Although Houston Dynamo could only narrowly beat Real Salt Lake 2-1 in the 1st match of the first round of the playoffs, I feel that Houston is the better team, with more than 7% of possession and more shots on goal. In other words, I expect this to be an even match.
In that game, Houston-Dinamo's pair of wingers, Carla Skinner and Quinlanlis, were quite effective, and I think Amy Bass, who was behind striker Gholibayadi, was equally impressive as he scored the winning goal for his team.
Houston Dynamo will probably have less time to control the ball, so the strikers will need to take advantage of the opportunity to launch counterattacks, and the key lies in the team's play during the transition between offense and defense, so the midfielders Hedda Boots Lira and Jose Aidua will play an important role in this. They will need to regain possession of the ball and get it upfield as quickly as possible in the hope of creating a goal-scoring opportunity.
Real Salt Lake came back from their 1st loss, but I thought they played well and looked pretty threatening on offense.
Young striker Diego Loner was the biggest threat, scoring a fantastic goal and using the ball well in front of the net. Since Salt Lake will probably be more attacking in this match, I think that Diego Loner will be more involved.
Real Salt Lake will be at home, and former EWT and New Orleans lefty Ryan Oviedo should be a bigger threat on offense. Another good news for the team is that Jetco Arango, the team's leading scorer, is finally back from injury, and this son could be the key to victory.
