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| Photo by Darla S Tamulitis La Vita Loca Photography Copyright 2021 All Right Reserved |
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved
HOUSTON, TEXAS (April 10, 2021) Playing with will undoubtedly be their starting lineup for their first Major League Soccer match in a week, Houston Dynamo FC dropped a 3-0 decision to FC Dallas, which made their in-state rival the champions of the La Copita tournament.
Both FC Dallas and the Dynamo, along with Austin FC, San Antonio FC participate in the inaugural edition of La Copita. The newly formed preseason tournament kicked off ahead of the Major League Soccer (MLS) and United Soccer League (USL) 2021 seasons
The Dynamo contained the Dallas offensive punch until late in the first half. With 13 minutes to go until halftime, forward Franco Jara got the ball past Houston goalkeeper Marko Maric, from outside the penalty area with a shot to the far post, for the score.
Four minutes later, in the 41st minute, midfielder Andres Ricuarte sneaks the ball past three Houston players into the 6-yard box. Defender Ryan Hollingshead just happened to be "in the right place at the right time," gentling nudging in to the goal for the final score of the first half.
Dallas added an insurance in the 84th minute when Dynamo defender Sam Junqua tried to high ball with his right foot, but he slipped. Dallas forward Jesus Ferreira was there to claim possession. He dribbled into the box and slotted a shot past Maric to the far post.
Dynamo head coach Tab Ramos stated after the game,
“It was good to play a high-quality team like Dallas. I think we certainly could have used a couple more of these games before going into preseason. We needed a match like this where every ball was hard and every play mattered. I’m happy with the team and the first 35-45 minutes. I thought we did quite well. Their goal came sort of against the run of play when we were getting ready to score. Unfortunately, then the other goal came from a freekick where we weren’t ready. I think it was just a preseason mistake. Other than that, the second half was not great for us. I didn’t think we played well in the second half. We had a good overall first half, but the second half wasn’t good enough. Overall, the preseason has been very good, and I think we will be ready for Friday.”
Despite the score, Marić was a stalwart throughout the match, making a number of excellent saves to keep his team in it. In the 11th minute, a Dallas counter resulted in a shot inside the area, but Marić came up with a big save in a one-on-one situation. Unofficially, he finished the afternoon with six saves.
The Dynamo will kick off the 2021 MLS season at home on Friday, April 16 against the San Jose Earthquakes at 7 p.m. CDT.
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