FC Dallas, Dynamo look to regain winning form

Both FC Dallas and the Houston Dynamo will look to get back to their winning ways when they square off on Wednesday in Houston in the latest fixture of the Texas Derby.

Houston (3-5-7, 16 points) is winless in its past six matches and has fallen below the playoff line to 10th in the Western Conference. The Dynamo's recent swoon includes a 2-1 loss at home to Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, with Houston's tally coming from defender Sam Junqua's first MLS goal with just six minutes to play in the match.

The Dynamo have averaged just a goal per game during this six-game winless stretch. Houston has not won in more than a month, going 0-3-3 since its last win on Sept. 5.

"It's difficult to continue to tell the players sometimes, 'Hey, we gotta keep going because we're doing a good job, the goals will come and when one comes a lot are going to come,' " Houston manager Tab Ramos told the Houston Chronicle.

"We just couldn't get it to come fast enough today. Like it's happened in the last few games, we can't take advantage of the way we play and make that into a lead in the game, and we're falling behind."

FC Dallas (5-3-6, 21 points) settled for a second consecutive home draw Saturday, battling Supporters' Shield-leading Columbus to a 2-2 tie. Reto Ziegler gave FCD a 2-1 lead from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute but Pedro Santos hit the equalizer for Columbus nine minutes later.

"The end result is disappointing because we had the lead twice," Dallas manager Luchi Gonzalez said. "And when you have the lead, it's your job to close the game and to win it. I have to be positive -- we had some of the best highs (of the year) with the ball, and we showed some of our best moments in pressure, collective pressure and commitment from everybody on the field."

FC Dallas has lost just once in its last six games (3-1-2) and sits in sixth place in the West standings.

This is the third Texas Derby encounter this season. The teams played to a 0-0 draw in Houston on Aug. 21 before FC Dallas claimed a 2-1 home victory at Toyota Stadium on Sept. 12.

--Field Level Media