Owen Coyle has preached long about wanting to teach the Houston Dynamo to take control of a match on both sides of the ball. To win posession and threaten the goalkeeper with clever attacks from out wide after buildups from the middle. Add in a rebuilt defense, in mindset more than personnel, and this has long been the plan. Fans have caught glimpses of this throughout the season, but never a complete performance.
Finally, after months of disappointment and average overall performances, the Dynamo put on a great performance against the New York Red Bulls in a 4-2 victory at BBVA Compass Stadium on Friday night. Despite some really good chances from both sides, the first half seemed destined to end with a frustrating tie. The crossbar had been the Red Bulls' friend in that half while some generous refereeing had bailed out the Dynamo. Instead, in the 42' Bradley Wright-Phillips fed a streaking Mike Grella who left Raul Rodriguez in his dust. Grella made no mistake in putting away the shot from an angle to give the visitors the lead going into the half.
Fans are perhaps still burned from last season as the wind was knocked out of the crowd. However, Coyle's Dynamo are not the squad of last season. They responded calmly and quickly to put themselves back into the match. Will Bruin did well to hold the ball up at the top of the box and fed a streaking Oscar Garcia. The Honduran International sent a sharp shot into the box that took a wicked deflection up and over goalkeeper Luis Robles, who could only look as the ball arced its way into the back of the net. It took the Dynamo all of 14 minutes to tie the match up.
While the Red Bulls were denied what appears a good goal, so were the Dynamo when the referee deemed Ricardo Clark to have fouled Dax McCarty on a corner kick. The call in the 68' was harsh, much like the one on the Red Bulls. Fair is fair, at least. Clark didn't linger on the referee's decision though, as he banged in a goal from another corner kick in the 72' when Garcia placed his cross perfectly.
Once the Dynamo had the lead, they never looked back. They kept the pressure up on the Red Bulls' makeshift defense. Garcia found Bruin making a run along the left flank. The striker cut in towards the box and sent a hard, low shot past a diving Robles to double the Dynamo's lead in the 80'.
The defense were caught off guard when Marius Obekop made a quick run down the flank. After the defense failed to clear the ball, Obekop sent a quick cross towards substitute Anatole Abang who made no mistake with his header as the clock went into stoppage time. Another gut check for fans and the squad. Would they cave in as they had done so earlier this season?
That was never a consideration for this side as it took only a minute or so for Bruin to bag a brace. With the Red Bulls still celebrating the goal the Dynamo restarted quickly as Ricardo Clark sent a through ball towards an unmarked Bruin. After getting a step ahead of the defense he sent a powerful shot past an unprepared Robles to give the home side an unassailable lead.
Will Bruin lead the line with a pair of goals and an assist while Oscar Garcia, a second half substitute for Alex Lopez, had a goal and a pair of assists. The younger Honduran had a good first half, creating opportunities that weren't put away. For the senior international, this was his break out party. Fans have been wondering when Garcia would show the quality he's capable of after a mediocre 2014 and a slow start to this year's campaign.
It's safe to say that spearheading the Dynamo to a win by creating a pair of goals and adding one of his own is the performance fans have been waiting for. The story of Will Bruin is one that is well documented with plenty of people on both sides of the aisle. It's no secret that this author is still of the mind that Bruin should be moved.
Once Erick Torres can officially play for the Dynamo, July 8 to be exact, it's difficult to see how Coyle can keep three quality strikers (assuming Bruin can keep his form going) around without disrupting the team's chemistry. A change in formation is even more difficult to imagine as the defense has been hot and cold for the club. Sacrificing a defensive player in either the back line or at defensive midfield for another attacking option is likely to leave the team on the field imbalanced.
It's also worth nothing that Bruin is in the final year of his contract and both sides have been tight lipped about where his future lies. With the team still lacking in other parts of the squad, rightback and attacking midfielder are the two most glaring needs. Right now the club has moved Spanish defender Raul Rodriguez to fill in for the out-of-form Kofi Sarkodie and Ricardo Clark has been hit and miss at the spear point of the attack.
Just what head coach Owen Coyle and General Manager Matt Jordan plan will be will likely leave fans upset in either case. In the meantime, the team can celebrate a huge victory over one of the league's best, most talked of sides and let the future take care of itself.