Franco Jara’s goal with 10 minutes remaining was the decisive strike as FC Dallas came from behind to beat visiting Austin FC 2-1 on Saturday in a late-season Western Conference match in Frisco, Texas, in the season’s final rendition of the Texas Derby.
The win was FCD’s first since Aug. 29, a stretch of 11 matches and the first in seven matches for interim coach Marco Ferruzzi since he took over the team on Sept. 19. FC Dallas (7-15-11, 32 points) moved up to 11th place in the 13-team Western Conference.
Austin FC (8-20-4, 28 points) has nine losses over its past 12 matches. The expansion side is mired in last place in the West.
Both teams have long been eliminated from playoff consideration.
Diego Fagundez got Austin on the board with a curling blast from outside the penalty area in the 36th minute. Fagundez took a pass from Alexander Ring, took one dribble and ripped his shot to the left of Dallas goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer (two saves).
It took FC Dallas just two minutes to pull back to even, with Jesus Ferreira waiting on the doorstep for a flawless crossing pass from Jader Obrian and easily converting the opportunity from close range.
Hector Jimenez was shown the red card in the 58th minute when he pulled down FC Dallas’s Paxton Pomykal during a breakaway, forcing Austin FC to play the final 32 minutes with just 10 men.
Jara scored in the 80th minute literally seconds after he entered the game as a substitute, volleying a pass from Obrian past Austin keeper Brad Stuver (one save) in the run of play.
The MLS’s three Texas-based teams (Houston, FC Dallas and Austin FC) are already guaranteed to finish in the bottom three places in the Western Conference. Saturday’s win allowed FCD to finish with the most points (11) from intra-Texas matches.
–Field Level Media
