HOUSTON – After a fast start, but a rocky finish, Houston Dynamo FC secured another three points after beating in-state rival FC Dallas 3-2 on Saturday night.
Here are three thoughts from the game.
Seven points in three games
Houston (5-10-11, 26 points) finished a stretch of three games in eight days, capturing seven points in the process, including two home wins and one draw away. The two wins coming against FC Dallas and Austin FC.
The win against FC Dallas gives Houston the tie-breaker against their neighbors from the north, which means the Dynamo now gets El Capitán, the cannon awarded to the winner of the Texas Derby, back for the first time since 2017. It also extends their unbeaten streak to three games.
Beyond the three points, Houston has scored seven goals in the past three games, and the team that was winless in 16 matches seems to be long gone. But Dynamo head coach Tab Ramos still thinks his side has an extra gear to hit.
“I think we are playing with a lot more confidence, and we have good moments. I think we lack consistency in good moments. In a game like today at home, I think with a 3-0 lead, we need to see it out. It shouldn’t get scary,” Ramos said, referencing the Dynamo conceding two goals after the 75th minute.
“So, I think there are moments where I feel like we are playing well, and there are moments where we just have to defend better, you know. We have to win the ball back faster, and we have to keep the ball better. Possession continues to be an issue for us, I feel.”
Fafa Picault is on fire
Picault scored once and assisted on another goal, and now has 10 goals for the season, matching his career-high in MLS set in 2018. It also gives him 8 goals over the past 10 games.
Has Picault ever been on a run like this? Perhaps when he was a young boy playing youth soccer.
“Back then, I was scoring three goals a game as a kid. I’ve definitely had an away game goal-scoring streak with Philly [Union], but now I’m just in a good groove,” Picault said. “I think we’ve kind of figured certain things out. I’m putting myself in better spots offensively to get different kinds of goals, if you watch the goals, they’re not all the same.”
Picault has figured out where he needs to be on the pitch and put himself in positions to score. Sometimes he needs to be higher up the pitch. Other times he needs to pinch in. At this moment, Picault is picking his moments, and when he does, it’s been beneficial for the Dynamo over the last three games.
Darwin Quintero finds his groove
Darwin Quintero had to wait to get back to the Dynamo’s starting eleven. First, it was getting into match fitness to start the season, then he got COVID and had to work his way back into shape from the illness. Having started the past three games, Dynamo fans are seeing just how El Scientifico del Gol can help the Dynamo.
On Saturday, it was getting the hockey assist — the pass that led to a pass that led to a goal — on Picaults goal. He slipped the ball to Griffin Dorsey on the right-wing, who then sent a low cross across the face of goal for Picault to tap it in. Next, he stepped up and scored his first goal of the season when Houston earned a penalty in the second half.
Picault said it was essential to have Quintero take the penalty to give him confidence, especially considering Quintero hadn’t been featuring in games.
When Quintero did play in games earlier in the season, he would do so on the wing. In the past three games, he’s been playing in an attacking midfielder role. One he knows all too well. And it’s a position that also requires him to play a bit more defense.
“You have to adapt to what the coach asks and play your best game. I’m trying to help the team. It is a position where it is easier for me than the wing. For most of my life, I played there [centrally]. I know the runs that I have to make,” Quintero said.
“On the wing is more difficult. I’ve tried to do it, but it got more complicated for me. That’s why now it seems like I’m running more. But for me, last year I ran more than now. The position that I’m playing in now, I know perfectly.”
Houston would love nothing more than for Quintero’s good form, as well as Picault’s to continue, as the Dynamo goes on the road against Minnesota United FC.
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.