FRISCO, Texas — The first Texas derby matchup of the 2018 season will take place Saturday when FC Dallas travels to BBVA Compass Stadium to play the Houston Dynamo.
Dallas (11-3-5, 38 points) is No.1 in the Western Conference coming off of a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Fire, a game the team controlled throughout. Right back Reggie Cannon recorded his first assist for the club after crossing in a ball and finding Carlos Gruezo for FCD’s first goal.
It’s another step in the maturation of Cannon. Earlier in the season, he talked about working on finding the right balance of offense and defense. Cannon often made the right decisions but failed to get results — until the assist.
“It was a great feeling to finally get my first assist,” Cannon said. “I feel like I’ve been getting forward a lot in most games but, just can not find that final pass. Tha game gave me a lot of confidence. It made me think I could actually hurt those guys and I think I’m going to be doing that a lot more.”
The Dynamo (7-6-5, 26 points) come in off a midweek match, defeating Sporting Kansas City 4-2 in the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and are currently seventh in the West.
Houston’s attack of Alberth Elis, Romell Quioto and Mauro Manotas have combined for 21 of the Dynamo’s 36 goals this season, or 58 percent. Cannon said Dallas is preparing for them.
“Whatever they put on the field, we’re going to be ready for it,” Cannon said. “Oscar’s been talking to us about how they like to isolate the wings, and we’re going to hurt them on the transition with the two-v-ones on the outside and Mikey and Santi going one-v-one. So, I think we’re going to be ready for whatever they throw out on the field.”
Dynamo coach Wilmer Cabrera led his team to the Western Conference final last season. The team surprised many last season and are hoping to replicate that success.
Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja talked about his relationship with Cabrera, his friend and fellow Colombian, at the team’s training session Wednesday.
“We have had similar paths in our careers as players and coaches now,” Pareja said. “I think he is doing a good job. Houston put a model together and I think the team has been better with him.”
For a player like Jacori Hayes, the rivalry is a new experience. Hayes hails from Maryland, but he understands the dynamic of the Dallas-Houston matchup.
“It’s a huge rivalry,” Hayes said. “In state, something I learned when I first moved here is we don’t like Houston very much. We’re trying to stop at the top of the West and get three points. It would be huge to get the three points on the road. I think we’re all ready for Houston, particularly myself.”
Hayes has experienced playing at BBVA Compass Stadium in the past. He and FCD teammate Ema Twumasi played in the 2016 NCAA College Cup Final, Wake Forest against Stanford, in Houston. The game went to a penalty shootout. Hayes converted his penalty, but Wake Forest ended up losing 5-4 on penalties.
“I’ve played in that stadium once in the College Cup, so I’m not really scared of that stadium,” Hayes said. “I had some bad memories, and I hope I can correct them.”
Cannon insists that the team will be ready for the task and hope to be one step closer to bringing El Capitan, the trophy of the rivalry, back to Dallas.
“Rivalries always have a deeper meaning,” Cannon said. “It’s the control of Texas. It’s gonna be a battle, but we’re going to be ready for it.”