Frisco, TX (Sports Network) - A pair of rivals clash deep in the heart of
Texas on Sunday as FC Dallas and the Houston Dynamo meet at FC Dallas Stadium
in the season's only installment of the Texas derby.
FC Dallas got off to a good start in Week 1 after the club captured three
points at home against the Colorado Rapids, but had a bit of a letdown last
week after dropping a 3-1 decision to Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center.
Captain David Ferreria gave Dallas the 1-0 lead in the 57th minute when he
brought a ball down the left flank, cut to the inside and ripped a right-
footed shot home from a difficult angle.
But the Dallas backline couldn't hold the lead as three consecutive tallies
from Juan Agudelo, Oswaldo Minda and Giovani Casillas handed the Goats a 3-1
victory at the Home Depot Center.
FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman pointed to missed chances as a reason
why his team couldn't hold off the Goats, becoming the first team to lose to
Chivas since July 28, 2012 in the process.
"It wasn't clicking," said Hyndman. "There were a lot of opportunities that we
could've laid balls off to a free player and it just seems like we may have
held the ball a little bit too long."
Houston, meanwhile, secured a comfortable 2-0 win over D.C. United at BBVA
Compass Stadium in Week 1, and had last week off from MLS competition while
they battled Mexico's Santos Laguna in the CONCACAF Champions League.
The Dynamo took a 1-0 aggregate lead down to Mexico for the second leg of the
clubs' quarterfinal tie courtesy of an 88th-minute goal from Brad Davis, but
lost by a 3-0 count on Wednesday and 3-1 on aggregate to put an end to their
tournament run.
Houston wasn't sharp against Santos, as several mental errors proved to be the
difference in the match.
"Anytime you make mistakes at the back you're spelling trouble for yourself,"
head coach Dominic Kinnear said. "They're a good team. You really need to not
make mistakes at that end of the field and when you do theres opportunities
for that to hurt you. And thats definitely what happened tonight."
Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall echoed his coach's sentiments:
"We gifted them a couple of goals as a defense," Hall said. "Thats a good
team that put us under pressure and we rewarded that pressure with goals that
are uncharacteristic of us defensively. I feel like we're a better team than
what we showed tonight."
The MLS Cup runners-up will have a chance to prove Hall right on Sunday
against one of their biggest rivals with the El Capitan trophy on the line.
Houston has claimed the El Capitan title each of the last two seasons, with
Adam Moffat bagging the wining goal in the 76th minute of last season's
affair.
The Sports Network