For the second consecutive home game, the Houston Dynamo (7-9-6, 27 points) played a man down and dropped points in the process. While Houston played the majority of their 1-0 loss 10 versus 11, the Orange finished the game with eight men, as Darwin Ceren and Alberth Elis were ejected in injury time, and without a head coach. In total, Houston was issued four red cards, three to players and one to head coach Wilmer Cabrera.
The four red cards are the most the Dynamo have received in a single match in club history. The previous high was two red cards, which happened twice, most recently in 2011 against Sporting Kansas City.
Here are three takeaways from the match:
Dynamo season on the brink
Saturday’s matchup against long-time rivals Sporting KC was as close to must-win as can get for Houston at this point of the season. With 12 games left in the season, five at home and seven on the road, Houston must now find a way to get points on the road to have a fighting chance at making the playoffs. But getting points on the road has been a daunting task for Houston.
This season, the Orange are 1-5-4, but draws on the road aren’t going to cut it. The Dynamo are going to need to rack up wins.
“It’s another game where we dropped points at home, but we know where we are at and know what we have to do and it’s on us to fix it,” Dynamo midfielder Andrew Wenger said.
Andrew Wenger returns to the starting lineup
Wenger made a return to the lineup at a position, right back, that he’s made all his own this season. In his absence, the Dynamo had Adolfo Machado, Adam Lundqvist, and Kevin Garcia in his place but none can compare to the positives that Wenger brings to the team when he’s at right back. Wenger himself has been thrust into that position due to A.J. DeLaGarza’s injury.
Wenger has the soccer IQ to manage the position and dangerous enough when overlapping that he adds to Houston’s offense. But while he has been a revelation at right back, Wenger admits he’s still learning about the position.
“Every game is a learning experience for me. Every game there’s a new wrinkle that I’m picking up,” Wenger said. “I’m trying to figure out why some things aren’t working and guys are telling me, ‘oh this is a real simple fix,’ so every game is a little bit better hopefully.
Ronaldo Peña makes debut
Houston’s newest acquisition, forward Ronaldo Peña, made his debut Saturday and while the circumstances weren’t the desired one in which to debut, the Venezuelan still showed flashes of why the Orange signed him. In 18 minutes of action, Peña was a nuisance on the Sporting KC backline and came close to getting off a dangerous shot before the defense sniffed it out.
“I first want to thank God for being here. To start the game a man down is very difficult,” Peña said. “To come back in a game like this against a rival that is strong is even more difficult, but we can correct our small details for the next game that is very important.”
Having made his debut, Peña should be an every game option off the bench for Houston. That is, when he’s not starting. The addition of the forward gives Cabrera another option to throw to the attack.