Saturday was a mix and match type of night for Dominic Kinnear, and one thing he had to figure out was where his goals were going to come from.
With injuries to leading scorer Will Bruin (right foot sprain) and Jason Johnson (right hamstring strain), the Houston Dynamo head coach was left with just two forwards, Giles Barnes and Omar Cummings, on the roster. Barnes entered the match on a five-game scoring drought and Cummings had been in and out of the picture the past three weeks for personal reasons, so it was unclear just who would shoulder the scoring load.
It turned out to be Barnes, as he bagged a brace in the victory. But both he and Cummings showed well to lead the way in a momentum-preserving 3-2 win over the Montreal Impact.
“I think full credit goes to Omar, too, tonight for coming out and giving us a good 75 minutes," said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. "Just what he did for us tonight was huge. I think the guys in the locker room understand that. Giles was good. Good first goal, all-important second goal and overall thought his play was really good tonight.”
Barnes is usually asked to drop into midfield or pull runners out while hitting the corners when Bruin, a box-crashing forward, is on the field. But with that being Cummings’ forte, Barnes had to adapt by holding the line and crashing the net. The result was two well-earned goals.
Saturday’s game was as much about who wasn’t in the lineup – Bruin, Tally Hall, Kofi Sarkodie and Jermaine Taylor – as anything coming into the contest. Cummings, along with AJ Cochran, Tyler Deric and Corey Ashe, turned that around.
“Today we showed a lot of character and heart,” said DaMarcus Beasley after the game. “If one guy steps out another guy steps in. It was good to see the boys come in and play well.”
Cummings, who's been absent for an undisclosed personal reason and trained a handful of times in the fast few weeks, was one of the players to provide the biggest boost. He pressured the defense, found seams, helped set up Barnes’ equalizer and rattled the crossbar, leading to the corner kick play that eventually won the game.
“[Omar’s] had a tough time, he got an assist and played well,” said Beasley. “Of course, he gives his all whether he’s with us or not. When he’s not he knows we’re with him, but as you see when he steps on the field he’s one of our best players."
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.
