WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: HOUSTON DYNAMO

Welcome back to What You Need To Know, a preview for Austin FC fans to check in on their next opponent. 

After the first of two road trips to the land of never ending Toyotathon Austin FC takes on the Houston Dynamo tonight at Q2 Stadium. In their last match, Austin lost 2-1 to FC Dallas after going down to a Petar Musa goal 4’ into the contest. It was a disappointing result for Austin as they could have taken advantage of a Dallas team that had been at the bottom of the conference to put themselves into a chance to clinch Copa Tejas tonight. In many ways (majority of possession, lacking goals, giving up counterattacks) it was a throwback to an Austin FC match we haven’t seen often recently. 

Tonight is the first mid-week match for Austin FC in 2024. Since the beginning of the 2022 season, Austin is 10-1-3 (W-D-L) in MLS mid-week matches and looks to improve upon that record tonight. 

Austin FC is a perfectly mid 4-4-4 on the season with a GD of 0, a statistical anomaly I’m sad will have to end. 

History vs. Austin FC:

The Houston Dynamo have never won at Q2 and Austin defeated them in Houston 1-0 on April 20 thanks to an Emiliano Rigoni goal.

Recent Matches:

The Dynamo got their first win in a month by defeating Sporting KC 2-1 with Hector Herrera and Aliyu Ibrahim netting the winner. They currently sit in 7th place in the Western Conference. 

Players to Watch:

Hector Herrera

Or as he’s known “Hache Hache” is one of the best players in the league and this is mostly an excuse to show off this Scouting report from FBRef:

And to make sure everyone saw his goal against Sporting KC. 

Amine Bassi

The French midfielder is yet to get on the scoreboard for the Dynamo this season after scoring 10 times in the 2023 campaign. He plays as the leading midfielder for Dynamo, regularly linking the rest of the midfield and Sebastian Kowalczyk. He also has the freedom to run into the box to find space when the ball goes wide.

Keys to the Match:

The Friendly Confines

While Q2 has Chevron logos instead of Ivy it has been a place Austin has played well, including beating Houston in every meeting the two sides played there (4-0, combined +7 GD) including a 3-0 blowout last season. Austin has only lost once this season at home, the opener against Minnesota United. They’ve also played a more attacking and outgoing style of football at home against their reserved road tactics. 

Rotations

With this match in the middle of three matches in eight days Austin FC will have to rotate tonight. Fortunately, their injury report is clear outside of a hamstring injury to Ethan Finlay. With the need to rotate, we should some of the Owen Wolff, CJ Fodrey, Johan Valencia, or Zan Kolmanic bench cadre get starts or play more minutes. This will test what is ultimately an Austin FC squad that lacks quality depth, especially in attacking positions. Can Austin generate an attack without Diego Rubio and Sebastian Driussi featuring prominently?

Possession and Positioning

Houston is a team that likes to maintain possession, having the majority in 9 of their 11 matches so far this season. Austin FC’s record this season:
Majority of possession (W-D-L):

2-1-4

Minority of possession

2-3-0

So allowing Houston to have the ball can benefit Austin. It allows them to play deeper and organize their defensive line. Austin can use this against them by simply studying how Dallas played against them last week, sitting deep while also willing to spring pressure on the ball when the opportunity arose. 

See you at Q2!

WRITTEN BY SCOTT SPECHT