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CONCACAF: Weaver leads Dynamo in Champions League romp over CD FAS

CamWeaver (ISIPhotos.com)

photo by ISIphotos.com

The Houston Dynamo are one step closer to the knockout round of the CONCACAF Champions League after their latest victory inside of their new home.

The Dynamo routed Salvadoran club CD FAS, 4-0, in the first Champions League game played at BBVA Compass Stadium on Thursday night to take firm control of Group 3 with one match remaining. Cam Weaver led the way for Houston, scoring once and setting up two other goals in a match that eliminated FAS from the competition.

Giles Barnes, Bobby Boswell and Calen Carr also found the back of the net and the result now gives the Dynamo seven points with a home match against Hondruan outfit Olimpia remaining.

Here are the match highlights:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTBOv3M6WQ4]

What do you think of the Dynamo's 4-0 win? Impressed? Worried they could still slip up against Marathon?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. The weather was nice.

    Camargo definitely looked like he was running from guy to guy and putting in a late whack, though I simply put that down to being a step slow and thus chasing the ball like he’s in the center of the circle in a 5 on 2 passing drill or something.

    Yeah, Barnes didn’t seem all that active. I remember the goal, a few other passes, and not much else. He wasn’t running around much like say Camargo. That’s why even though he and Weaver are the toast of the town I thought Creavalle made the best display of first team readiness.

    But even being capable of hitting that shot probably puts Barnes on the playing time map somewhere.

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  2. “I used to play defense and to me the prime directive in choosing defenders is defensive play.” That line made me laugh for some reason, but you’re right about Ashe’s defense. Let’s not forget he was a LM not too long ago and only made the move initially to counter Dane Richards’ speed. I get the feeling Ashe was able to rely solely on speed growing up and that hurts him technically.

    And I will NEVER forget Dixon’s stoppage time goal last year! Granted,I’m not sure if that’s because I got whacked in the head by a fan blade from jumping so high or because of all the sweet skill that led up to that blast. Either way, I’m better off having seen that goal. I just wish I could have seen it live.

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  3. I think he made his case last night but my experience has been that when Weaver is paired with another slow, holding forward type (Ching or Bruin) our offense grinds to a halt. MLS teams have not just speed but size, will hold a high line, and we get stuck on our own end, unable to clear the zone. Then our defense comes under pressure and with Cameron gone (and not really replaced either) that’s a fragile shield.

    The interesting question to me would be if a goal and 2 assists earns him some of Ching’s target striker backup playing time. Hard sell to Dynamo fans, and not even necessarily the smart play, but an interesting thought. There are worse things than forwards down the depth chart contributing.

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  4. I used to play defense and to me the prime directive in choosing defenders is defensive play. Creavalle is smarter positionally and will get stuck in. He’s fast enough and certainly not so slow he’s a potential liability like say Hainault or Boz.

    To the extent we get into the attacking qualities of players who should be primarily chosen for defense, the first criteria is keeping it in bounds and to the right color. Sarkodie is the worst at this, followed by Ashe, then Creavalle.

    I haven’t seen Creavalle cross (and I know Ashe can’t do it worth a hoot) but there is generally enough wing mid talent in town where I don’t think it’s a big slap. Ashe could fix some of his issues just by trying to move around players to open up Davis, who we know can get a cross. I’d rather have the meal tickets hitting the crosses anyway. We do the opposing team a favor having Hainault or Ashe or whoever crossing.

    Dixon looked rusty and nervous for a few minutes but he impressed my friend and I with his attacking later on. As long as we have someone who can hit dead balls on the field, I’d rather occasionally see some energy players like Ownby, Barnes, and Dixon instead of Clark out there (people forget Dixon won that RSL game last year). Clark’s knees have simply rendered him unable to beat anyone, which defeats the point to technical crossing ability.

    Camargo, well, my friend and I were talking last night about how that team last year played way over its head in terms of what might have been expected. Different formations, different players, some of the guys look not as good when they have to handle more individual-type play.

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  5. Hahah you guys are right about everything except Camargo… I believe he was put in there to foul since FAS started doing some dirty plays. The weather was extremely nice yesterday, could have stayed there a few more hours. Giles looked heavy and needed to ask for the ball more. His runs off the ball weren’t good. Creavalle and Dixon looked good. would had like to see Josue Soto but didn’t look like he was in the bench

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  6. You’re the only other person I’ve heard mention Creavalle over Ashe and I completely agree. He can’t quite match Ashe’s speed, but more than makes up for it in actual defense and solid passing. I still don’t think either is that good at crossing, but what can you do?

    How bout Dixon though? The hometown kid looked pretty upbeat and confident last night. Hopefully he can make a big jump in development here soon. There’s a lot of potential in that one and I want to see the Bay City kid make a mark.

    I agree on Clark and I’d consider a move for Camargo too. Both have played rather uninspired for most of the season.

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  7. I think long term Camargo is toast, he hasn’t looked like last year, showed up out of shape and off form, and looked like he was just chasing the ball around last night.

    But in terms of Barnes’ role, it depends on Kinnear’s formation and tactics. Are we 433 or 442, where is he pegged within the scheme. Last night he was playing AM in a 442 but if we revert to 433 the expected single central choice would be, whether I think he’s playing well or not, Rico.

    I think he’ll see increased PT based on last night but Kinnear is historically pro-veteran and pro-pecking order, and then you have the formational flux complicating it like I was just saying. Holden and Taylor were similar terrors on their debuts and took like a year to seize starting spots. I think only the high dollar vets slide right into the lineup…..and even those acquisitions serve a transition period.

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  8. Barnes’ goal was skill but the last three all owe something to the height advantage that also caused FAS problems in ES. He played quite well but I don’t know if you can expect Weaver to tower over and dominate a MLS team like this. Kind of a one-off pleasure though it was nice to see Houston play well and give some of the less-used players a chance.

    I think Creavalle should be started ahead of Ashe at LB where he played last night.

    Colin Clark needs to be cashiered, he and Sarkodie were the worst two on the field last night. Camargo also seemed to be just running around bumping into people a beat too late.

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  9. Not really worried they will slip up against Marathon because they don’t play Marathon – that is the caption underneath the embedded video.

    They’ve got this..

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