HOUSTON — FC Dallas ended its season Texas Derby series with Houston Dynamo completely tied after drawing for the second time this season.
FC Dallas and Houston tied 1-1 back in May and neither team found the net on Saturday at Shell Energy Stadium. The 0-0 draw was the fourth such outcome in the history of their club matchups in MLS action, according to the club. They previously played to scoreless draws on August 22, 2020, May 29, 2017, and June 30, 2007.
The clean sheet marked Maarten Paes' seventh shutout of the season. Paes made five saves against Houston on Saturday.
FC Dallas went undefeated in the month of September, grabbing five draws and one win. The eight points secured in September leaves FC Dallas in the Western Conference's ninth and final playoff spot.
With the tie, Austin FC claims the Copa Tejas (the fan-inspired head-to-head-competition between FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo and Austin FC) for the second year in a row. Austin FC finished the Copa Tejas standings with six points, while FC Dallas and Houston each finished with five points.
WHAT THEY SAID
Head Coach Nico Estévez
On the team’s performance…
“We had some difficulties building pressure from the beginning. We adjusted well at half time, we put Alan (Velasco) and Jesús (Ferreira) closer to each other and dropped Paul (Arriola) so we could keep releasing Sam Junqua in the weak side pocket. With those adjustments, I felt like we were able to press better. In the first half we had long sequences of possession, from switching the field and creating good tempo. We were able to create chances on them with crosses and chances like the couple times Ema got in the box and the Marco chance as well. Some of those transitions, we rushed the last pass. In the second half we were stable defensively. We had good moments in transition that would have led to more, but we could not get the final pass on points like I mentioned earlier. We rushed, the passing was not good, and I don’t think we were clean overall. Near the end of the game, Paxton (Pomykal) had a chance to put the game away. Overall I feel like it’s a fair tie.”
On going unbeaten throughout September…
“In those draws, there were a lot of games where we deserved to win. If you look at our last road match in Philadelphia, we had a goal that was disallowed, and we had a lot of chances. In the home game against Atlanta, we had multiple chances which we could have capitalized in. Overall, we deserve a better outcome in some of these games. In other, we play very good teams away from home, but the team competes, and we were great on the defensive side. We just need to score and capitalize those chances that we are creating.”
On facing Colorado at home midweek…
“The goal for this team is to play in the playoffs. It’s our goal that we set from the beginning of the season. Having strong mentalities like how we showed in the last two road games can help us heading into the final stretch. It also increases the distance from team’s who drop points in their games. We have two final home games with our fans, we need to speed it up and get six points from the two remaining matches. We want to get ourselves in the clinched positions for the playoffs.”
Defender Sam Junqua
On the team’s game plan…
“There were a few things we had to adjust along the way but in general it was to keep things narrow and not let them combine through the middle, which they do well. I think we were good with that. We would’ve liked to have attacked a little ,ore aggressively and we made some changes to do that. Overall, it’s a good result and we had chances to score as well.”
On the importance of the upcoming home matches…
“The idea was the better we do against Philly and Houston in away games, it takes the pressure off the last three games. Getting a point in each of those weren’t bad results and they took a little pressure off the last few games. But in the end, the home games are going to be key for us.”
Midfielder Paul Arriola
On the formation…
“We thought we played really well in Philadelphia using a back five formation. We kind of expected them to come out in a back five formation which is the way they build in the attack for them is with three in the back. This is the FC Dallas that we know right? Transition and hold them when we need to, press them when we need to. You know we had a few chances that I think were pretty clear for us. You know obviously we'd love to have the ball a little bit more, but in the end it was always going to be this type of game.”
On obtaining a point in Houston…
“Houston has a lot of quality players. We definitely respect that. We will do our best to continue to build on tonight. It's a point and it's vital. There are a few games left, so we'll take the point and get ready for Wednesday.”
On the final two home matches of the regular season…
“We have to win at home on Wednesday and Saturday. For us, they're going to be must win games. It's very clear for us that if we want to be in the playoffs, we're going to have to beat Colorado and San Jose.”
UP NEXT
FC Dallas will play its penultimate home game of the regular season when it welcomes the Colorado Rapids to Toyota Stadium on Wednesday, Oct. 4. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. CT on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, the FC Dallas app, Talk Radio 1190 AM and TUDN 1270 AM.
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