(Photo Credit: FC Dallas)
HOUSTON, TEXAS — A first half goal got Houston Dynamo FC on the board first, but FC Dallas forward Petar Musa’s goal in the 69th minute got Dallas back into it: 1-1 was the final score on the road at Houston’s Shell Energy Stadium.
Make that a six-game undefeated streak against Houston for Dallas, and El Capitán, the replica of a 19th century cannon, getting to stay home in Frisco for a third-consecutive season and sixth time in seven years—the most dominant stretch in the Derby’s history.
Houston scored the night’s first just seconds before the whistle for halftime blew. Midfielder Héctor Herrera’s corner skidded on top of defender Daniel Steres’ head, and midfielder Amine Bassi, with his left, put it in the bottom right corner past an outstretched FC Dallas’ goalkeeper Maarten Paes.
Head coach Nico Estévez said the “first 10 minutes were best we played away,” but the rest of the half’s stats did not reflect as much. Houston had 12 shots in the first half, six of them on goal, to Dallas’ only one of its two shots being on frame.
When speaking to the team at the half, Estévez said it was a pity the team dropped their level of play after the water break, and that drop in level is what allowed Houston to create a couple of dangerous plays, one of them being the goal.
In the second half, Musa leveled it with his fifth goal of the season. Build up from both Bernard Kamungo and Jesús Ferreira led to Musa burying with a left footed shot from the center of the box.
While it’s not a win, it isn’t a loss—FC Dallas now on a three-game undefeated streak.
FC Dallas will be back on the road at St. Petersburg, Florida, next Wednesday, for a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 matchup with the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
