The Texas Derby isn't usually short on drama, and Wednesday night's Heineken Rivalry Week kickoff match certainly delivered.
FC Dallas went down less than a minute from the opening whistle, built a two-goal lead early in the second half, before giving up an Erick Torres brace in a torrid second half, to draw 3-3 in a Texas tussle with the Houston Dynamo.
Vicente Sanchez opened the scoring for the Dynamo just 59 seconds into the match, stripping Matt Hedges of the ball and ending up on the end of an Erick Torres assist to slot the ball home. But FC Dallas struck twice in the waning moments of the first half. Tesho Akindele looped in a 20-yard shot in the 45th minute, and in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, Maynor Figueroa took a chance on a tight-angle shot and put the home team up at the break.
It looked like FC Dallas put the match out of reach with a 52nd-minute volleyed goal from Maximiliano Urruti off an incredible Michael Barrios pass, but Torres scored in the 71st and 86th minutes to bring Houston level and, ultimately, keep them third in the Western Conference standings.
Goals
- 1' – HOU – Vicente Sanchez Watch
- 45' – DAL – Tesho Akindele Watch
- 45 + 2' – DAL – Maynor Figueroa Watch
- 52' – DAL – Maximilliano Urruti Watch
- 71' – HOU – Erick Torres Watch
- 86' – HOU – Erick Torres Watch
Three Things
- FIRST START, FAST START: Sanchez, the veteran Uruguayan international, started two US Open Cup matches for the Dynamo earlier this season, but hadn't start a regular-season match before Wednesday. He wasted no time in rewarding head coach Wilmer Cabrera's confidence, scoring and putting in a solid shift before subbing out in the 55th minute for Romell Quioto — a sub that turned out to be instrumental in the Dynamo's comeback.
- TAKE TWO, TIMES TWO: Both Akindele's goal and Urruti's goal had an element of redemption to them. Akindele missed wide of the target in the 37th minute at the end of a 3-on-2 fast break started by Jesse Gonzalez's save of a point-blank Jalil Anibaba shot, but was able to get FC Dallas on the scoreboard eight minutes later. Urruti's chance to make amends for a miss came even sooner; less than a minute after failing to redirect a Hernan Grana cross that skimmed across the goalmouth, Urruti came through with a higher-degree-of-difficulty volley.
- ROAD RESULTS (IF NOT WINS): The Dynamo's perplexing 2017 road record took another narrative turn with the Texas Derby draw. While the Dynamo has still only won just one match outside of BBVA Compass Stadium in the 2017 season, they've now recorded results in half of their most recent 16 road matches extending to last season, and improved their season record to 10-8-8 overall.
They Said It
"We come up a bit disappointed because we had three points at home – points we needed. But we’ve got to keep moving, and it’s just work. Nothing else."
—FC Dallas coach Oscar Pareja
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