Ahead of our first matchup of the season with Rio Grande Valley, We sat down with Down in the Valley Podcast to learn more about the Toros and what we can expect Saturday night. You can read our responses here.  

FS:  From a quick look at the standings it doesn’t seems like the season has gone well so far. What have been the major issues for the club this season?

DVP: One of the biggest issues the club has had this season has got to be their mental mistakes on defense. There were many games, especially in the beginning of the season, in which the team loosened their pressure in the last 10-15 minutes of the game and conceded a game tying goal. More recently, it has been the lack of production on the attackers which have hindrered our performance.

FS: How do you feel about the relationship the team has with Houston? Do you think it helps of hurts the club in anyway?

DVP: This has been a hot topic in the last couple of weeks. RGVFC fans feel like this partnership has only benefited the Dynamo and hurt RGVFC. For example, after our inaugural season, the Dynamo took most of our starters, including Kevin Garcia and George Malki. Then in the middle of the following season, we lost Charlie Ward to them as well. Fast forward to today, both Charlie and George Malki were released by the Dynamo and Charlie has just been signed by San Antonio FC along with other ex RGVFC players. On the other hand, the Dynamo were reluctant to send those ex RGV players to continue development even when they were not getting minutes in Houston, even when it has been obvious that our roster needed these talented players in order to get favorable results. However, Houston Dynamo fans mention that this is a long term relationship and soon we will see better players being signed by the Dynamo for RGV, since the first team will not have as big of a need to “poach” players due to a limited talent roster (like in 2017) or a shortened roster due to injuries like this season.

FS: What should Rising fans expect style-wise from the Toros?

DVP: Rising fans should expect a high pressure tactic from the team when defending as well as attacking through the wings. The biggest question, even for us, is if Aldo Quintanilla or Todd Wharton will start since they traveled to Houston for the Dynamo’s Open Cup match.

FS: What are your predictions, starting XI and result?

DVP: My starting XI prediction will definitely be Nico Corti, Manny Padilla, Omar Ontiveros, Robert Castellanos, Kyle Adams, Nicolas Perea, Todd Wharton, Chuy Enriquez, Zach Wright, Matias Zaldivar, and Aldo Quintanilla. I really see this game as a 1-1 tie. Unlike other teams, our heat is not really an advantage against Phoenix.