Petar Musa and Jesus Ferreira had goals, the latter in the 56th minute as the deciding tally, as FC Dallas outlasted visiting Austin FC 2-1 on Saturday in a Texas Derby clash in Frisco, Texas.
Dallas (3-6-2, 11 points) has won two straight matches overall and has still never lost to the Verde at home, winning for the fourth time in five games (with one draw).
Dallas needed just four minutes to find the net, as Musa pounced on a bad pass from Austin’s Sebastian Driussi, took it into the defensive zone and beat Brad Stuver with a chip to the short side of the goal. The score was the first in four matches against the Verde defense.
Austin (4-4-4, 16 points) pressed for the equalizer, getting shots on goal by Diego Rubio in the 13th minute and another by Guilherme Biro two minutes later that were stopped by Dallas keeper Maarten Paes. Rubio was on the mark again in the 26th minute, but Paes was up to the task.
The Verde’s best chance to score in the first half came in the 37th minute when Biro clanged a shot off the right post.
Dallas pushed to add to its lead when Ferreira tested Stuver in the 38th minute, but the Verde’s keeper made the save.
Austin’s Julio Cascante forced Paes into another save when he headed a corner kick from Dani Pereira in the 55th into on goal.
That set the stage for Musa and Ferreira, who teamed up on a breakaway goal in the 56th minute that doubled Dallas’ lead. Musa gathered up a pass from Patrickson Delgado near midfield and spotted Ferreira on the move between two Austin defenders. Musa fed him in step to facilitate an easy goal.
The Verde culled their deficit to a goal when Driussi converted from the penalty spot in the 84th minute, beating Paes after Owen Wolff was fouled in the box by Emmanuel Twumasi. But Austin could not produce another threat.
–Field Level Media