Winless streak undermining the Dynamo’s MLS playoff aspirations.
Cabrera laments fact club fails to protect lead late in matches
Forget the past and move forward. That’s the mindset entering Thursday night’s game against rival FC Dallas and for the rest of the MLS season for the struggling Dynamo, who will have the services of All-Star forward Alberth Elis, returning from a two-game suspension.
A gut-wrenching 2-1 home loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday was hard to stomach for the Dynamo, who conceded two goals in stoppage time in losing a fifth straight game in MLS play, putting a dent in their faint playoff hopes.
“On the psychological aspect, it can be a little hurtful,” midfielder Tomas Martinez said. “But it’s a matter of getting past that.”
Added midfielder Memo Rodriguez: “We can’t dwell on it too much. It hurts to lose at home. It was heartbreaking for us because we struggled in the game. But we were winning 1-0 and to lose in the last minutes is tough.”
Being winless in the past seven MLS matches has put the Dynamo in peril of missing the playoffs. Entering Thursday’s game at BBVA Compass Stadium against FC Dallas (13-5-6, 45 points), the Western Conference’s first-place club, the Dynamo (7-11-6, 27) are 10 points adrift of the sixth and final qualifying spot in the conference.
Time is running out for the Dynamo, who are desperate to qualify for the postseason with 10 games left, four at home.
“We have to win all the games at home,” coach Wilmer Cabrera said. “That was the mentality against Salt Lake.”
Before Salt Lake scored in the 93rd minute, the Dynamo were looking like a winner. The Dynamo conceded a game-deciding penalty kick in the 100th minute. In the 36th minute, the Dynamo’s Boniek Garcia banged in a volley for his first MLS goal since 2015.
“We allow teams to come back, and that shows that we stop. You can’t stop playing,” Cabrera said. “You can play well, you can play OK, or you can play bad. But you never stop playing. It looks like sometimes we stop.
“That’s not how we practice, how we work every day. It needs to be changed.”
The Dynamo have a lot of ground to make up.
“At this point of the season, we’re in a desperate push to get into the playoffs,” Rodriguez said. “So every game, we’re going to play it as a final. I don’t think it’s going to be any different on Thursday and we have to play it like it’s a final.
“It’s a rivalry, it’s going to be a tough match, but we’re going to have to come out and get the three points.”
Elis’ return is invaluable to the Dynamo, whose attack hasn’t been functioning of late. Elis, second on the club in goals (nine) and assists (eight), missed a game because of a red card Aug. 4 and another due to yellow card accumulation.
“It’s been tough on the offense,” Martinez said. “Alberth is a very important player for us. In the last couple of games, we haven’t scored a lot as we did at the beginning of the season.”
Thursday is the second of three legs of the 2018 Texas Derby. In the first meeting between the two clubs in July, the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
“I don’t know the reason or the mentality, but we have played better games against the tougher opponents,” Cabrera said.
The Dynamo will need to be well-organized defensively to contain Dallas’ speed.
“It’s going to be a battle to win this game,” Cabrera said. “There’s not many home games left and we’re low on the table.
“We need to keep pushing ourselves up, and this is a great opportunity to do that.”
Thursday’s match will take place on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey. Billed as Houston Strong night, the Dynamo are honoring the second responders who aided the Houston-area community through the hurricane. At halftime, the Dynamo will recognize individuals and organizations that stepped to the forefront in the aftermath of the hurricane.