Amine Bassi converted a penalty kick, Hector Herrera added a late insurance tally and goalkeeper Steve Clark shrugged off a first-half injury as the Houston Dynamo FC defeated visiting Austin FC 2-0 on Saturday in the first Texas Derby match of the season.
Bassi was good from the spot in the 71st minute after Austin defender Adam Lundkvist was whistled for a hand ball in the penalty area. The call was verified by VAR.
Herrera then turned around a pass from Griffin Dorsey in the 86th minute and beat Austin keeper Brad Stuver low to his left to allow the Dynamo (1-2-0, three points) their first win of the year.
Clark stopped five shots, four in an Austin barrage early in the match, to earn his first shutout of the year and the 51st of his 10-seaon MLS career.
The match was the fifth in 15 days for Austin FC (2-2-0, six points). Included was a home-and home with Violette AC that ended with its elimination from the CONCACAF Champions League with a 3-2 aggregate loss in the Round of 16 tie.
The loss snapped a two-game MLS winning streak for Austin, which just ran out of gas in the second half.
There were scoring chances aplenty in the first half, but neither team could find the net. Austin was the aggressor early on as Emiliano Rigoni's left-footed shot from the right side of the box in the 11th minute forced a save by Clark. A minute later, Maximiliano Urruti hit the right post with a header from the center of the box.
Then in the 21st minute, Clark saved a shot by Rigoni at the bottom-right corner, and 12 minutes later, Clark pushed away a header by Jon Gallagher.
Houston's best two chances to score in the first half came in the waning moments, as Herrera was turned away by Stuver in the 42nd minute and Bassi ripped a shot from the left side of the box that was saved.
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