Dynamo vs. Earthquakes: Why This Game Matters

Houston,TX – After a gritty, disappointing trip to Sporting Park, where we saw the Dynamo share the spoils, in a 1-1 draw with Sporting Kansas city, who are our biggest rivals in my opinon. We saw Sturgis sent off with a Red Card, after a tough tackle on Kansas city’s Roger Espinoza and Ricardo Clark came off with a hamstring injury sustained after rising high to get a head on Brad Davis cross landing awkwardly, but tying the game. The Dynamo are looking to bounce back, and further distance themselves in the standings over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night. Although Dynamo will be without these two key figures, they are not without creative attacking options.

With Barnes ,Bruin, and Cubo all available, Head Coach Owen Coyle will need to deploy them effectively to break down San Jose’s stingy defense. Containing San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski, and not giving Sanna Nyassi much time on the ball will be key. The stakes are high for this fixture, as each team is neck and neck in the standings, and with the regular season winding down every point matters.

San Jose (7-9-5,26 points) are sitting only two points behind the Dynamo
(7-8-7, 28 points) with a game in hand, making this game a must win for either team. A win would see the Dynamo widen that gap to five points and potentially seat us in seventh place, overtaking Real Salt Lake (7-8-8,29 points) depending on the outcome of RSL’s meeting with the Vancouver Whitecaps (12-8-3,39 points). A loss would see San Jose make the Dynamo playoff push that much more difficult. A tie would feel like a loss for the Dynamo.

This will be the third and final time these two teams meet in the regular season and this one has the making of a classic. The last time Dominic Kinnear was welcomed back to BBVA Compass Stadium after leaving for San Jose, it was the first encounter between the former Dynamo coach, and the current Owen Coyle. It was also  a rough 1-0 loss for the Dynamo as they were caught napping on a quickly taken set piece, that found the head of an onrushing Adam Jahn that sailed passed Tyler Deric. Coyle and the Dynamo team were able to regroup in our first trip to San Jose and level the series behind a pair of goals from Ricardo Clark and Will Bruin winning 2-0. This time playoff hopes are on the line and both teams will be unwilling to settle for anything less than all three points.

This outcome of this game matters tremendously for both teams.

This will be a big game.

Kick-off:8pm CDT

TV:Root Sports

Radio:1560 Am/850 AM