It’s been three weeks of change in the back for the Houston Dynamo. The club’s gone from the long time presence of Tally Hall to that of Tyler Deric backing up their defense.
The results have been positive on the whole. Deric, who took over for Hall who is out for the season with an ACL injury, admitted that he’s battled nerves that come with taking over a starting spot full time.
When asked after three starts what he can improve one of the things he pointed out was communicating with his teammates. It’s a different voice coming out of the back and a different relationship that the young goalkeeper and the players in front of him will have to get used to.
“Honestly I think it was maybe a little slow at first but the guys did a great job and put in the physical work, but I think things are coming together pretty well,” Deric told the media this week. “It’s a tough thing that, communication, but once you find out how guys react to what you say you can fine tune everything to what they need to hear.”
It was a nervy start as Deric and the defense gave up two goals in back-to-back games against the Montreal Impact and Columbus Crew after Hall’s injury but rebounded with a strong outing to hold a scoreless draw against the Philadelphia Union. It was a game the defense was happy to get under his belt with the hope of good things to come.
Deric’s been with the club since 2009, longer than all of his fellow starters last week aside from Brad Davis and Ricardo Clark. That obviously helps as they’ve heard him bark orders during training. But his voice and the way he commands a game is different from that of Hall. Hall had a calm presence from the back; Deric is more demonstrative.
“They both talk a lot but they talk differently. Tally may not be as demanding as Tyler is, but that’s just the kind of people they are,” center back David Horst said of the communication. “We still respond the same way no matter how you say it to us because at the end of the day that’s our job and we all want to win.
“I think [the communication’s] getting better. It’s been quite a work in progress this year in the back. The first game with a new group is always a little shaky but it’s getting better every week.”
Adjusting to the way the message is being conveyed is the easy part. Adjusting to the style and working with a new ‘keeper, even one you know, is the challenge. With an injury- and suspension-induced revolving door on the back line it’s been a challenge, but one the club feels they’re working through.
“We’re always trying to tell Tyler to keep the guys in front of him sharp and organized and it makes his job easier in the long run. I think he’s getting a hold of that,” head coach Dominic Kinnear said. “No matter who’s back there you have your great moments, your good moments and your bad moments. As long as they understand where the bad moments are coming from they’ll can improvement upon that and I think it will get better.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.
