Battle for El Capitan pushed to potential MLS Cup Playoff match
- Michael Barrios assists twice to move into a tie for first place in the league with 12 on the season.
- Maxi Urruti scores his 12th goal of the season
FRISCO – FC Dallas scored three unanswered goals to take a 3-1 lead, but allowed two second-half strikes by Erick Torres and was forced to settle for a 3-3 draw. Tesho Akindele, Maynor Figueroa and Maxi Urruti scored for Dallas in the draw.
First Half Notes:
1’ Houston took a 1-0 lead in the first minute of the match after the Dynamo’s Vicente Sanchez stole the ball off FC Dallas defender Matt Hedges. Sanchez got the ball to Erick Torres, who knocked it right back to the No. 10. The Uruguayan hit a first-touch shot around FC Dallas Jesse Gonzalez and into the side netting to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage, 58 seconds into the match – the third-fastest goal scored on FCD in club history.
4’ Dallas fired right back as Kellyn Acosta and Atiba Harris combined at the top left corner of the area. Harris collected the return pass and tried to beat Houston goalkeeper Tyler Deric to the near post, but the left back’s attempt skipped just wide of the post.
37’ Gonzalez made a point-blank save on Jalil Anibaba, sparking a counter attack led by Roland Lamah. Tesho Akindele made a sharp run up the right side and Lamah found him with a pass, but the Canadian international pushed his attempt wide of the post to Deric’s right side.
45’ Tesho Akindele received a long cross from Michael Barrios on the left flank, cut across the field to the top of the area, and fired a knuckling blast that tucked just under the crossbar to tie the game, 1-1. It was the 2014 MLS Rookie of the Year’s first goal since April 19. The assist was Barrios’ 11th of the season, tying Victor Vazquez of Toronto FC for second-most in MLS this season behind Red Bull New York’s Sacha Kljestan (12).
45+2’ In stoppage-time of the first half, a cross into the area was won by Atiba Harris. The St. Kitts and Nevis man poked the ball free to Maynor Figueroa, who cracked a hard shot over the head of Deric from close range to give FC Dallas a 2-1 lead going into the break. Since Oscar Pareja took over as head coach at the start of the 2014 season, FCD is 54-2-6 when scoring at least two goals.
Second Half Notes:
52’ Maxi Urruti netted his 12th goal of the season, giving FC Dallas a 3-1 advantage, seven minutes into the second half. The play was setup again by Barrios. The Colombian played a ball over the top of Houston’s back line and Urruti fought to win position against Dynamo defender Jalil Anibaba. After getting the inside position, Urruti hit a no-look shot towards the back post. The shot caught Deric off guard and skipped into the far side netting to give Dallas a two-goal advantage. The assist lifted Barrios into a tie with Kljestan (NYRB) for the most assists in MLS this season.
71’ Lamah found Akindele with a through ball and the forward nearly had his second of the night, but Deric made a sliding save to keep the deficit at two. Seconds later, Houston substitute Romell Quioto turned his defender on the left flank and sped towards goal. Nearing the top of the area, Quioto slid a pass to Torres, who beat Gonzalez low to his right side to make it 3-2.
81’ Barrios nearly added a goal to his two assist day after receiving a pass along the left side of the area. The crafty winger feinted left and went right, towards the middle of the field before firing a shot between two Houston defenders. Deric made his fourth save of the night on a hard shot at the near post.
85’ Torres scored his second of the game to tie the game 3-3, after Mauro Manotas fired a shot that struck a defender and caromed off the crossbar behind Gonzalez. Torres was the first to react and volleyed home a shot from close range for his 13th goal of the season.
Scoring Summary:
HOU – Vicente Sanchez (Erick Torres) 1
DAL – Tesho Akindele (Michael Barrios) 45
DAL – Maynor Figueroa (Atiba Harris) 45+2
DAL – Maxi Urruti (Michael Barrios) 52
HOU – Erick Torres (Romell Quioto) 71
HOU – Erick Torres 85
Lineups:
FC Dallas – Jesse Gonzalez, Atiba Harris, Maynor Figueroa, Matt Hedges, Hernan Grana, Carlos Gruezo, Kellyn Acosta, Michael Barrios, Roland Lamah (Victor Ulloa 77), Maxi Urruti (Cristian Colman 89), Tesho Akindele (Ryan Hollingshead 73).
Substitutes Not Used: Chris Seitz, Javier Morales, Cariaco Gonzalez, Walker Zimmerman.
Houston Dynamo – Tyler Deric, Dylan Remick, Jalil Anibaba, Adolfo Machado, Kevin Garcia, Boniek Garcia, Ricardo Clark, Alex (Tomas Martinez 69), Alberth Elis (Memo Rodriguez 73), Vicente Sanchez (Rommell Quioto 55), Erick Torres.
Substitutes Not Used: Joe Willis, Mauro Manotas, Leonardo, Eric Alexander.
Misconduct Summary:
HOU – Boniek Garcia (caution) 25
HOU – Erick Torres (caution) 26
DAL – Hernan Grana (caution) 45+1
DAL – Tesho Akindele (caution) 53
DAL – Michael Barrios (caution) 63
HOU – Kevin Garcia (caution) 80
HOU – Mauro Monotas (caution) 90
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Assistant Referees: Frank Anderson, Adam Garner
Fourth Official: Younes Marrakchi
VAR: Chris Penso
Attendance: 13,339
Weather: Partly Sunny, 87
