Dynamo Still Can't Buy A Goal

You know you’re in a slump when you outplay a team in their own backyard and still manage to lose.

That’s what happened to the Dynamo Saturday night in Boston, as the Revolution came away with a 1-0 victory.

The Dynamo were dominating possession in the second half, when Revs forward Ilija Stolica — who was making his first career MLS start — scored on a volley just outside the Dynamo box.

The volley itself was a bit of surprise. Sainey Nyassi, who was credited with the assist, appeared to actually have shot the ball. The ball deflected off of Stolica into the air, when he shot it wide past Dynamo keeper Tally Hall. The Dynamo had numerous chances to equalize the game, but failed to put the ball in the back of the net.

Perhaps one of the troubling signs of Dynamo’s scoring woes — now
scoreless in their last three MLS games — is the team’s performance on
set pieces. During their championship runs, the Dynamo were always the
most dangerous team to defend on set pieces. In Saturday’s loss, the
Dynamo had nine corner kicks, and failed to convert any of them.

Defense, for once, wasn’t an issue for the Orange. Geoff Cameron was
inserted back on defense, instead of trying him on midfield. Cameron
partnered well with Bobby Boswell, and would have had a near-perfect
game had it not been for the “lucky shot.”

The Dynamo’s woes come from offense, a fact that captain Brian Ching
doesn’t deny. After the match, Ching was quoted on mlssoccer.com as,
“we didn’t create a whole lot on goal either. I don’t think we lacked
effort. I just think we lacked quality and cohesion in the final third.”

One could say that the absence of Brad Davis — who’s out injured —
hurt the Dynamo. Without him, the Dynamo miss their lead assist man. But
the passes were there, the crosses were there. The Dynamo just couldn’t
put the Revolution away.

The Dynamo (5-10-5) now look ahead to Saturday’s clash with the Chicago
Fire, hopefully to end their winless streak. Hell, hopefully they’ll end
their scoring drought.