Houston broke into the win column Sunday night with an impressive, fast-paced offensive display. The result was a 3-1 home victory against the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps.
Watch: Full Match Highlights
After two tough matches where the club was often forced to defend through the majority of the game, the Dynamo controlled the pace on Sunday and finally got the ball to bounce their way in front of goal. Brad Davis played a big role in scoring outbreak, initiating the attack and getting an assist on all three goals. It was the first career three-assist game in MLS for Davis.
In addition to Davis’ output, the Dynamo got significant contributions from a number of players in each area of the field. One who put in a full night's work was Danny Cruz, who set the tone for the Dynamo attack with his trademark energetic play. Cruz pushed the ball up the field and looked to create for his teammates throughout the night, hitting the crossbar and notching an assist on Bobby Boswell’s goal.
“That’s Danny; when have you not seen him like that?” said Andre Hainault, who received stitches in his forehead as a result of a collision with Camilo. “He’ll make sure everyone else has their game up. It’s hereditary; when he works like that, you have to step it up, because you can’t let him play like that alone.”
That energy was indicative of the pace the team set early in the match. The club pushed the ball up the field at every chance but looked to be headed toward another night where it was all chances and no goals. That changed on Cam Weaver’s goal in the 37th minute, which opened the match up.
“We created a lot of chances and had a little more composure, and I think we were very active and energetic and breaking pretty quick,” said head coach Dominic Kinnear. “After the first goal, the guys gained a lot of confidence, and our movement off the ball was better. So it was it a little easier for us.”
The second goal on the night came on a beautiful play between Boswell – who also notched an assist on Weaver’s goal - and Cruz. The midfielder found the cutting Boswell breaking for the goal in the 42nd minute for what would eventually prove to be the game-winner. Will Bruin capped the scoring with the first of his young MLS career in the 76th minute.
“It feels great; it’s good to finally get three points,” Cruz said after the game. “We knew we were at home, and we didn’t get a good result the first week of the season. So it was good to come out hard and get three points at home tonight.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on twitter at @Dynamoexaminer.
