Sometimes in soccer no one covers themselves in glory. There are only those who looked mediocre at best and poor at worst. This was one of those nights. A rare mistake from young goalkeeper Tyler Deric gave Orlando the sole goal in the match as the visitors stole a pair of points in what seemed destined for a 0 - 0 draw.

Houston Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle shocked fans with a very different lineup, leaving Will Bruin on the bench in favor of loanee Leonel Miranda on the right flank and Oscar Garcia at striker. This lineup mirrors that used in a pre-season victory over Orlando during the Charleston Challenge Cup which saw the Dynamo win 3 - 0. On that night, Garcia had a field day against Orlando. Their first regular season meeting was very different though. Garcia did have his moments when he was able to create some magic, but not enough to get past a stingy Orlando defense.

If there was one thing done well for either team on the night it was the speed brought to BBVA Compass Stadium by Orlando. They were a step faster in intercepting passes or marking their players. Their counter attack showed just enough promise to keep the defense on their toes, unable to participate in the attack except for set pieces. This allowed Orlando to double or even triple team the creative outlets for the Dynamo.

For the second week in a row, Luis Garrido and Ricardo Clark did well in marking an extremely talented attacking midfielder. Kaka had an average night, unable to impose himself on the match as he was marked tightly and stripped of the ball on more than a couple of occasions. As good as that was to see, the flanks were still difficult for the Dynamo defense.

Enough burying the lead, let's talk about that goal. I hope no one had Deric on their fantasy team. The play started normally enough. The ball was sent back to Deric for him to send back up to the field. Unfortunately Deric took a second too long to get rid of the ball. Instead his clearance ricocheted off of Orlando's Ribero. The Texan tried to clear the ball before it went into the net but instead sped up the process. It's an unfortunate own goal after a week when he was arguably the best player in MLS during First Kick and looked good earlier in the match. While the goal cost his team two points, that's not the important thing. What will bear watching is what this does to his confidence. Young players can see their performance spiral downwards quickly after a poor performance. Hopefully he'll be able to rebound before an even tougher match next week in Los Angeles.

For Orlando, they need to find a way to use their speed for something other than speed itself. The creativity that is possible wasn't on display. Rarely was Deric tested on the night, which they'll need to rectify if they have any hope of reaching the playoffs. There are plenty of good parts but they still are just that: parts. This team hasn't gelled yet and will need some time to do so.

Player Ratings

Houston Dynamo

Tyler Deric - 4.0
DaMarcus Beasley - 6.0
Jermaine Taylor - 6.0
David Horst - 6.0
Kofi Sarkodie - 6.5
Ricardo Clark - 7.0
Luis Garrido - 7.0
Brad Davis - 5.5
Leonel Miranda - 5.0
Giles Barnes - 6.0
Oscar Garcia - 6.5
Will Bruin - 6.0
Rob Lovejoy - NA
 

ColumbOrlando City SC

Donovan Ricketts - 6.0
Brek Shea - 6.5
Rafael Ramos - 6.0
Sean St. Ledger - 6.0
Seb Hines - 6.0
Amobi Okugo - 6.5
Darwin Ceren - 6.5
Kaka - 7.0
Kevin Molino - 6.0
Lewis Neal - 6.5
Carlos Rivas - 5.5
Pedro Ribeiro - 6.5
Eric Avila - NA