North Texas SC Prepares for Dynamo 2
While FC Dallas travels to Seattle, North Texas heads down to south Texas to take on Houston Dynamo 2 with a focus on turning the page from last weekend's disappointing performance.
After last weekend’s humbling performance against the Tacoma Defiance, Javier Cano did not hold back in the post-game press conference.
The performance was disappointing for the first year North Texas SC head coach.
As the squad preps for a vital rivalry match against the Dynamo 2, Cano spoke to media today about the week of practice and the focus on getting a result.
“The players knew (my disappointment). We were talking about this after the game and the first day after coming back from training,” Cano said. “They need to show up, be professional. That was 100% how this week went.”
North Texas SC is a very young team, and they have been hit by some injuries and missed a few senior guys who would likely have helped them a bit during their slump. But Cano never lets youth be an excuse for a poor performance. He wants his players to understand that to succeed at any professional level, you must be willing to work.
One sign that the team is prepared to bounce back is the leadership of Carl Sainte, Antonio Carrera, and others who have a bit more experience and aren’t willing to sit by while the team struggles.
Listen to Cano speak about their leadership here:
Dynamo are not going to lay down and let North Texas walk over them. Coming off of a tough loss against Austin FC, Houston will also be looking to turn around their performance.
“We know Houston is a kind of team that at home loves to do high pressure. They put two forwards on top, a 4-4-2 diamond. They try to be aggressive. One of the center backs follows the forward,” Javier said. “When a team is coming to Houston, they have to deal with the team, the weather, and the atmosphere on the field. We are Texans. We control the weather. Now we need to control how we can be successful. We are working on this. We have different ways to build out and break this pressure. We will see if those plans work on the field.”
Hope Aveyevu is still working through his injury, though improving, and it may be a game time decision whether or not he can go the full 90.
New signing Dylan Lacey, unfortunately, will not feature just yet as he recovers from a twisted ankle, and even when he is ready, Cano will work slowly to get him into rhythm.
Cano believes in his roster and their capability to win.
“If the group shows maturity and is ready to arrive to the game and prepare themselves, I don’t have any concerns. We demonstrate we can face them. We can win on the road,” the head coach said.
North Texas plays Dynamo 2 on Sunday, July 16 at 6 PM CST.