Houston is a home team like few others in Major League Soccer. Last season they made the playoffs in the Western Conference almost exclusively on the strength of their record at BBVA Stadium (12-1-4), which garnered them the second most home points in the league (40, behind Toronto FC’s 42).
This year has been largely the same, with the Dynamo’s only two losses at BBVA coming in their first three home matches. But after a streak of four straight home wins, Wilmer Cabrera’s men are 1-0-2 in their last three home matchups, including a 2-2 draw with skyrocketing LAFC and a wild 1-1 rivalry game against FC Dallas on Saturday night.
Last game
When Houston and Dallas face off, the reward is a big ol’ Civil War-era cannon, and now that Houston has its own soccer-specific stadium, both clubs can fire that bad boy off whenever they gain possession of it.
It looked like the cannon was Dallas bound early on Saturday when Matt Hedges nodded in a first minute header to give the visitors the lead. But Romell Quioto quickly did what he has done all season and created a goal for a teammate.
In this case it was Mauro Manotas in the eighth minute, cutting in front of Reto Ziegler and redirecting his Honduran teammate’s spectacular cross. The goal was Manotas’ tenth of the season and fifth in his past five starts.
Although nobody else scored in the match, it was not for a lack of chances. Joe Willis stoned Roland Lamah’s 62nd minute penalty and a follow-up directly afterwards, then Houston came straight down the pitch and Manotas rippled the net again, sliding in to finish off Damarcus Beasley’s cross.
However, the Video Assistant Referee intervened, and the replay clearly showed Manotas to be a step offside.
The match ended in a draw, but Dallas’ approach was instructive for the Union. By focusing on preventing Houston from getting the ball into the corners, the visitors forced the Dynamo to settle for a lot of early crosses with only one man in the box. If the Union can do the same, they can steal a point or more on the road Wednesday night.
