Houston Dynamo eliminated from playoff contention following Texas Derby loss

The Houston Dynamo needed a win to stay in the playoff hunt and they came up short in their loss to FC Dallas. The final game of the Texas Derby was disappointing for Dynamo fans as the team looked lethargic and not in sync.

The opening minutes had both sides attempting to feel the other out with the middle of the field wide open. Dallas had an opportunity following a corner kick, but the box was congested and the home side was unable to get the ball through. Houston found some room on the counter with buildup play more difficult.

FC Dallas held the majority of the possession through the first 15 minutes with the Dynamo struggling to move the ball into Dallas’s half. Still the Dynamo were able to occasionally look threatening on goal. José Bizama got free on the wing and crossed a ball into the box. Ari Lassiter was there to get a head on it, but his effort was off the mark and went wide. Dallas responded with a counter attack of their own with a player out wide crossing the ball into Franco Jara, but Dynamo goalkeeper Marko Marić got low and was able to keep both teams even at 0-0.

The home side would get the game’s opening goal in the 19^th minute. Fabrice-Jean Picault sent in a ball far post towards Michael Barrios. Barrios rose up and headed the ball across goal. Jara dove in and got contact with the ball and did just enough to ricochet the ball off Marić’s chest into the goal.

The Dynamo would concede another less than ten minutes later. Houston had given up a lot of space in the midfield which allowed Dallas to quickly transition the ball from the back to their forwards. In the 27^th minute Dallas did just that and found Andrés Ricaurte. Ricaurte picked up his head from the top of the 18 yard box and floated a pass inside and found the head of Picault who headed the ball into the net.

Ari Lassiter came close to getting a goal back on the counter. Darwin Quintero floated a pass back post and Lassiter tried to play the ball one time, but it again went wide of the net. The Dynamo nearly got another goal just before halftime with Darwin Cerén playing the ball wide to Adam Lundqvist. Lundqvist played a low ball into the box and Christian Ramirez couldn’t make contact with it. Early substitute Memo Rodríguez tried his luck, but his touch was poor and he couldn’t get the ball into the net.

Dallas nearly added to their tally in the 50^th minute. A terrible giveaway by Wilfried Zahibo led to a counter by Franco Jara. Jara went 1v1 with the Dynamo goalkeeper, but he pulled his shot wide. The Dynamo responded a few minutes later with Lassiter getting free on the wing and sending a ball across goal. Christian Ramirez helped the ball onto Bizama, but his shot was deflected for a corner.

Tab Ramos made sweeping changes in the 62^nd minute which pushed players higher up the field allowing them to win balls quickly and possess in Dallas’s half of the field. Dallas was forced to rely on the counter attack for their offense and Ricaurte almost got Dallas’s third goal. He found himself alone after a cross came in from the wing, but he tried to get cheeky with it as he opted for the chip over Marić which was nowhere near on target.

With time running out, the Dynamo energy began to sink again which allowed Dallas to increase their possession and allowed them to carve out a few more opportunities to get more goals on the board.

Picault would add a third goal for Dallas just for good measure in stoppage time. After the final whistle would blow the Dynamo would lose 3-0 which officially eliminated them from playoff contention. Houston largely lacked energy and sat deep which increased Dallas’s possession in our half of the field. The offense lacked support and didn’t seem in sync with each other.

Next up for the Dynamo is their last game of the regular season against the Colorado Rapids on Sunday November 8^th at 5:30 PM CT.

Goals:

19’ DAL: Franco Jara (assisted by Michael Barrios, Fabrice-Jean Picault)

27’ DAL: Fabrice-Jean Picault (assisted by Andrés Ricaurte)

90’+3’ DAL: Fabrice-Jean Picault

Disciplinary:

45’+2’ HOU: José Bizama (yellow card)

55’ HOU: Wilfriend Zahibo (yellow card)

69’ DAL: Thiago Santos (yellow card)

90’+4’ DAL: Fabrice-Jean Picault (yellow card)

Lineups:

Houston Dynamo (4-3-3): Marko Marić; Adam Lundqvist, Víctor Cabrera, Alejandro Fuenmayor, José Bizama; Darwin Cerén (87’ Marcelo Palomino), Darwin Quintero, Wilfried Zahibo (63’ Oscar Boniek García); Ariel Lassiter (62’ Tomás Martínez), Christian Ramriez (62’ Mauro Manotas), Niko Hansen (35’ Memo Rodríguez)

FC Dallas (4-2-3-1): Jimmy Maurer; Ryan Hollinshead, Bressan, Matt Hedges, Bryan Reynolds (44’ John Nelson); Andrés Ricaurte, Thiago Santos; Fabrice-Jean Picault, Jesús Ferreira (59’ Tanner Tessmann), Michael Barrios (75’ Reto Ziegler); Franco Jara (75’ Santiago Mosquera)