The Houston Dynamo look to get back on track when they visit D.C. United on Saturday.
The Dynamo (3-3-3, 12 points) have dropped each of their past two games by a 2-1 final score, with the defeats coming after a 3-0-2 unbeaten run.
Despite the pair of setbacks, coach Paulo Nagamura is confident his club can get back to the play from the previous five-game stretch when they scored 10 goals while conceding six.
“In the last two games, we lost by one goal, but if you analyze all the games that we’ve had this year, you can say that we are in there,” Nagamura said. “We could have tied, or we could have won, it would not be an unfair result.
“I give credit to our players, they are fighting, they are being disciplined and most importantly they are playing better than they have in the past.”
Houston has enjoyed success against D.C. United, bringing a five-game unbeaten run (2-0-3) against them into Saturday’s matchup. The Dynamo haven’t lost to D.C. United since a 3-1 defeat at Houston on Oct. 12, 2014. Their last loss in the nation’s capital dates to May 21, 2014.
D.C. United (3-5-0, 9 points) are looking to find their way under interim coach Chad Ashton.
Spurred to a win against the New England Revolution in Ashton’s April 23 debut, D.C. United couldn’t maintain the success last week, falling 3-0 to the Columbus Crew.
At issue was the team’s struggles against set pieces, a problem that has been plaguing them throughout the early season.
“It’s definitely our kryptonite,” D.C. United defender Brendan Hines-Ike said, according to the Washington Post. “The effort is there that we put in in the week, but there seems to be a problem in games where we do turn off. It has to change. Now it’s eight games in, and it’s cost us a lot of points.”
D.C. United has been outscored 13-6 in its past six games, going 1-5-0 during that stretch. All of their goals during the stretch have come in the first half. D.C. has scored two second-half goals all season, the fewest in MLS.
–Field Level Media