FC Dallas have never lost to Houston at Pizza Hut Park, but that streak will be put to the test when Dynamo come to Frisco on Saturday looking to capitalize on an FCD back line that will likely have three new starters.
Houston comes into Saturday's clash with their in-state rivals riding a five-game winning streak and just three points behind the Hoops in the MLS Western Conference table.
"We know they have been playing well. The thing we think about is the last time we played them down there. We feel like we played well in the first half, but let ourselves down in the second half," defender Bobby Rhine said. "That's fresh in our mind. We know that we need to get a result against them to stop a team that's on a roll. It just so happens that team is Houston."
FCD and Houston played to a 1-1 draw at Pizza Hut Park on May 13, 2006 and in Dynamo's last visit to Frisco, the Hoops beat their in-state rivals 1-0 after Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson was sent off in the 31st minute following a second booking in less than a minute.
On June 3, FCD traveled to Houston and held a 1-0 lead at halftime courtesy of a 31st-minute goal by Abe Thompson. However, the second half had the Hoops seeing orange as Dynamo got goals from Ricardo Clark in the 51st and the eventual game-winner from Joseph Ngwenya in the 66th minute and they left the Bayou City with a 2-1 defeat.
"I thought we played very well for the first half down there," said Morrow of the defeat. "But we didn't follow that performance up with a second 45 minutes. We're definitely looking to set that right and to get a good result at home this weekend."
But the Hoops back four that takes the field on Saturday will be a bit different. Normal starting right back Drew Moor is away with the U.S. national team for Copa America and will likely be replaced by Rhine.
Also absent will be Houston native and left back Chris Gbandi, who will serve a suspension for yellow card accumulation. Gbandi also missed the June 3 game at Houston while away with the Liberian national team. In his spot will likely be David Wagenfuhr, who also started the first match against Dynamo.
Center back Alex Yi is listed as questionable after suffering a strained hamstring in a 1-0 win against Colorado last Saturday. Morrow subbed Rhine in for the ex-UCLA player at the half last week and Yi has yet to make it through a full training session this week, putting his status in doubt.
His absence means that Aaron Pitchkolan, who played the first four games of 2007 at the defensive midfield spot but also has experience at center back, likely gets the nod.
The lone holdover for FCD's rearguard will be fellow center back Clarence Goodson, who has been much improved in 2007 and has likely been the team's most consistent player in the back.
FCD is well aware that they are getting Dynamo on a hot streak.
"Houston is a good team," said Arturo Alvarez, who will likely again start on the left of Morrow's three-man attack force. "They have a good group of guys who work hard for each other. They're a championship team but they aren't a team that worries us. We have to come out tomorrow with that same intensity, match their work rate and I think we will come through."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
