Texas derby in ends in draw for Dallas, Houston

Houston Dynamo 1-FC Dallas 1

The Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas tied 1-1 in the latest edition of the Texas derby on Thursday. Michael Barrios scored for the North Texas team as Ronaldo Peña scored his first MLS to tie the score for the home team.

The match was a strategic fight. FC Dallas did not want to risk much in the match as they feel comfortable with a point, which keeps them in first place in the Western Conference. On the other hand, Houston is in an 8-match non-winning streak which reduces its chances to qualify to the post season with nine more matches to go.

The first half was all for Houston, which controlled the possession of the ball and created more chances to score. The second half, FC Dallas was the best team.

Dynamo’s coach Wilmer Cabrera was very cautious in their defense scheme. Having Darwin Ceren and Boniek Garcia as defender midfielders looked a bit too extreme for a Houston team that needed the win. In addition, Albert Elis, who came back to action, was not as efficient in the offensive side as he normally is.

Also, it is clear that the Dynamo have had some problems in defense this year as many players have been out of action due to injuries. But having players improvising in different positions is something that is not working for Cabrera. A prime example of this is having Andrew Wenger as right back. He is a good player with speed and a fighting spirit, but when he faces talented players such as Michael Barrios from Dallas he struggles as a defender. As a matter of fact, Barrios opened the score for the away team after a Wenger mistake outside the box in the 83rd minute.

In addition, something that has not been working for the Dynamo and Cabrera lately are the late substitutions. However, getting Ronaldo Peña in the match for Albert Elis late paid off for the Colombian coach. Peña, who was just acquired by Houston a few weeks ago, scored his first MLS career goal at the 88th minute to give the Orange a well-deserved point.

Dallas played a smart match, where they wanted to take advantage of the few opportunities they knew they will have as being solid in defense. Everything worked out just fine for Oscar Pareja and his team. They came to Houston to get points, and they left with one to reach 46 points and remain as one of the best teams in the competition.   

Next for Houston is a trip to the Big Apple to face the New York Red Bulls (08/29), whereas FC Dallas will travel to California to face the San Jose Earthquakes (08/29).