No one gave them a chance. Everyone said the Los Angeles Galaxy was going to roll over their cousin club Houston Dynamo in a blowout. The Dynamo's offense was weak to the point of being non-existent and the defense was without star center back Raul Rodriguez, making the task for Robbie Keane and company all the easier to walk to a victory. The question was how many goals they would score.
Apparently Owen Coyle never got that message.
The Dynamo entered the match ready to match the Galaxy in midfield, lining up all three of their defensive midfielders in a 4-3-3 system that took the offensive bite out of the Galaxy, leaving Gyasi Zardes on an island and forcing Keane to drop deep into midfield to get touches on the ball. What chances the Galaxy did create were from distance and all neutralized by another strong performance from Dynamo net minder Tyler Deric.
Despite being frustrated later in the match, Keane did get off to a great start by scoring for the Galaxy in the third minute of the match. Dynamo center back David Horst pushed too deep into midfield and was promptly stripped of the ball. Young midfielder Jose Villarreal sent a nice pass to a streaking Keane who collected it smoothly. The Irish International sent a low, hard shot towards an onrushing Deric. Despite getting a piece of the shot, the Texas native wasn't able to stop the ball from trickling into the net.
Unlike the previous year, this Dynamo team didn't give up. They collected themselves and pressed forward when they could. After earning a corner kick in the 11' of the match, the Dynamo pounced on horrible defending from the Galaxy. Oscar Garcia whipped a cross towards the opposite post which found Horst, who redirected the ball towards an unmarked Nathan Sturgis. Only a couple yards from goal, Sturgis tapped it into the match to bring the score level. Not only was Sturgis completely unmarked in the box, but Horst jumped clear over US International Omar Gonzalez.
With the Galaxy becoming ever more frustrated as the half wore on, the Dynamo continued to catch the Galaxy on the counter until Ricardo Clark picked up a rib injury after a bad collision. He attempted to play through it but had to be substituted in the 43' in favor of rookie winger Rob Lovejoy. The youngster was energetic all game, putting pressure on Galaxy players but was ineffective in connecting passes with his teammates and giving away possession cheaply. This forced more of the defensive burden towards an unlikely hero: Nathan Sturgis. During his previous stint with the Dynamo, Sturgis found little playing time domestically, only seeing the pitch regularly in international competition. Many fans thought his role would be the same this go around.
Sturgis showed his quality with numerous interceptions, quality tackles and precise passing. Rarely was he stripped of the ball or sent a pass wrong. His marking was also top notch as he provided constant pressure on Keane, limiting the service to and from the reigning league MVP. With Clark's injury status still in the air, and Luis Garrido gone for the upcoming match to represent Honduras, Sturgis is guaranteed another start as a reward for his excellent game in California.
Another player who performed well for the Dynamo was DaMarcus Beasley. Tasked with marking Stefan Ishizaki, who has started the season off strong, the former US legend cut off the service from that flank, forcing the Galaxy to move centrally to provide service into the box. With Ishizaki neutralized on that flank, Coach Bruce Arena opted to bring in grizzled veteran Alan Gordon to match up physically with Horst and Jermaine Taylor. Without service, Gordon had little to do on the match. All wasn't well for Beasley as he too left the match due to injury, tweaking his hamstring in the 55', forcing Coyle to burn another substitution. Sophomore center back AJ Cochrane replaced him, pushing Taylor wide.
While the tactics were spot on for Owen Coyle to earn a valuable point, there are still troubling signs from the Dynamo. They were even more dominated in possession than in either of their previous games and the offense was very poor as well. Coyle has to find a way for his side to keep more of the ball and connect more of their passes in the final third. Giles Barnes had a very quiet night again, starved of service. On the bright side the defense has been very solid for the Dynamo, having conceded only two goals in their first three games, both off horrible mistakes from individual players. With Tyler Deric showing he is capable of being not just a top keeper in the league, but the best in Major League Soccer, Coyle may have time yet to figure out the offense.