BOYDS, Md. – Three matches into his second MLS season, Houston Dynamo attacker Alberth Elis has established himself as an attacking catalyst, with two goals and three assists.
Dynamo coach Wilmer Cabrera wants Elis to know he can do even more.
Elis hit his second goal of the season on a classy finish and set up Mauro Manotas for another in Houston’s 2-2 draw Saturday against D.C. United.
But after watching his team concede twice after storming to a two-goal lead, Cabrera couldn’t help but look back to the 68th minute, when Elis sent his easiest chance of the game well over the bar.
“He needs to be stronger with his finishing,” Cabrera said. “Today, he [should have] had the third goal. … If he grows with that he’s going to be extremely, extremely good.”
Asked after the game whether there was a moment he regretted, Elis immediately knew the answer.
“Of course,” Elis said through a translator. “I had one on the second half that I kicked over the bar. We need to keep working so we can score the upcoming opportunities.”
Had Elis converted again, the Dynamo would have most likely completed their first away win in as many tries, after they had just one during the entire 2017 campaign.
Instead, they return home with only a point following Luciano Acosta’s very late equalizer at the Maryland SoccerPlex in the suburbs north of D.C., one of two home matches for United before they open Audi Field in July.
“The way the game developed, we have to take the three points,” Cabrera said. “We gave life to a team that was struggling.”
Said Elis: “It’s a draw that feels like a loss. We knew it was going to be tough. We knew the weather was going to be a challenge and we were at a field that neither they or us were fully comfortable. We need to keep moving forward.”
Cabrera assigned blame across the team for the disappointing result. But he also doesn’t mind if Elis feels pressure to produce at even higher rates than the 22-year-old has so far during his Dynamo career.
“I hope he feels that, because that’s going to help him to improve,” Cabrera said of Elis, who had 10 goals and four assists a season ago. “If you don’t feel that you need to work on that, you’re going to be comfortable. I hope he feels that he needs to improve on his finishing, because he can do better. And if he does better, it’s going to be beneficial for all of us.”
