HOUSTON – Stopping a Portland Timbers team that scored 60 goals in the regular season is easier said than done for the Houston Dynamo. But that’s the task La Naranja are facing ahead of Monday’s Western Conference Semifinal Leg 1 at BBVA Compass Stadium (9:30 pm ET | FS1; TVAS, TSN GO).
The Dynamo have faced the Timbers twice this season, and both occasions were high-scoring affairs.
Portland protected their home field in March by turning a 2-1 halftime deficit into a 4-2 victory. The script flipped in July, when Portland carried a 2-1 lead into the 81st minute in Houston before a Juan David Cabezas header earned the Dynamo a draw.
Despite having conceded six goals in two matches with the Timbers, Dynamo head coach Wilmer Cabrera is confident this match will be a different story, noting that his club has momentum at the moment and is further along in its developmental process under his guidance.
“We were still building the team. We were still trying to build cohesiveness and trying different things,” Cabrera said of the early-season loss at Portland. “Right now, we are a better team in all aspects. We are more compact. We’re in a better shape, and tactically and mentally we are stronger.”
So how will the Dynamo play against the Timbers on Monday? Cabrera said the key point is to maintain their style of play.
“We won’t change. We cannot change,” he said. “If we’re going to go through and if we’re going go all the way, it’s on our way – the way we’ve been doing for 35 games.”
And the Dynamo way this season has been, as goalkeeper Tyler Deric described it, “fast attacking and tough to beat on defense.”
Deric is key to Houston’s chances of defeating top-seeded Portland, said Jalil Anibaba, who could play a part in Monday’s showdown as defenders Leonardo and AJ DeLaGarza — who’s out for the season with a serious knee injury — have been ruled out of the game.
“If we’re solid defensively, we’ll be able to get out of our blocks and run – but that’s going to require not just the back line, it’s going to require all of us to be organized,” Anibaba said.
“First and foremost, communication from Tyler to keep our backline organized, and then make sure that our midfielders aren’t too spread. Just to make sure, throughout our backline all the way to the front line, we’re not too far and we’re compact defensively.”
Being compact defensively is central to the Dynamo’s hopes, considering the firepower the Timbers boast, with Cabrera singling out Diego Valeri, Sebastian Blanco, Darlington Nagbe, Diego Chara and David Guzman among a “talented” and technically-gifted Timbers group.
Could this series ultimately be won in the midfield?
“Yes, it could be in the midfield. But also it could be in our half, or it could be in their half,” Cabrera said. “We’re prepared for everything.”
Cabezas echoed his coach’s thoughts on containing the Timbers, saying the club needs to stay compact to hold off the Timbers attack, adding that the team doesn’t need to change its playing, just its positioning.
“The more together we are, the more compact and aggressive we are,” Cabezas said, “we’ll surely be able to counter all their virtues.”
