The Defiance went on their first road trip to Houston Dynamo 2 and had a lackluster performance, falling 4-0 on Sunday.
In the first half, the team struggled to keep possession but looked comfortable defensively for the first 40 minutes. However, in the last 5 minutes that defensive solidity broke down with two goals conceded.
The first was a long ball played into the right channel that wasn’t properly dealt with. Drew Brown’s header fell to the opposition and Dynamo 2 was able to work the ball from the right touchline into the box on the left, where an open Mattheo Dimareli slotted it home. The second was another run up the right channel where Codey Phoenix stayed pinched in too close to Brown. This allowed a simple pass to Nick Markanic in the box where his cross found Dimareli for his second.
The second half started with a couple of subs, Charlie Gaffney and Demian Alvarez in for Brayden Smith and Mark O’Neill. Gaffney played at right midfielder with Peter Kingston moving to central midfield and Alvarez was a straight swap for O’Neill at right back.
This half was much the same with the Defiance unable to keep solid possession but they did not look as strong defensively. More changes came in the 68th minute with Leo Flores and Jasper Winslow coming in for Mark Bronnik and Tino Lopez. Flores filled in at striker and Winslow slotted in at left center back with Brown moving to left back. The final change was Saku Kitafuji for Tino Lopez in the 72nd minute. None of these changes really changed the game and Defiance would concede twice more.
In the 77th minute, Dynamo 2 had a free kick by the near touchline that was put into the box and headed into the far corner. The home team got their fourth in the 82nd minute when a cross field switch found Vinicius Silva on the left. He crossed to former academy and Defiance player Brummett who put a shot on goal that Shour should have done better with.
A long distance shot from Flores in extra time kept Defiance from ending the game with zero shots on goal.
Overview
Lineup
Substitutes
- 45’ Charlie Gaffney ⇆ Brayden Smith
- 45’ Demain Alvarez ⇆ Mark O’Neill
- 68’ Leo Flores ⇆ Mark Bronnik
- 68’ Jasper Winslow ⇆ Codey Phoenix
- 72’ Saku Kitafuji ⇆ Tino Lopez
Goals
- 41’ Dynamo 2 - ⚽Mattheo Dimareli (Nick Markanich)
- 45 +2’ Dynamo 2 - ⚽Mattheo Dimareli (Nick Markanich)
- 77’ Dynamo 2 - ⚽Gavin Wolff (Diego Gonzalez)
- 82’ Dynamo 2 - ⚽Austin Brummett (Vinicius Silva)
Stats
Key performers
Brayden Smith
This was the first look at 17-year-old academy midfielder Brayden Smith as he made his Defiance debut. He paired Xavi Gnaulati in the double pivot, often as the deeper of the two. With good size for his age, he showed an ability to physically compete by winning 60% of his duals. He also was clean on the ball with 92% passing on 26 attempts. However, the highlight of his night was in the 28th minute where he made a run behind the backline and chested a chipped through ball into the path of Mark Bronnik. This would have been an intelligent and creative assist but Bronnik put the ball over the net.
Xavi Gnaulati
Looking at the other half of the double pivot, Gnaulati showed quality throughout the night, especially on the ball. He finished with 94% passing and a key pass on the through ball to Smith. Not only was he looking for dangerous passes but he was not afraid to carry the ball finishing with three progressive carries. His confidence in possession is evident and when the team is able to keep the ball more effectively he should be able to showcase himself even more.
Tino Lopez
The first half was largely comfortable defensively for Defiance and a lot of that had to do with Tino Lopez. He was the most active defender with eight defensive contributions and won all but one of his duals. Additionally, he was strong on the ball with the second most touches and 92% passing. His substitution in the 72nd minute was followed shortly after with the third and fourth goal for Dynamo 2.
