Franco Jara’s goal in the 80th minute saw FC Dallas defeat 10-man Austin FC 2-1 on Saturday night at Toyota Stadium.
Austin Head Coach Josh Wolff chose the same lineup that started in last weekend’s win over Houston Dynamo FC, and the Verde & Black looked strong throughout the first half, taking the lead in the 36th minute.
Receiving the ball on the left flank, Diego Fagundez cut inside on his right foot and picked out the far post with a wonderful curling finish from just outside the penalty area.
Dallas hit back immediately though. Jáder Obrian found space on the right wing and set up Jesús Ferreira for a simple finish in the 38th minute, ensuring the sides entered the locker rooms at halftime level on one goal apiece.
ATXFC initially controlled the pace of play on the other side of the break, but suffered a setback when Hector Jimenez received a red card in the 58th minute. Moments after Julio Cascante made an excellent goal-saving block on Obrian in the 78th minute, Dallas found the winner when the substitute Jara steered home a deflected cross.
THREE THINGS
- DIEGOL GETS IT DONE: Fagundez’s first-half strike was the 60th goal of his MLS career and his seventh of the season, tying Cecilio Domínguez for the team-lead.
- PEPI CONTAINED: Despite the defeat, ATXFC’s defense did well to keep FC Dallas talisman Ricardo Pepi quiet, allowing the 18-year-old just two total shots - one of which was off target and one of which was blocked.
- DOUBLE CENTURION: Austin FC defender Hector Jimenez made his 200th career MLS appearance with a start on Saturday night. Jimenez is the Club’s third player to reach that milestone along with Matt Besler and Diego Fagundez.
QUOTABLES
- Wolff on Fagundez’s performance: “Diego has been an extremely good player for us, and we’ve played him in a number of roles this year. He’s been a 6 and an 8 for us earlier in the year and he did that extremely well. He’s played out left, he’s played out right. He’s a very responsible, calm player.”
- Fagundez on his emotions: “I know I’m frustrated. I think if we finish the game 11-v-11, we go up and we win this game. Things happen in the game, we go down a player and I think we created a couple of good chances and then they punished us. It’s a tough one because we wanted to give our fans everything.”
- Wolff on the team’s traveling support from fans: “We appreciate the fans coming out again, they’ve been tremendous all year. Once again on the road, they were awesome. For us, this was an opportunity to win that [Copa Tejas] trophy and obviously give some bragging rights, so there’s disappointment. Our guys put a lot into it.”
