Fox in the Box: Dynamo notch a draw against LA Galaxy to kick things off in 2020

Andres Naranjo
Mar 2, 2020
3 min read

(Photo courtesy: Houston Dynamo)

Houston Dynamo make up for an early goal conceded in the first half and settle the 2020 MLS regular season opener with a draw against LA Galaxy in front of a sold-out crowd of 22,039 fans at BBVA Stadium this past Saturday.

The Dynamo had a sloppy defensive performance to start the match, allowing LA Galaxy goalkeeper David Bingham to successfully cross the ball past the half-way line to find his teammate and forward Cristian Pavón who is able to find the perfect spacing just outside Marko Maric 's box and beat Aljaz Struna and Zarek Valentin off the counter with a great shot slotted near the upper-ninety at the thirteenth-minute mark to score the first goal of the day.

Despite showing their weaknesses early, Houston was able to stabilize itself in the back to prevent any further damage prior to the halftime whistle as Matias Vera and team captain Boniek Garcia performed exceptionally-well disrupting the main channels on midfield, disallowing any plays potentially getting to the final third while Maynor Figueroa and Aljaz Struna kept their composure at the back line to help feed possession to Adam Lundkvist and Zarek Valentin respectively.

It did not take long for the Dynamo to find the equalizer as Mauro Manotas moves past Giancarlo González inside the box off a clean pass by Valentin and beats Nicholas DePuy and David Bingham to the back of the net. Manotas has proven time and time again that he take advantage of any scoring situation from close-range and has that vision to be at the right place at the right time while Valentin proves that he can be a useful tool moving forward to help Houston create plays off the flank.

The second half would see plenty of scoring opportunities for the Dynamo but they were only able to find two shots on target out of fifteen. While finishing in the final-third is a bit worrisome, maintaining order in the back line and shifting Darwin Cerén behind after replacing Memo Rodríguez were essential to earn a draw against an LA Galaxy with lots of potential this year.

Tab Ramos’ professional coaching debut delivers a slightly sweet result, with lots to be desired still with a lengthy season ahead of us.

(Photo courtesy: Bryan Salas, Trask Smith and Houston Dynamo)

Three Points of the Match:

- Short-staffed: Despite missing Alberth Elis and Darwin Quintero, as well as potentially poking defensive holes without Victor Cabrera and Jose Bizama if a defender needed to be swapped out, the Dynamo remained anchored defensively after conceding an early goal that could have easily favored the Galaxy due to their experienced front line.

- Cabezas Returns?: Matias Vera played a key role in last Saturday’s result by mainly disrupting LA’s channels on midfield but sometimes helped distribute the ball forward if necessary. Ever since Cabrera came to town (and left), Houston needs a solid CDM that can efficiently steal possession from the opponent, get physical at times and play a role offensively, and hopefully this would be the year the young Argentinian midfielder takes his game to the next level.

- Manotas and The Dancing Bear: Mauro Manotas scored an important goal for the scoreboard and the Dynamo History Book. With 49 league goals scored in six seasons, Manotas now needs two goals so surpass Will Bruin and seven goals to reach Brian Ching at the top of the Dynamo all-time MLS goal tally. Across all competitions, the Colombian Striker needs eight goals to surpass Brian Ching’s record of 69 goals.