The Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas meet on Wednesday night, each in a quest to advance to the U.S. Open Cup semis and their first Lamar Hunt trophy.
Just as Peter Vermes of Sporting Kansas City said following the loss to Houston two weeks ago in U.S. Open Cup play, Houston Dynamo interim head coach Wade Barrett nearly vocalized the same message following the Dynamo training session on Tuesday morning a day ahead of the team’s quarterfinal Open Cup meeting with FC Dallas.
“It is a quarterfinal, I want to win that game,” emphasized Barrett in speaking with the media. “The guys are hungry to play and I think that is a great sign.”
On Wednesday night, Barrett’s team gets a chance to do something they haven’t done since 2006 when he was captain of the Dynamo. Houston can advance to the semifinal round of the the 2016 U.S.Open Cup competition with a win over FC Dallas.
Dallas is not just a heated rival but they sit atop the MLS standings and have a side that is dangerous everywhere on the pitch. They hold a plus four goal differential while Houston is at minus three. Dallas leads the race for the Supporters Shield while Houston is trying hard not to be named in the same breath as Chicago when it comes to the worst teams in MLS. The Dynamo do have three games in hand which if they eventually win all three puts them potentially in the thick of the playoff race.
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Since losing 5-0 in the second game of the season here in Houston, FCD and the Dynamo have gone opposite directions. The men from Big D (12-6-4) own the best record in Major League Soccer and Houston (4-9-6) is trying to crawl its way out of the Western Conference basement.
A lot has passed since that first big goal explosion of the season most notably the departure of Owen Coyle. Barrett officially took control of the club being named interim head coach on June 7, 2016. The team saw an immediate turn around and have lost just once since utilizing a stalwart defense which had been much maligned early on in the season. Under Coyle, the team had goal scoring but could not stop anyone from matching them. Now the team is tough as nails on defense but the offense has all but disappeared.
“Being a tough team is something we have worked really hard at,” continued Barrett. “I have said it many times being disciplined, being hard working, and making sure we are competing for 90 plus minutes every time we step on the field and the guys have accomplished that. We are hard team to play against”
Now its the offense that will have to come around and soon. Wednesday’s match against their Texas Derby rivals could play a pivotal role in that resurrection. The young Colombian Mauro Manotas will probably get the nod up top in Wednesday night’s match and to date has not disappointed having scored regularly when given the chance leading many to think it is a matter of time till he is the Houston every game striker.
“When he (Mauro) has had the opportunities, he’s made the most of it,” added Barrett. “Mauro will continue to be in the discussion for minutes and his role in games as we move forward.”
Neither team has ever won the the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open trophy. Houston knocked out Dallas in “06” and Dallas returned the favor a couple of times since dropping Houston in 2013 and 2014. FCD ironically is owned buy the Hunt Group which was founded by Lamar Hunt who played a big hand in American football (owner of Dallas Texans now the Kansas City Chiefs) and creating the Dallas Tornado of the NASL starring Kyle Rote playing the world’s game of futbol. Houston would like nothing more than to take another step forward not just in search of one trophy that has eluded them over the past decade but towards a return to the MLS playoffs.
Ahead of the game, Houston signed midfielder Charlie Ward from their affiliate club the Rio Grande Toros to a four day contract. The Dynamo will be without goalkeeper Tyler Deric (abdominal strain) and DaMarcus Beasley (knee surgery)