DYNAMO FANS GET THEIR KICKS
Offseason shakeup produces impressive opening statement
Members of El Batallón play a marching song as they and other fans head to their seats before the Dynamo’s 2-1 season-opening win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday at BBVA Stadium.
An excellent start, a tense finish and three points for the home team.
Friday’s season opener in Houston was just what the Dynamo needed.
The Dynamo scored the first two goals but had to hang on to a one-goal cushion over the final 20 minutes to defeat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 in front of 6,376 fans at BBVA Stadium.
The offseason featured a lot of roster turnover, and chemistry has been a work in progress throughout the preseason. Despite all of that, the Dynamo were as great as they needed to be to get 2021 started on a winning note.
“We’re happy we can start with the three points, and most importantly I liked the way we played,” Dynamo coach Tab Ramos said. “We played a strong game and when I looked at how well we pressed throughout the game and how much we limited San Jose in getting chances, we played pretty close to how we want to continue to play.
“And I feel like the 2-1 score, it doesn’t necessarily reflect how well we played today.”
Midfielder Memo Rodriguez scored the opener in the 39th minute with an impressive show of strength, speed and finesse.
Midfielder Joe Corona played a bouncing pass to Rodriguez about 30 yards from the goal. Ro
driguez shielded San Jose defender Florian Jungwirth on his back and let the ball roll by when Jungwirth tried to get around him to break up the play.
Jungwirth missed, and the ball rolled into the penalty area. Earthquakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski was a split second too late coming off his line, and Rodriguez got there first. Leaning to his left to avoid a collision, Rodriguez reached for the ball with his right foot and rolled it into the empty net.
As great as the first half was, the Dynamo knew they needed to keep their foot on the pedal. At halftime, Ramos said the message
was clear: Win the second half, too.
It didn’t take long for Houston to double its lead, and it did so through two newcomers.
In the 56th minute, forward Tyler Pasher gained possession on the left side and dribbled at the right back. Pasher got to the edge of the box and passed to forward Maxi Urruti on the penalty spot. Urruti settled the ball and hit an easy finish past Marcinkowski.
Just when it looked like the Dynamo might cruise to the finish line, San Jose got one back on a brilliant display of marksmanship by midfielder Paul Marie in the 74th minute.
Marie settled the ball about 30 yards from the goal outside the left post and curled his shot around Dynamo goalkeeper Marko Maric into the net at the far post.
All of a sudden, the Dynamo were reliving the misery of recent seasons.
The Earthquakes had one more incredible opportunity, but MLS all-time leading scorer Chris Wondolowski missed an open net from inside the 6-yard box — bringing back nightmares from the 2014 World Cup when he missed from the doorstep in the knockout stage against Belgium.
Except for that, the Dynamo were cool, calm and collected when they had to be. That’s yet another reason why Rodriguez said the energy is different this season.
“I think in the past years, we felt that panic,” he said. “Tonight, we felt a little bit more in control. It's obvious in the last 10 minutes against a team that is down a goal they’re going to push for a tying goal. You have to manage it.
“Today, we managed it. It wasn’t panic mode. We managed it well to close out the game.”