Fox in the Box: Dynamo dominate Atlanta United to open the 2018 MLS regular season

Andres Naranjo
Mar 5, 2018
3 min read

Philippe Senderos celebrates his goal with his teammates.

It seemed like the Houston Dynamo had to make another statement win to open the team’s 13th season in Major League Soccer with odds stacked against them: they edged past the defending MLS Cup champions Seattle Sounders to welcome the season last year and now it was time to host Atlanta United, one of the league’s most exciting expansion teams.

Heading into the match, both sides would be missing players from their lineups. Houston would be missing key-playmaker Tomas Martinez as he was serving a red-card suspension, while Atlanta had promising-youngster Ezequiel Barco out due to a right quad strain and Jon Gallagher out due to an ankle injury.

Chris Seitz would become the Dynamo’s first new signing to make the first Starting XI of the regular season. He would honor this moment with the birth of his son by having his name, Parker Christopher, printed on the lower back of his jersey.

Houston and Atlanta did not hesitate to show off their offensive weapons to start things off considering that this match involved some of the highest-scoring teams in the league last year. But it will be the Houston Dynamo that strike first after Alberth Elis crosses the ball inside the box so Andrew Wenger would score off the tap-in that would allow them to have a 1-0 lead at the fifth minute of the match.

Juan David Cabezas felt discomfort and had to be replaced at the fifteenth minute, which would allow Darwin Ceren to make his debut in Houston and fill the shoes of the 2017 Team MVP.

But Houston would not stop there. The opponent’s defensive cracks allow the Dynamo to punish Atlanta with two more goals halfway through the first half: Philippe Senderos earned his first goal with the Dynamo after he found Boniek Garcia’s cross from outside the box, and Mauro Manotas took advantage off Atlanta’s rebound inside the box.

Despite Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan saving his team in many occasions, he would force Houston’s fourth goal after his attempt to stop Boniek Garcia’s cross off a free kick would turn into a loose ball inside the box in which Darwin Ceren would capitalize to score his first goal in his first match with the Dynamo prior to halftime.

With a 4-0 lead to start the second half, it would only require the Dynamo to stick to the game plan in order to see this match though: drop some numbers back, have a conservative style of play, frustrate the opponent, and set up for the team’s well-known deadly counter.

The Dynamo would not have the need to score more goals at this point, but some significant substitutions were made through the second half: Andrew Wenger would be replaced by Houston-native Arturo Alvarez, who would also make his debut with the team and was given a warm welcome by the fans. Romell Quioto would see his first minutes of the season as he replaces Boniek Garcia.

Atlanta United would manage to stop the bleeding, but the damage was already done. The Houston Dynamo earned a 4-0 victory to open the season against a team that they were expected to struggle against. This victory goes to show the potential Houston has following up to last year’s notable success and the ability to not rely on Tomas Martinez. However, there is still plenty of season ahead, and still lots to prove for Wilmer Cabrera and his team.

The Dynamo will host the Vancouver Whitecaps this Saturday, March 10 at 5:00 PM CT at BBVA Compass Stadium. The match will be televised on KUBE 57 and streaming on MLS Live for free outside of Houston’s market until the launch of ESPN's streaming service.

Lineup Notes:

The whole team, including the substitutions, did what they had to do.

Chris Seitz made some great saves and got a hold of Miguel Almiron’s penalty shot which redirected the ball to the post. Him and a back line led by team captain DaMarcus Beasley had a great showing and earned the clean sheet despite Atlanta nearly capitalizing off of some of their cracks.

You could say Darwin Ceren had a super sub role in this match: he held up midfield together like Cabezas would and got himself a goal, all in his first day on the job.

An offensive-minded midfield without the presence of Tomas Martinez did pretty well. Andrew Wenger, Boniek Garcia, and Alberth Elis were involved in all of the goals and tore Atlanta’s defense apart.

Mauro Manotas played his first MLS match with the #9 jersey, and he did not disappoint: scoring his first goal of the season, creating chance after chance, and pressuring Atlanta in the back non-stop. He would have had a hat-trick that day if it was not for Brad Guzan.