The pride of the Lone Star State, and not much else, will be on the line when underachieving FC Dallas plays host to last-place Austin FC on Saturday in the season’s final rendition of the Texas Derby.
FC Dallas will try to pick up the pieces after a disappointing 2-1 loss at home to Real Sale Lake on Wednesday. Matt Hedges’ goal put FCD on top in the 20th minute and the home side seemed in control until Real Salt Lake produced the equalizer in the 80th minute and the game-winner from Albert Rusnak in the 90th minute.
FC Dallas (6-15-11, 29 points) has long been eliminated from the playoff contention and are in 12th place in the 13-team Western Conference. The club remains winless over its past 10 games (0-6-4), last coming out on top Aug. 29.
“It feels like we kind of stopped trying to play,” Hedges said of the loss. “Teams are going to punish you when you try to sit back, and that’s what’s been happening to us. We need to figure out why that’s happening and change it.”
Austin FC (8-19-4, 28 points) had Wednesday off and will carry the momentum from a 2-1 victory over Houston on Sunday into this weekend’s game. Austin scored on an own goal by Dynamo goalkeeper Marko Maric in the seventh minute, then received a Sebastian Driussi tally in first-half stoppage time and held on despite conceding a late own goal.
Austin snapped a two-game scoreless streak and won for the third time in its past four home matches but remains in last place in the West.
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. A win on Saturday would be meaningful for expansion Austin since it would finish with the most points from intra-Texas matches.
FC Dallas would claim that honor with a win or a tie.
“We certainly should have plenty of reminders as to what it’s going to look like in Dallas,” Austin FC coach Josh Wolff said. “They’re a good team. (We will) be fully committed, fully focused on how we can go there and win. That’s going to be our objective, for our players to keep building momentum and good performance.”
–Field Level Media
