FRISCO, Texas — FC Dallas ended its seven-match winless streak, which dated back to the season opener against San Jose.
Houston suffered their second loss in a row to a Texas foe after falling at home the week prior to Austin FC.
For a club that has struggled offensively for numerous weeks, a fortuitous red card in the 5th minute helped give FC Dallas an odd man advantage for most of the match, which they took full advantage of.
FC Dallas barraged Houston with shots all night long, firing 24 total shots with six of those on frame. FC Dallas finished the match with 2.7 xG (expected goals), their highest mark of the entire season.
“Tomorrow is not a day off. We work, and we train. I’m really happy for all of the players and the staff that have been working really, really hard these last few weeks with no reward on the scoreboard" FC Dallas head coach Nico Estevez said. "And today, I think, is a reward for all of the hard work that everyone has put in. Now we just have to keep going and keep moving forward and use that to build confidence and to try and win against Toronto.”
Jesus Ferreira also returned in the second half as a sub. It was the first time he'd played in five matches. Ferreira made his 145th FC Dallas appearance, passing Victor Ulloa for the most by a Homegrown player in club history.
The red card was drawn by Marco Farfan, who made his first start of the season after returning from an injury. Liam Fraser played Farfan a cross field ball behind the Houston backline, and Farfan was dragged to the ground by Griffin Dorsey.
“I felt great to be back to be honest," Farfan said. "It was very mentally tough to be out for that long and being back in the group was great. I am happy that I came back and we got a win out of that."
FC Dallas and Houston went into halftime tied, 0-0, but Croatian striker Petar Musa broke the deadlock in the 54th minute. Center back Sebastien Ibeagha doubled the lead with a header in the 80th minute, his first goal of the 2024 season.
“They were down a man so we had been playing short, trying to draw them out. And Sam (Junqua) did what I always tell him to do, just take a touch and put it back in the box," Ibeagha said. "I hung out on the second post and saw the ball coming and I saw the Houston goalkeeper, Steve Clark, come out and I was like it's a jump ball and I think I can win it.”
With the win, FC Dallas improves to eight points on the season and move above Seattle to the 12th spot in the Western Conference.
“It was very important. Obviously, it makes it a little better that it was against Houston as well. We've been kind of down for a while and it was good to notch three points and hopefully kickstart a good run,” Ibeagha said.
FC Dallas hits the road next week on an international trip to Toronto, who are among the top clubs in the Eastern Conference this year.
Full-time: FC Dallas 2, Houston Dynamo 0
- xG (expected goals): FC Dallas 2.7, Houston 0.1
- Possession: FC Dallas 52.3%, Houston 47.7%
- Shots (on goal): FC Dallas 24(6), Houston 2(0)
- Saves: FC Dallas 0, Houston 4
- Yellow cards: FC Dallas 3, Houston 2
- Red cards: FC Dallas 0, Houston 1
2nd half: FC Dallas 2, Houston Dynamo 0
90 + 6': Final whistle. FC Dallas wins, 2-0.
90 + 1': Substitution, FC Dallas. Carl Sainté replaces Asier Illarramendi.
Substitution, FC Dallas. Logan Farrington replaces Petar Musa.
87': McKinze Gaines (Houston Dynamo FC) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
85': Attempt missed. Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Petar Musa.
84': Substitution, Houston Dynamo FC. McKinze Gaines replaces Sebastian Kowalczyk.
Substitution, Houston Dynamo FC. Erik Sviatchenko replaces Micael.
82': Substitution, FC Dallas. Tsiki Ntsabeleng replaces Paul Arriola.
80': FC Dallas goal. Sebastien Ibeagha (FC Dallas) header from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Sam Junqua with a cross following a corner.
79': Attempt blocked. Liam Fraser (FC Dallas) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
79': Attempt saved. Paul Arriola (FC Dallas) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Liam Fraser.
74': Attempt blocked. Petar Musa (FC Dallas) right footed shot from the center of the box is blocked.
73': Bernard Kamungo (FC Dallas) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
70': Attempt blocked. Petar Musa (FC Dallas) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Asier Illarramendi.
70': Attempt missed. Liam Fraser (FC Dallas) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Bernard Kamungo.
67': Substitution, FC Dallas. Jesús Ferreira replaces Patrickson Delgado.
66': Substitution, Houston Dynamo FC. Héctor Herrera replaces Franco Escobar.
65': Attempt blocked. Sam Junqua (FC Dallas) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
65': Attempt blocked. Sam Junqua (FC Dallas) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
65': Attempt saved. Patrickson Delgado (FC Dallas) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Paul Arriola.
64': Attempt missed. Asier Illarramendi (FC Dallas) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right following a corner.
63': Attempt blocked. Asier Illarramendi (FC Dallas) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
62': Micael (Houston Dynamo FC) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
54': FC Dallas goal. Petar Musa (FC Dallas) right footed shot from the center of the box.
49': Attempt missed. Bernard Kamungo (FC Dallas) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Asier Illarramendi.
47': Attempt saved. Sam Junqua (FC Dallas) right footed shot from the center of the box is saved.
45': Second half started.
Substitution, FC Dallas. Bernard Kamungo replaces Marco Farfan.
Substitution, Houston Dynamo FC. Brad Smith replaces Amine Bassi.
Halftime: FC Dallas 0, Houston Dynamo 0
- xG (expected goals): FC Dallas 0.7, Houston 0.1
- Possession: FC Dallas 56.5%, Houston 43.5%
- Shots (on goal): FC Dallas 10(1), Houston 2(0)
- Saves: FC Dallas 0, Houston 1
- Yellow cards: FC Dallas 2, Houston 0
- Red cards: FC Dallas 0, Houston 1
1st half: FC Dallas 0, Houston Dynamo 0
45 + 3': Attempt missed. Nkosi Tafari Burgess (FC Dallas) right footed shot from more than 35 yards is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Sebastien Ibeagha.
45 + 2': Attempt blocked. Paul Arriola (FC Dallas) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Patrickson Delgado.
45 + 1': Attempt missed. Asier Illarramendi (FC Dallas) right footed shot from more than 35 yards misses to the left. Assisted by Paul Arriola.
44': Attempt blocked. Paul Arriola (FC Dallas) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Asier Illarramendi with a cross.
43': Attempt saved. Petar Musa (FC Dallas) right footed shot from the center of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Nkosi Tafari Burgess.
42': Asier Illarramendi (FC Dallas) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
39': Attempt missed. Amine Bassi (Houston Dynamo FC) right footed shot from more than 35 yards misses to the right. Assisted by Adalberto Carrasquilla.
33': Attempt blocked. Ibrahim Aliyu (Houston Dynamo FC) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
23': Attempt missed. Petar Musa (FC Dallas) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Nkosi Tafari Burgess.
22': Attempt blocked. Petar Musa (FC Dallas) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
21': Attempt blocked. Paul Arriola (FC Dallas) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
20': Attempt missed. Liam Fraser (FC Dallas) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
19': Substitution, Houston Dynamo FC. Daniel Steres replaces Latif Blessing.
16': Petar Musa (FC Dallas) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
13': Liam Fraser (FC Dallas) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Patrickson Delgado following a corner.
5': Marco Farfan gets behind the defense and draws a red card against Griffin Dorsey. Houston Dynamo will play with 10 men. Asier Illarramendi struck the right post on the free kick from outside of the box.
1': Match starts.
FC Dallas vs. Seattle: Pregame
Starting XI:
Tale of the tape
- FC Dallas' record all-time against Houston is 17-14-20 (W-L-D)
- FC Dallas and Houston Dynamo have tied their last three matches: 0-0 (2023), 1-1 (2023) and 2-2 (2022).
- FC Dallas injury report:
- Out: Geovane Jesus (right knee), Sebastian Lletget (hamstring), Paxton Pomykal (knee), Alan Velasco (knee)
- Questionable: Jesús Ferreira (hamstring)
- Houston Dynamo injury report:
- Out: Nelson Quiñónes (knee)
- Questionable: Franco Escobar (lower body), Sebastian Ferreira (lower body), Héctor Herrera (knee), Erik Sviatchenko (hamstring)
FC Dallas kit bracket: Which one is your favorite?
Throughout the 2024 season, on FC Dallas match days, I will post a poll on WFAA's YouTube community page, asking which kit you think is better. The winner of the FC Dallas kit bracket will be chosen on Decision Day, Oct. 19.
All of the polls will be listed in this story.
New season, new food
FC Dallas unveiled its new concession items earlier this month for the 2024 season, which of course includes monstrous items for all the foodies out there! You can check out what's new on the menu here.
Learn the FC Dallas chants!
At the FC Dallas matches, you'll hear some songs chanted throughout the game. If you want to learn them and grow your #DTID (Dallas 'Til I Die) fandom, click here for a breakdown of each song and the corresponding lyrics.
FC Dallas vs. Seattle: How to watch, listen on radio
TV:
- MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
- 7:30 p.m. CT
Radio:
- English: All FC Dallas matches will air in English on the official FC Dallas app. FC Dallas broadcasts also return to Talk Radio 1190 and the iHeartRadio app in 2024.
- Play-by-play: Owen Newkirk, Analyst: Steve Davis, Sideline: Garrett Melcer
- Spanish: All FC Dallas matches will be available in Spanish on the official FC Dallas app.
- Play-by-play: Carlos Alvarado, Analyst: Raffa Calderon
Check out wfaa.com/fcdallas for FC Dallas coverage all season long.
More FC Dallas coverage: