A pair of goals in the first half helped Austin FC to a 2-1 win over Houston Dynamo FC on Sunday afternoon at Q2 Stadium.
ATXFC got off to a flying start when Houston defender Zarek Valentin brought down Cecilio Domínguez in the box and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Domínguez’s attempt hit both posts, then bounced in off of Dynamo goalkeeper Marko Maric to give the Verde & Black the lead in the seventh minute.
Austin doubled its advantage just before halftime. Four minutes into first half stoppage time, Sebastián Driussi picked up the ball on the edge of the penalty area and cleverly tucked his shot beyond the reach of Maric.
The Verde & Black then came close to finding a third goal not long after the start of the second half. Moussa Djitté smartly let a low cross roll to Domínguez, whose shot got past Maric but was blocked on the line by Dynamo center back Tim Parker.
Houston pulled a goal back late on when a low cross deflected in off of Julio Cascante, but Austin’s two first half goals would prove to be enough in the end as the home side collected all three points for the third time in its last four matches at Q2 Stadium.
THREE THINGS
- LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN: In both Sunday’s match and the Club’s previous home match against Houston on August 4, ATXFC opened the scoring in the seventh minute.
- DRIUSSI DELIVERS: Driussi’s goal was his fourth of the season, giving the Argentine an efficient stat line of nine total goal contributions in 14 matches since joining the Club in late July.
- ON TOP OF TEXAS: Sunday’s win means if Austin defeats FC Dallas in its next match on Saturday, October 30, it will finish with the most points from intra-Texas matchups of any of MLS’ three Texan clubs this season.
QUOTABLES
- Head Coach Josh Wolff on the team’s defensive performance: “The defending today was excellent, it was collective. A collective willingness and a collective determination is what I talk about with these guys, and it was on display.”
- Midfielder Daniel Pereira on the physicality of the game: “That’s what Josh [Wolff] told us, they were going to be a physical team. They’ve shown that every time we play them, that’s what they’re going to be about. But I like that, I can be physical. So we all have two legs, two eyes, two ears, so it’s all about who gives 100 percent.”
- Wolff on the squad moving forward: “We have a good group. There’s a lot to work with and there’s a lot to be proud of. We’ve got a big game against Dallas next week on the road and our guys will be fully focused.”
