Matias Vera dribbles towards goal
Matias Vera dribbles the ball towards goal en route to his 2nd goal of the season. (The Bayoucitian | Santi Dominguez)

Three thoughts from the Dynamo’s 2-2 draw against FC Dallas

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HOUSTON – Houston Dynamo FC snapped its four-game losing streak Saturday night in BBVA Stadium in a 2-2 draw against in-state rival FC Dallas.

Here are three thoughts from the game:

The losing streak snapped, winless streak continues

While the Dynamo (3-8-10, 19 points) are undoubtedly glad to snap its losing streak, that winning feeling keeps eluding them. Houston hasn’t won a game since May 22nd, going 0-6-8 since that date three months ago.

Saturday’s game started positively for the Orange, who netted the match’s first goal when Fafa Picault converted a penalty. For Picault, it’s his fourth goal in five games. The penalty was the end result of countless high pressure from the Dynamo which prevented FC Dallas from getting in a groove.

And with Fafa rounding into top form, he wants to remind people that he’s a most definitely goal-scorer.

“This is what I expect from myself, a lot of people in the league forgot that I scored goals, but I’ve been doing this since I came back to MLS in 2017. If people want to go back and watch the highlights and stats, but it’s what I do and that’s what they brought me here to do and that’s what I expected from myself,” Picault said.

“It obviously took a while and I was doing other things on the field that I thought were helpful for the team.”

After giving up the lead, Houston bounced back to level the game in the 72nd with a low-shot banger from Matias Vera. The goal revitalized and energized the Orange who stayed on the front-foot the rest of the game looking for the game-winner, but it never came.

Dynamo head coach Tab Ramos was asked who bears responsibility for the team’s inability to win and the former U.S. U23 coach wasted to no time in setting the record straight.

“The answer is easy. The responsibility is always with the coach. When you take charge of a team you take responsibility. All coaches in the world need players. One cannot come to complain. The responsibility is mine,” Ramos said.

“I could not say that the players don’t understand. We are one of the best teams in pressing and creating chances. The problem is that we do not convert afterward. And when you don’t convert, you don’t get the results. And that’s what the coach is for.”

Individual mistakes have grand implications

Two mistakes cost the Dynamo the lead and the three points.

In the 54th minute and with a 1-0 lead, FC Dallas forward Ricardo Pepi took a shot from the right side of the box after the Dynamo failed to clear the corner. Teenage Hadebee cleared the shot, but the ball went directly to FC Dallas defender Nkosi Tafari, who slotted it into the back of the net.

Tafari was wide open on the rebound since Pepi drew two defenders and nobody marked Tafair on the rebound. If the Dynamo clear the corner kick, FC Dallas doesn’t get a chance at a play.

The second mistake proves even most costly, and one that came from a botched routine play.

In the 58th minute, Zarek Valentin sent a back pass to Dynamo keeper Marko Maric. The ‘keeper mishit the ball. Instead of going the distance, the ball fell right to FC Dallas’ Jesus Ferreira, who slipped it to Ricardo Pepi for the quick strike and goal.

“It’s unfortunate but football is a game of mistakes. Dallas made a few as well that maybe we didn’t capitalize on. Maybe we didn’t see them coming, and we didn’t score on the game. It’s a game of mistakes and overall, we just have to be better and we can’t sit here and point out one person or two people,” Picault said.

“It’s a team game, 11 of us on the field, guys on the bench so it’s a whole group, club, and team. We just have to do better and we can’t pick out one person.”

Over the stretch of the previous 4-game losing streak, and current 14-game winless streak, Houston’s individual mistakes and momentarily lapses of judgment have cost them points and wins. In a tough Western Conference, every point matters.

Matias Vera keeps proving his worth

Vera has been arguably been the team’s most consistent player and best midfielder this season. Whether he’s playing as a deep midfielder, or higher up the field, his constant motor, and well-timed tackles have saved the Dynamo on more than one occasion. On Saturday, it was his long-shot prowess that saved the Orange.

It’s Vera’s second goal of the season, and second, from outside the box, which begs the question, should Vera shoot more? When Vera scores, it’s only bangers. But Houston undoubtedly shouldn’t have to rely on goals from Vera. It wasn’t the reason he was brought to the team. He was brought for his presence in the midfield, his relentless motor, and his high-passing rate.

The latter of which he proved yet again. According to MLS Stats, Vera had a passing rate of 83.3 percent, the highest of any Dynamo player.

Ramos said he considered taking Vera out, but whenever he has that thought, he always asks him because, “he’s a tremendous worker who is all over the pitch and that kind of player that to take him out, it’s because he asked for it.”

While Vera is happy with the goal, he admitted that it’s a bittersweet moment and that he would have loved the goal more if it led to a win.

“This is a difficult situation, you can see the effort on the field. We have created a lot of opportunities, but we are struggling to find that final touch,” Vera said.

“We are also having to navigate different issues on the other side of the field, defensively. We have to make sure that we don’t lose focus and overlook the fundamentals. We need to continue to build on our foundation and grow from there. At the end of the day, we have to finish our chances and put games away.”

The Dynamo’s next opportunity to finally put the winless streak to bed — and climb out of last place in the Western Conference — is Saturday, August 28th when Minnesota United FC visit BBVA Stadium.