For the first time since the 2021 season, FC Dallas are the kings of Texas as they downed ten-man Austin FC on Wednesday night 3-1 to reclaim the Copa Tejas crown.
Petar Musa continues his scoring with his 13th goal of the season. Paul Arriola scored his second goal of the season and added in his fifth assist of the year.
FC Dallas got on the board ten minutes into the match. Logan Farrington received a long ball in the Austin penalty area from Tsiki Ntsabeleng. He took one touch before crossing the ball across the penalty box, where Arriola was there to finish home the game’s first goal.
Six minutes later, Austin tied it up on a goal from Gyasi Zardes. Daniel Pereira collected the ball in the Dallas defensive end and played a ball through the Dallas defense, where Zardes was able to slip between Nksoi Tafari and Sebastien Ibeagha to fire a one-time shot on goal past Maarten Paes.
Five minutes into the second half, Dallas received a penalty kick when Owen Wolff was whistled for a handball in the penalty box. Musa stepped up to the spot but his shot would ring off the crossbar after Austin keeper Brad Stuver got a hand on the shot. After a video review, it was determined that Stuver moved before Musa took his shot. Musa stepped up and scored the second attempt for his 13th goal of the season.
Following the penalty kick, Austin attacker Sebastian Driussi was issued a red card for foul off during the goal celebration.
In the 73rd minute, Dallas added a third goal on the night as Marco Farfan scored on a pass from Arriola. Sebastian Lletget played a long ball down the right side that Arriola was able to get to get to. The Dallas captain then played a perfect ball back to the top of the penalty box where Farfan was able to hammer it home for his first of the season.
Instant Reaction: The response from this club at home under Peter Luccin has been a lot of fun to watch. The dying moments of the first half made this one seem like it was going to go Austin’s way. Things even felt that way after Musa missed his first penalty attempt. But as some Austin players got worked up over the video reviews, the mood changed, and things began to go FC Dallas’ way on the night.
About the Subs: Shortly after the Musa penalty, Carl Sainte came on for the Croatian. Following the Farfan goal, Sam Junqua and Eugene Ansah came on for Tsiki Ntsabeleng and Bernard Kamungo. Late in the match, Luccin made two more subs with Omar Gonzalez and Dante Sealy coming in for Farfan and Arriola.
Man of the Match: Arriola’s goal and assist was fun to see happen tonight.
What’s next for FC Dallas: The club heads to the east coast for the final game before the break for Leagues Cup, as they take on the New England Revolution this Saturday.
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