Houston had the bulk of possession. It pinned the Orange and Blue to its half of the pitch but despite having long spells with the ball, it couldn’t manage to find a breakthrough.
“We need to solve those problems,” Ramos said. “We still need to make those plays that win games.”
Saturday’s game is a reminder — not that it was needed — that Houston isn’t a complete team yet. It’s still building and growing. The winless streak is frustrating, and more so when the game is there for the taking.
“I think we’re all disappointed because at home we set a standard that we win every game at home and it’s been frustrating,” Pasher said. “But you know the positive note from it, is that we’re so close to being there. These past two games at home we could be going up three or four goals in the first half.”
If there’s a positive, the unbeaten aspect of these past four games is definitely it. One point is better than no point, but sooner-than-later, three points will be a necessity if Houston wants a shot at making the playoffs.
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.