The Houston Dynamo are back in action on Sunday as they travel upstate to face archrival FC Dallas in the first Texas Derby encounter of the season (7 p.m. CT | FS1). It is the sixth road game this season for the Dynamo, who are still looking for their first road point.
“We have to improve in all aspects,” said Dynamo head coach Wilmer Cabrera. “I’ve been talking to the guys in all aspects that when we play away, we have to produce more and we have to be more clinical with our finishing. When you play away, normally the other team is more on top of you and you don’t produce that amount of possibilities. Yet, if you produce two, three or four, you have to put at least one on goal if you want to be successful.”
FC Dallas is coming off a 2-1 loss at Chicago Fire on Thursday, while the Dynamo have had a full week to prepare since their last match. Houston is coming off back-to-back losses on the road and the game at Dallas will conclude a three-game swing away from BBVA Compass Stadium.
At home, the Dynamo have generated a league-best 19 goals, but translating that on the road has been the tricky part. The Dynamo attack has only mustered three goals when playing away, and only one has come from the run of play.
“We have had our chances,” said forward Erick Torres, who is second in the Golden Boot race with nine goals. “If we analyze each game we can see that the team has had its chances, we create options, we worry the opponent’s defense, we just haven’t been able to finish them. We have to keep improving on that, we have to have a better killer instinct.”
This derby match sees both Texas clubs near the top of the table for the first time in a while, as they are currently tied for second in the Western Conference standings with 19 points each. Dallas is also riding a two-game losing streak, after Thursday's result and their first loss in Frisco last weekend.
Off the field, the spotlight will be on former national teammates for Colombia, Wilmer Cabrera and Oscar Pareja, as the two tacticians will face off for the first time in the Texas Derby and fourth time in Major League Soccer. Cabrera is looking for his first win against his compatriot but reiterated that this encounter is about the players on the field.
“We were friends since we were players, roommates, but now we are working in this environment,” said Cabrera. “We’ve been in this environment our whole lives. No secret, but at the same time he wants to win and I want for our players to win. It’s just a competition, it’s another game, no more than that.”
