Fresh off their victory against the Kansas City Wizards, the Houston Dynamo will look to build some momentum early in the MLS season as they host FC Dallas Wednesday night at Robertson Stadium.
Wednesday’s match will also decide who receives El Capitán, the replica cannon awarded to the winner of the regular season series between the two teams. In the first game between Dallas and Houston a little more than a month ago, the game ended tied 1-1, but Dallas failed to convert on several quality chances for the winner.
“It was the first game of the season, so we didn’t know what to expect,” said forward Dominic Oduro. “Now that we’re [further] into the season, we know what they can and can’t do and we know their strengths and weaknesses.”
Both teams are coming off quite possibly their best performances of the season. Houston soundly defeated the Kansas City Wizards at home last weekend 3-0. Dallas should have beaten New England on the road, but poor finishing and conceding a poor goal left the game tied 1-1.
“They created a lot of chances against New England,” said Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear. “They have a lot of good attacking players. Sort of the way Kansas City plays so our intensity has to be the same if we’re to be competitive in this game.”
If both teams want to continue their strong play, both will have to deal with the short turnaround created by the mid-week game. With Dallas having to travel from New England and now to Houston, the short turnaround may be easier on the Dynamo.
“We really need to come out sharp and get ourselves ready for the short turnaround,” said midfielder Brad Davis. “We need to come out with the same attitude and same mentality [that we did against Kansas City]. Everybody came out sharp and ready to play last game.”
For a Dynamo team that has struggled to put together two complete performances together in the early going, playing with the same attitude and intensity that the team displayed against Kansas City may be the first step in righting the ship.
“Both teams may be leg weary, but it’s important for us to stay organized and be difficult to be broken down,” noted Dynamo ‘keeper Pat Onstad. “They need points, but at the same token it’s early in the season and we need points as well."
