The Houston Dynamo extended their home unbeaten streak to 10 consecutive games across all competitions, and seven straight in MLS play, with a 1-1 draw against in-state rivals FC Dallas Saturday night at BBVA Compass Stadium.
Forward Mauro Manotas matched a career high with his 10th goal of the season and goalkeeper Joe Willis came up with a massive double save off a penalty kick in the 61st minute to preserve the result for the Dynamo.
FC Dallas jumped out on top just seconds in, as defender Matt Hedges headed in a cross from midfielder Santiago Mosquera 53 seconds after the opening whistle. Following a corner, Mosquera sent a cross from the right side to Hedges, who got free at the far post. The defender rose above the Dynamo defense and headed the ball into the top left corner of the net.
It didn’t take long for the Dynamo to even things up, however. In the eighth minute, defender Jared Watts played a ball to forward Romell Quioto down the left flank, and the Honduran international didn’t hesitate as he sent a cross to the middle of the box. Manotas was first to the ball and headed it past Dallas ‘keeper Jesse Gonzalez and into the net. Manotas’ goal was his 10th of the year, matching a career high, and it tied him for fourth on the club’s career scoring list across all competitions with 34.
FC Dallas had an opportunity to take the lead as the first half was coming to an end but were unable to do so due to the hustle of defender DaMarcus Beasley. In the 36th minute, Dallas defender Maynor Figueroa sent a low cross midfielder Tesho Akindele. As the Canadian international prepared to fire, Beasley came in with a sliding stop to clear the ball from any danger, then quickly recovered to deny a second attempt as well.
In the 60th minute, Dallas midfielder Michael Barrios tried to get past the Dynamo defense but won a penalty kick when referee Hilario Grajeda judged that Houston defender Adolfo Machado fouled him inside the penalty area. Forward Roland Lamah stepped to the spot to take the penalty, but his left-footed effort was stopped by Willis to keep the score even. The rebound came back to Lamah, but Willis quickly recovered to his feet to smother the second attempt as well. It was Willis’ second penalty save of the season.
A minute later, the drama shifted to the other end of the field as the Dynamo appeared to take the lead thanks to some quick reactions. In the 62nd minute, Manotas played a ball back to midfielder Darwin Cerén, who found Beasley on the left side of the area. The United States legend whipped a low ball across the face of goal to Manotas, who slid to tap the ball into the net. However, the play went to video review and was ultimately disallowed after review showed Manotas to be in an offside position on the cross.
Dallas nearly broke the tie in the 72nd minute, as Figueroa sent a cross from the right side to the center of box. The cross was deflected by Houston’s defense and fell to the feet of Lamah. The Ivory Coast native fired a left-footed shot that hit the crossbar and ricocheted over for a goal kick.
Houston pushed for a late winner in front of the partisan home crowd of 19,295, and forward Alberth Elis had a pair of half chances over the last 10 minutes, but wasn’t able to put either on frame as the game ended deadlocked.
The Dynamo will be back home at BBVA Compass Stadium on Wednesday for their fourth home game in two weeks. The men in orange will face the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday, July 25 at 8 p.m. CDT. Individual tickets for this game are still available online at HoustonDynamo.com, by phone at 713-276-GOAL and at the BBVA Compass Stadium box office.
Houston Dynamo (7-6-6; 27 pts.) 1-1 FC Dallas (11-3-6; 39 pts.)
MLS Regular Season Week 21
Saturday, July 21, 2018 – BBVA Compass Stadium – Houston, Texas
Attendance: 19,295
SCORING SUMMARY:
DAL: Matt Hedges 1 (Santiago Mosquera 11) 1
HOU: Mauro Manotas 10 (Romell Quioto 11, Jared Watts 1) 8
LINEUPS:
Houston Dynamo: Joe Willis; Adolfo Machado, Jared Watts, Alejandro Fuenmayor, DaMarcus Beasley ©; Eric Alexander (Boniek GarcÃa 61), Tomás MartÃnez (Luis Gil 89), Darwin Cerén; Alberth Elis, Mauro Manotas, Romell Quioto (Memo Rodriguez 75)
Unused subs: Chris Seitz, Arturo Alvarez, Kevin Garcia, Adam Lundkvist
Total shots: 12 (Mauro Manotas, Tomás MartÃnez 3); Shots on goal: 2 (Mauro Manotas, Tomás MartÃnez 1); Fouls: 10 (Alberth Elis, Boniek GarcÃa, Adolfo Machado 2); Offside: 2 (Alberth Elis, Mauro Manotas 1); Corner kicks: 6 (Romell Quioto 4); Saves: 3 (Joe Willis 3)
FC Dallas: Jesse Gonzalez; Reggie Cannon, Matt Hedges ©, Reto Ziegler, Maynor Figueroa; Carlos Gruezo, Victor Ulloa; Michael Barrios (Kellyn Acosta 75), Ronald Lamah (Ryan Hollingshead 84), Santiago Mosquera (Tesho Akindele 28); Maxi Urruti
Unused subs: Jimmy Maurer, Kristoffer Reaves, Jacori Hayes, Jesús Ferreira
Total shots: 15 (Roland Lamah, Maxi Urruti 3); Shots on goal: 3 (Matt Hedges 2); Fouls: 9 (Tesho Akindele, Carlos Gruezo, Victor Ulloa 2); Offside: 0; Corner kicks: 5 (Victor Ulloa 4); Saves: 1 (Jesse Gonzalez 1)
DISCIPLINE:
HOU: Adolfo Machado (caution; foul) 60
HOU: Memo Rodriguez (caution; foul) 89
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Hilario Grajeda
Assistant Referee 1: Ian Anderson
Assistant Referee 2: Eduardo Mariscal
Fourth Official: Timothy Ford
VAR: Alan Kelley
