Neither team found the back of the net as FC Dallas played Austin FC to a 0-0 draw at Toyota Stadium. With the draw, Dallas secured its 3rd Copa Tejas trophy in club history and has the most ahead of both Houston and Austin.
Lineups and Tactics
For their final game against the Verde and Black this season, Dallas held a 3-4-3 formation, with Daniel in goal for his 4th start of the season. Osaze Urhoghide replaced Nolan Norris on the backline at CB, and Shaq Moore moved over to LB after playing last game at RB.
Two additional changes were made in the starting XI, with Petar Musa replacing Logan Farrington at ST. Christian Cappis also replaced Santi Moreno and started at CM. Alongside Cappis, Ramiro earned his 20th start at CM.
With Cappis playing a more central midfield role, Kaick pressed forward as a CAM and was paired with Joaquín Valiente (CAM) alongside him. Out wide on the wings, Bernard Kamungo and Ran Binyamin started at LWB and RWB, respectively.
The away side also held a 3-4-3 formation, with a small twist. Instead of 2 CAM’s, Jorge Alastuey (LW) and Facundo Torres (RW) played farther forward and out wide as wingers. Up top, Christian Ramirez started as the team’s lone ST.
18-year-old Ervin Torres earned his 7th start of the season alongside Besard Šabović (CM) at CM. The backline trio consisted of Žan Kolmanič (LCB), Oleksandr Svatok (CB), and Mikkel Desler (RCB). Kolmanič earned his 4th start of the season.
In goal, Captain Brad Stuver earned his 25th start of the season. Most notably absent for Austin FC tonight was interim Head Coach Davy Arnaud, who had a family emergency prior to the game. Assistant Coach Terry Boss replaced Arnaud as the team’s head coach for the match.
The Game
The first half of action was relatively even in terms of possession, with Austin holding a slight edge at 52% over Dallas. However, the home side saw the lion’s share of opportunities with 6 total shots, 2 of which were on target. The Verde and Black only managed 1 shot on target.
“Against the ball, I thought we were great,” Head Coach Eric Quill said. “We just have to be more clinical, which we’ve been saying all year long. If you look at where we sit in goal scoring, this wasn’t our typical night.”
Unfortunately for fans both at the game and at home, the second half was relatively quiet as well. The biggest bit of action occurred in the 76th minute after a rabbit found its way onto the pitch. It took nearly a minute for players to get “Tex Hopper” out of the field of play.
Both teams accrued 2 shots on target in the 2nd half, with Dallas earning a 0.80 xG. Despite having the majority of possession (58%), Austin wasn’t able to do anything with it. Daniel finished with 3 saves on the night and earned his 1st clean sheet as a member of the Burn.
After 90 minutes of action, the final whistle blew, and the game finished as a 0-0 draw. Neither team managed to find the back of the net, despite a couple of good opportunities from both teams.
“We’re disappointed because it’s bittersweet. Yes, we’re the Copa Tejas winners…” Quill said. “But I’m just sorry that we didn’t get the three points because this is one where, statistically, if you look at the statistics plus the performance, it doesn’t equal a 0-0 tie.”
With 8 defensive contributions, 88% of his 52 passes completed, and 2 passes into the final third, my Man of the Match, Osaze Urhoghide, was contributing in more ways than one on both sides of the ball.
Up next, FC Dallas welcomes LAFC to Toyota Stadium on Saturday, September 26th at 7:30 pm CT. LAFC are currently 11-8-8 on the season.
“We know it’s going to be a very important game this weekend, and we’ll have another opportunity to get three points,” Moreno said. “I think every game gives us confidence, especially against these teams that everyone wants to beat.”
With his 97th-minute yellow card against Austin, Ramiro will have to miss the LAFC game with a yellow card accumulation suspension.