The Houston Dynamo return to competitive action at BBVA Stadium for the first time in nearly six months when they host FC Dallas for the first leg of the Texas Derby. Friday’s match is the opening fixture of Phase 1 for the Dynamo and they look to earn their first victory of the season after two close calls during the MLS is Back Tournament earlier this summer.
Houston will look for more offensive contributions from forward Darwin Quintero, who scored his first goal of the season in the 1-1 draw with the Galaxy on July 23. The Colombian leads the team with two assists and will make his debut in the Texas Derby on Friday. Defensively, Marko Maric posted back-to-back matches with five saves, a MLS career-high for the first-year Dynamo shot-stopper. Maric will look to Kiki Strunaand Victor Cabrera for stability as the backline aim for their first clean sheet of the season.
The Dynamo made two additions prior to returning to play, but both Ariel Lassiterand Wilfried Zahibo will need to remain in quarantine for the remainder of the week. Lassiter was signed on loan from LD Alajuelense in Costa Rica. The 25-year-old forward finished with 24 goals and 16 appearances in 64 games for Alajuelense. Zahibo joins the Dynamo in a trade with the New England Revolution. The midfielder is an MLS All-Star who plays internationally for the Central African Republic.
The Dynamo travel to Kansas next week for their first road game since March 7. The Dynamo return to Children’s Mercy Park to face Sporting Kansas City at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25. The match will air live on QuestTexas Ch. 55 and fans can listen to the action in Spanish on TUDN Radio Houston 1010 AM.
WHO: Houston Dynamo vs. FC Dallas
WHEN: Friday, Aug. 21 – 7:00 p.m. CDT
TV: QuestTexas Ch. 55 (Glenn Davis, Eddie Robinson and Cindy Burbano)
RADIO: TUDN Radio Houston 1010 AM (Daniel Mejia and Lester Gretsch)
Three key points ahead of Friday’s game:
- DYNAMO RETURN TO EADO – The Dynamo return to BBVA Stadium for the first time in nearly six months. Unlike the sold-out season opener against the LA Galaxy on Feb. 29, Friday’s game will be closed to fans as the Dynamo navigate their return to Houston amid the pandemic that halted the regular season in March. Going into Friday, the Dynamo enter the game with a five-game unbeaten run in East Downtown. It has been more than a year since the Dynamo last loss at BBVA Stadium. That defeat came off the boot of Nemanja Nikolic in a tight 1-0 match that ended in favor of the Chicago Fire on Aug. 3, 2018. The current unbeaten run was extended after the home opener against the Galaxy with an early second half goal from Mauro Manotas. The Colombian forward has scored four goals in the five-game unbeaten stretch and stands one goal shy of 50 in league play. Manotas was also key in Houston’s last match at home against FC Dallas after his brace secured a victory for the Dynamo on May 4, 2019 and left the Dynamo with a 6-1-1 record in the first eight games of the season.
- QUINTERO KEY FOR VICTORY – Darwin Quintero is slated to make his debut at BBVA Stadium on Friday and his impact will be key to get an edge in the first leg of the Texas Derby. Quintero missed the home opener against the Galaxy due to injury and made his Dynamo debut the following week, coming off the bench in the second half against Sporting Kansas City. Despite a three-month layoff due to the pandemic, the Colombian forward made a seamless transition into the Dynamo front line and was a key contributor during the 2020 MLS is Back Tournament earlier this summer. The Colombian forward finished with two assists against LAFC and scored his first goal for the club in the final group game on July 23. The Dynamo will funnel the ball through Quintero who has an unmatched pedigree among both teams for creating chaos in the final third.
- DALLAS GOES SCORELESS AT HOME – FC Dallas enters Friday’s derby with two competitive matches in the last week, but that is their only competitive action since early March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Dallas did not participate in the MLS is Back Tournament this summer due to the number of positive cases on the roster. Dallas earned a point in the two-game series with Nashville after they settled for a scoreless draw on Sunday. Dallas allowed a late second half goal last Wednesday in their first game against Nashville, who earned their first victory in franchise history. Dallas will look for a spark from Michael Barrios, who has scored five goals against the Dynamo in 11 games, or Reggie Cannon, who generated key passes against Nashville SC.
