Fox in the Box: Dynamo draw the Portland Timbers in 2018 Mobile Mini Sun Cup debut

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Fox in the Box compiles and reviews all the Dynamo, Dash, and Toros matches.

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The Houston Dynamo made their first 2018 Mobile Mini Sun Cup appearance on Valentine's Day when they faced the Portland Timbers at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona. Despite the minimal value of this match, Dynamo fans received their first live-streamed scrimmage, a sneak peek of the new faces in the team, and entertaining soccer in part by the Dynamo's first MLS opponent of the current preseason campaign.

The team rolled out two squads for each half as the usual approach to the preseason:

Dynamo entered the first half with midfield as the primary weapon: a line of Charlie Ward, Darwin Ceren, Tomas Martinez, Arturo Alvarez, and Jose 'Memo' Rodriguez occasionally shifting back would allow the team to break up the incoming attacking threat and build up the counter with its technical ability. This is how the Dynamo would score the first goal at the twelfth minute of the scrimmage.

Ward recovered the ball off a defensive clearance which triggered a clean distribution to Martinez, which he then made a pass to Alvarez that would allow him to run inside the box, successfully bypass two Portland defenders thanks to his technical ability, and put the ball in the back of the net with a great strike to the far left side to give Houston the early lead at the twelfth minute.

But the Timbers would get the equalizing goal at the thirty-fourth minute due to a defensive miscue by the Houston back line that would allow a cross inside the box for an easy tap-in goal by Portland's Dairon Asprilla.

Halftime rolls in with a 1-1 score.

The Dynamo starting eleven for the second half would replace all the players from the first half with more starters and experience, but this would result in the loss of their possession-based game in order to shift to a more dangerous attacking front.

In an interesting development, Timbers defender Vytas Andriuskevicus would be ejected from the scrimmage after receiving a straight red card for making a violent retaliation towards Alberth Elis. But this would not affect the Portland lineup on the field since it was just a friendly.

And with all the good chances the team would create throughout the match, the Dynamo were unable to break the deadlock but managed to deny the Timbers on the defensive side. Both teams would have to settle with a 1-1 stalemate in the end.

Up next, the Dynamo take on the New York Red Bulls this Saturday at 7:15 PM CT for their second scrimmage of the friendly tournament. The match will be streamed throughout most of the club's social platforms and HoustonDynamo.com/Live.