Ben Olsen is confident that Dynamo will get a ticket to the next round
HOUSTON TEXAS, November 5, 2023.- The members of the Houston Dynamo traveled to Salt Lake City on Saturday, where they will face the second game of the first round of the MLS CUP playoffs.
The Dynamo seeks to end the tie and prevent it from extending to three games, after its 2-1 victory in the first game played in Houston. On Saturday, the players and coaches took the plane to play the match, and strategist Ben Olsen is confident of being able to define the key and advance to the second phase of the playoffs.
Regarding the challenge of finding adjustments in the game plan against a familiar opponent, Ben Olsen expressed: “I don’t think we can surprise them with crazy tactical schemes. What we do as a team when we do it well is quite effective and difficult to counter. We have to focus on being at our best and make sure that if they focus on nullifying one area, we have to hurt them with something else. Those are the adjustments we have to consider beforehand, but also during the game. That’s the fun part of these series of three games.”
On how to deal with the return of Real Salt Lake players like forward Cristian Arango, Olsen said: “If he returns to the starting lineup, which we hope he does, because he is a high-level goal scorer and a real challenge. We have to make sure we understand “Who he is and what he brings to the team. We expected him to play in the last game, so we did a lot of work on some of the players who didn’t play. There will be no surprises from either team.”
As for what he has learned from his team this season, the coach added: “I think they have taught me some things about myself and my leadership style. They have changed me in certain ways. They have allowed me to enjoy this job more. Part of that is that I am full of energy and enthusiasm to get back to training. This has been a new challenge for me, and the players have approached it with joy. When they can approach it with joy on the field and in the locker room, and also when “It’s time to perform on game day, it’s been fun to be around them”
