As Sporting Kansas City hosts the Houston Dynamo tonight in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals, I caught up with MLSsoccer.com's Darrell Lovell to preview the match. Live coverage of the match is available on SportingKC.com, Sports Radio 810 WHB, and La Grande 1340 AM.
Jonathon Feyerherm: What were your thoughts on Houston's 2-0 loss this past Saturday at Real Salt Lake and any impact that could have on tonight's match?
Darrell Lovell: The first half was one of the poorer ones I've seen. At times in the first half, their passing accuracy was hovering around 50 to 55 percent. They're struggling with consistency. They played very well at San Jose (2-0 win) and then they don't play well at all against Real Salt Lake. It's just another step in this uneven year for whatever reason whether it's call-ups, injuries, or changes in the lineup. Now they go to play Sporting KC and they've got some decisions to make as far as lineup goes. The team has five defenders total right now available right now. Four of those five are going to play. Kofi Sarkodie is now suspended for the LA Galaxy match on Saturday as well as Luis Garrido so that could actually boost the Dynamo for this game. Other than those two, it's going to be a toss-up in how Dynamo coach Owen Coyle approaches this match.
JF: How does Cubo Torres fit into the Dynamo squad and could they be changing their formation?
DL: The lineup has changed but the formation has been steady. He likes playing Will Bruin in that number nine role with somebody underneath him either playing close to him when you have Giles Barnes or farther away when it's Alex Lopez or Brad Davis. Cubo Torres doesn't fit in that position so if he's going to start with Bruin, it's not clear of Coyle will change his formation to using two true forwards or does he think Torres can function in that playmaker role under Bruin. If it's the latter, then that shifts more defensive responsibility to Ricardo Clark and Luis Garrido.
JF: Tactially, how do you expect the Dynamo approach tonight's match?
DL: I could see them looking to play strong, organized, and look to open up on the counter. They have the players to do that. Not necessarily with speed but they have the players who can pass the ball and move the ball quick when they are playing well and clicking. They have the players who can pick their head up and hit that one ball over the top or open up a defense with a pass. I think that's what you'll see early. A team that wants to be organized and make it tough for Sporting KC to break down and look to hit on the counter.
JF: What are you wanting to see from Houston in tonight's match?
DL: I want to see what the Houston midfield does because they weren't particularly good on Saturday. Do they inject somebody like Rasheed Olabiyi, who's a new player from the Nigerian Premier League. Does Cubo Torres start or what impact does someone like Mauro Manotas has, who's an exciting young Colombian attacking player. That's what I want to see in this game. I also want to see how this team rebounds from a very poor showing on the weekend. I'm going to be looking for the impact that some of those young players can have injecting some life into the squad.
