Defense helping club climb into West race
The Dynamo haven’t recorded a shutout in four matches. But with his team earning eight points in its past five games to edge into the thick of the Western Conference pack, coach Tab Ramos is satisfied with his defense, especially its leader.
“I’m really amazed by him, to be honest,” Ramos said of 37-year-old defender Maynor Figueroa. “I’ve given him one or two games off, but I think we just really can’t afford to give him too many games off, because he’s really playing great. He brings a lot to the table on the field.
“As coaches, you always take age into consideration in the way you rotate the team, (but) I have to look at performances, and his performance is outstanding.”
Houston (3-3-6, 15 points) endured its first defeat since July when it lost to rival FC Dallas on Sep. 12. But the defense played well enough to help overcome a two-point halftime deficit to tie Minnesota on Saturday.
Ramos is hoping for a similar showing when his team visits Chicago Fire FC (2-7-3, 9 points) on Wednesday at Soldier Field. Chicago is fifth in the league in shots (173) but has the worst goal differential in the Eastern Conference (minus-10, to Houston’s 1).
“Chicago is a team that I actually like a lot,” Ramos said. “If you look at their production, they’re one of the top two or three teams in the league in expected goals. So they’re creating a ton of chances. They just have not scored them.”
Raphael Wicky became Chicago’s coach two months after Ramos joined the Dynamo last October. Wicky was the United States U17 coach while Ramos managed the U20 team last year.
While Chicago won its first game under Wicky in its MLS is Back Tournament opener — it took Houston another month to get Ramos’ first victory — Chicago hasn’t won since Aug. 25.
Dynamo defender Kiki Struna, who played with Fire forward Robert Beric on the Slovenian national team, echoed Ramos’ comments about Chicago.
“I know him very well. He’s one of my friends, and (we) have played a lot together,” Struna said of Beric. “Chicago is a good team, but they didn’t collect a lot of points. They’re a good team, but you’re going there to win.”
Struna said he believes Ramos’ style of play has helped him and will lead to a positive result Wednesday.
“For me, it’s not a problem,” he said. “I like to play with the ball, and I like that kind of football. A lot of the time it’s risky, but it can also give you a lot of advantage. If the defense and midfield are connected, we can get out of those pressures, and then everything is open.”
Forward Alberth Elis often cashed in on that style before he was transferred this week to Boavista in Portugal. Ramos could tap Ariel Lassiter and Niko Hansen as his replacements in the lineup, as he has in recent games.
“It’s tough. Alberth was a fantastic player that was always a threat,” midfielder Memo Rodriguez said. “It’s part of football. Players come and go, and we have to adapt in the best way possible with the players we’ve got. Everybody has done a good job replacing him and being a threat in behind. That’s what you want to see as a team when you lose a guy of that caliber.”