Look, I do not want to talk about another six-goal match in detail. It is pretty ridiculous to talk about another match where San Diego scores three goals in a match and it ends up in a draw. SDFC should be winning these kinds of matches, or any team should be winning matches with three goals scored. But this is where we are with San Diego FC. A 3-3 draw on Wednesday night in front of an 18,650 crowd, San Diego FC and their playoff hopes are sinking.
It started off well. San Diego and their attacking style looked good for 20 minutes. Bakambu had a shot on target early in the 10th minute. Then it was Alejandro Alvarado hitting the woodwork in the 16th minute. About a minute later, it was going to be Bakambu’s turn again to have a turn inside the penalty area, except that goalkeeper Johnthan Bond prevented that from happening with a tackle on Bakambu. The replay showed that Bond did not go for the ball but went for the player, and after VAR, the referee awarded San Diego a penalty. The penalty was taken by Anders Dreyer, and this time, instead of going low and to his right, he kicked the ball low and to his left and nailed the shot for a goal. This is Dreyer’s 12th goal of the season, and he has 24 goal contributions for the year.
San Diego wanted to keep going on the attack, and a couple of minutes later, after a free kick was awarded in the 21st minute in San Diego’s half, Anders Dreyer’s press worked as a pass went back to Lucas Halter, who had to make a quick decision to get rid of the ball and into an area filled with white SDFC shirts. The ball was touched by Alvarado, and a pass forward was sent by Jeppe Tverskov to Bakambu. Bakambu also sent a pass out wide to the far side to Valakari in the midfield. Valakari was able to carry the ball into the penalty area and sent a pass backward to Bakambu. Bakambu delivered a shot at the top of the penalty area, and the ball just went in, inside the crossbar for the goal. This was Bakambu’s third goal of the season, as he has only played in six matches with SDFC. For Valakari, this was his 5th assist of the season.
Now up by two early in the match, San Diego thought they were in control. But just like the recent Austin FC match, no lead is safe with this group. Houston would answer quickly and all in the first half. As soon as the second goal went in for San Diego FC, the Dynamo started on their attack. Guilherme would score just inside the penalty area with a couple of defenders in front of him as the ball split the defenders and went in for the goal. The entire run by Houston started on the far side, and maybe it was just an overcommitment to the press by San Diego FC. But pass after pass, Dynamo just went through all SDFC players on the far side with no one coming close to stopping the Dynamo. Being outrun and outpassed in the series left some wide-open space for Guilherme, and no one was able to close down to block the shot. From when goalkeeper Bond received the ball, it was 8 consecutive passes for the Dynamo to get through SDFC.
With this club right now, when it rains it pours, and the second goal was just the most ridiculous. Mateusz Bogusz, right at the center of the penalty box, was in full control of the ball. Bogusz chests the ball and bicycle kicks it right over the defenders and right into the back of the net for the goal. That was Bogusz’s 7th goal of the season, and it was a great athletic goal. Not much you can do there. Could it have been prevented? Probably, if Chris McVey doesn’t give away the ball so easily in their own third and sends a pass to the Dynamo at midfield, after which the Dynamo easily recovered the ball and passed it off to Guilherme, who then sent the central pass into the penalty area for Bogusz. For San Diego, a team that is known for ball control in their style of play should have done what they usually do and send the pass back to CJ Dos Santos on that one. It seems like players are going against the grain.
Just for good measure, Houston tacks on another goal just a few minutes later. After a free kick on Dynamo’s side of the pitch, Dynamo went vertical on the far side. It was a very good long pass recovered by Lawrence Ennali playing against Kieran Sargeant. Ennali sent a cross into the penalty area that was cleared by McVey but then recovered by Guilherme. Guilherme would shoot from outside the box and score Dynamo’s third goal. Guilherme was involved in all three goals and now has 16 goals and seven assists on the season. For San Diego, this was the third consecutive match that they conceded three goals within a 13-minute span. San Diego has allowed 3 or more goals in 5 of their last 6 matches. In that timeframe of the last 6 matches, San Diego has allowed the most goals in the league with 20 and has the worst goal differential at -9. Surprisingly enough, the three points in that span is only third worst in the league, as two teams have earned two points in that timeframe. San Diego has only won a single match since the transfer of left back Luca Bombino back in late August. There is no coincidence that the backline has felt his absence, as he provided cover for a lot of the team’s defensive flaws.
Just to make this write-up a little quicker and not give everyone a bunch of fluff, San Diego would score an equalizer in the 86th minute from a corner kick by Anders Dreyer that went toward the far post, where the ball met Manu Duah’s head. The ball was still not inside the net and bounced around, and that was when Gabriel Pirani shot the ball in for the goal. This was Pirani’s third goal of the season with SDFC. That would be the final score for San Diego, a 3-3 final. For San Diego, this was the third time this season that they were able to recover points late in the match. The first came late against LAFC, then the equalizer against Inter Miami, and now on Wednesday night, for a total of 4 points recovered late. Oddly enough, San Diego does not have the most points lost late in matches. That goes to Inter Miami with 14 points lost, and San Diego has 12 points lost after the 75th minute.
Overall in this match, San Diego had 62% possession with a 2.85 xG, 17 total shots, 6 shots on target, and 30 touches in the opposition box. Houston had an xG of 0.78, 10 total shots, 3 shots on target, and 16 touches in the opposition’s box. Dynamo converted their shots on target 3/3 times. If anyone is looking for some positives, it is that San Diego scored three goals and Cedric Bakambu is a force in the penalty area. Gabriel Pirani came off the bench and scored the equalizer, which was San Diego’s 6th goal from a substitute. But the negatives come from what I’ve talked about before, which is that this backline is atrocious and will need a facelift in the offseason. Do not think you will find solutions right now on how to fix this backline. You just need better players in these spots, and that can only happen in the offseason.
Matchday Preview: LA Galaxy
The last time San Diego won a match was against the LA Galaxy in a 3-1 victory. San Diego goal scorers included Elias Achouri, Kieran Sargeant, and Amahl Pellegrino, with Dreyer being the link of all three goals with an assist. San Diego even played a man down as Jeppe Tverskov received two yellows, with the second one being in the second half. The Galaxy’s lone goal scorer came from Hirving Lozano in the 55th minute. Lozano picked up a hamstring injury while with the Mexican National Team during the recent international break. Last week, head coach Greg Vanney, when talking about the injury, said that Lozano would be out for a couple of weeks. Since that announcement was made, the Galaxy were crushed by St. Louis City 6-2 and won their matchup on Wednesday night against the Portland Timbers. Since playing the Galaxy, Carson has gone 4-1-2 in their last seven matches and has scored multiple goals in all but two of those matches. At home, the Galaxy have scored on average 1.3 goals and conceded 1.2 goals. While on the road this season, SDFC has scored 1.14 goals and has conceded 1.9. San Diego has scored multiple goals on the road this season only 4 times, and it seems like they need a great attack to defeat the Galaxy at home.
Key Players
Klauss: Joao Klauss looks back and healthy for the Galaxy. San Diego missed Klauss, who underwent ligament repair surgery on his left foot earlier this season and came back to action on September 12th against the Seattle Sounders. Since coming back, Klauss has scored in three straight matches against Minnesota United, Colorado Rapids, and St. Louis City, his former club. Klauss has 8 goals this season, and in three seasons with St. Louis, had 27 goals and 7 assists. The 6-foot-3-inch striker is a huge presence in and around the penalty area.
Marco Reus: Reus is the threat in the middle for the Galaxy, and he has been the guy that gets everything going for them. In the last seven matches, the Galaxy has scored 13 times, with Reus being involved in 7 of those goals. This is Reus’s third season with the Galaxy since coming over from Dortmund, and it appears to be his best yet. Across all competitions, Reus has 9 goals and 10 assists. Among all attacking midfielders, Reus is third in xA with 8.21, fourth in key passes with 63, and second in danger zone receptions with 67. Reus has 43 shots this season and is a threat to shoot from anywhere, whether that is inside or outside the penalty area.
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