FRISCO, Texas- Geoff Cameron scored with three minutes remaining as the Houston Dynamo earned their first road win of the season on their 16th attempt with a 1-0 victory over FC Dallas on Saturday afternoon at Pizza Hut Park.
Cameron headed home a Brad Davis corner kick for his fifth goal of the year to secure all three points and give the Dynamo the right to retake El Capitán, the 19th century howitzer cannon symbolic of the Texas Derby rivalry with FC Dallas.
More importantly for the Dynamo, the win at Pizza Hut Park catapulted them to first place in the Eastern Conference with 42 points, leading the Columbus Crew by one point. The Crew play host to the LA Galaxy later on Saturday night.
The shutout loss for FC Dallas marked their third straight defeat in league play and extended their scoreless streak to 270 minutes after they struck the woodwork three times against Houston.
Both teams returned vital players to the lineup with Dynamo forward Brian Ching starting for the first time in two games and FCD’s Marvin Chávez returning from an ankle injury suffered with the Honduran national team in early September. The Honduran winger came on as a substitute to start the second half.
The Dynamo came out of the gates fast with Luiz Camargo registering the game's first shot in the 2nd minute but the team in orange would fail to generate many more chances in the first half.
Contrary to their CONCACAF Champions League game against UNAM Pumas on Wednesday, FC Dallas put several shots on target in the first half, forcing Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall to make three early saves and perhaps none bigger than the one on Jackson in the 12th minute.
Combining with Brek Shea on a series of header exchanges, Jackson worked his way into the Dynamo 18-yard box and side-winded a Shea pass at Hall, who sprawled to his right to make a diving save on what looked like a certain goal for the home side.
With the scoring drought continuing -- Maicon Santos also hit the cross bar after 16 minutes -- FC Dallas midfielder Andrew Jacobson appeared to have ended the scoreless stretch when he volleyed home a ball in the box in the 42nd minute. However, referee Ricardo Salazar whistled George John for interfering with the goalkeeper on a 50-50 ball that Hall punched right at Jacobson’s feet.
In the second half, the Dynamo were kept inside their own defensive third for a majority of the 45 minutes but FC Dallas couldn't capitalize with Jackson, who moved to forward in the second half, proving especially unlucky on the afternoon.
In the 58th minute, after taking possession in Houston’s own half of the field, Jackson slalomed down the heart of the Dynamo's defense and ran at Houston's goalkeeper only to hit the far post from a tight angle.
Minutes later, John headed a ball on a play that started from a corner kick, but the crossbar was there to thwart him.
FC Dallas next travel to 2010 MLS Cup champions the Colorado Rapids on Saturday Oct. 1 while the Dynamo play on the same day at Robertson Stadium against the Chicago Fire.
Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Geoff Cameron 5 (Brad Davis 14) 87
Houston Dynamo -- Tally Hall, Andre Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Corey Ashe, Adam Moffat, Luiz Camargo, Brad Davis, Brian Ching (Carlo Costly 78), Calen Carr (Colin Clark 64), Danny Cruz (Je-Vaughn Watson 58).
Substitutes Not Used: Will Bruin, Hunter Freeman, Jermaine Taylor, Tyler Deric.
FC Dallas -- Kevin Hartman, Zach Loyd (Jack Stewart 71), Ugo Ihemelu, George John, Jair Benitez, Jackson, Brek Shea, Andrew Jacobson, Daniel Hernandez, Ricardo Villar (Daniel Cruz 53), Maicon Santos (Marvin Chavez 46).
Substitutes Not Used: Fabian Castillo, Jeremy Hall, Bobby Warshaw, Chris Seitz.
Misconduct Summary:
HOU -- Bobby Boswell (caution; Reckless Tackle) 26
DAL -- Ugo Ihemelu (caution; Reckless Tackle) 33
Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Referee's Assistants: Craig Lowry; Peter Manikowski
4th Official: Armando Villarreal
Time of Game: 1:53
Weather: Sunny and 90 degrees
Attendance: 10,849
