Entering the 2016 MLS season, Houston Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle said the team was going to be fun to watch. Saturday’s whopping 5-0 victory against in-state rival FC Dallas, which included a stunning four-goal start, only proved Coyle’s comments right.
“We knew it was going to be a very tough encounter and we were going to have to be at our best – and we were,” Coyle said. “We’re sure that we have quality and we’re sure that we can play at that level and cause the best teams trouble.”
The four first-half goals were the most Houston has scored in a half since doing it on back-to-back games in 2008. After losing the past five games in the Texas Derby series and being outscored 17-5, Houston’s barrage of goals on Saturday announced the Dynamo’s return to the Texas Derby as a serious competitor.
The past losses are not a concern for this current team.
“Leading up to this game, it wasn’t only a player’s mindset but a whole organization’s mindset that the past is the past,” said Dynamo defender David Horst who scored Houston’s first goal in the sixth minute. “This is a whole new team. New guys that are out there – we showed tonight that we’re fun to watch and we’re going be tough going forward.”
The men in orange looked like a different team from last season, when they finished eighth in the Western Conference and missed the playoffs – and it’s a point of emphasis that Coyle made after Saturday’s victory.
“Last year, when we pass to our wide players, they still had the fullback to beat,” Coyle said. “We can now pass beyond the fullback because we have explosive pace, something that FC Dallas have and are good at.”
Despite the lopsided victory, Coyle doesn’t want his players to get too high on the result, adding that the team isn’t a finished product and has a long way to go but has put the building blocks in place.
“We can stand toe-to-toe with the best, but what we need is do it on a consistent basis and if we do it, then that will take us where we need to be,” Coyle said.
