San Jose Earthquakes head coach Bruce Arena admitted his side were "far from perfect" in their 2-1 win over Houston Dynamo but believes they are learning to be smart in closing out games.

The Earthquakes held firm on a hot and humid Houston evening, with Cristian Arango and Ian Harkes scoring either side of half-time, while Antonio Carlos netted a second-half consolation for the Dynamo.

Arango broke the deadlock 28 minutes in after combining with midfielder DeJuan Jones, while Harkes doubled their advantage in the 64th minute.

Carlos pulled one back in the 72nd minute as Houston pressed for a late equaliser, but San Jose managed to see the game out.

Reflecting on his side's performance, Arena was pleased with the smarts they displayed to close out the result.

"We were a little bit smart at the end," Arena said. "We were fatigued, as was their team I think with the heat and humidity. But a little bit smart.

"At least we had good numbers behind the ball and trying to close out the game. We did that.

"It was far from perfect, but I think they learned a little something from last week."

The win put San Jose in eighth place in the Western Conference, within touching distance of a play-off spot, with 35 points through their 28 matches.

Level on points and separated only by goal difference are Saturday's opponents Austin FC, who are still reeling from a frantic 3-2 loss to CF Montreal. 

A fantastic final-third display from the Canadian outfit put Austin in a tough position last weekend, though Myrto Uzuni and Owen Wolff did get on the scoresheet.

Austin are ninth in the West, and with both teams still in play-off contention, this weekend's clash will see plenty at stake. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Austin FC – Owen Wolff

Austin forward Wolff has scored four goals in his last five regular-season matches, including scoring in two straight against Dallas and Montreal.

Only Sebastian Driussi (three times) and Gyasi Zardes (once) have scored in three or more consecutive regular-season games for Austin.

San Jose Earthquakes – Cristian Arango

Arango has a formidable record against Austin, having scored six goals in six career regular-season matches against the Texan outfit.

He has only scored more against FC Dallas and Sporting Kansas City (seven each). Moreover, only Jesus Ferreira (seven) has netted more goals against Austin in league play than Arango.

MATCH PREDICTION – AUSTIN WIN

Austin are unbeaten in nine straight home matches in all competitions, but six of those, including the last three in a row, have been draws. This marks the longest home unbeaten run in their MLS history.

While the Texan outfit have not been in the best of form, they are favourites ahead of Saturday's clash and will be expected to make home advantage count against San Jose.

The hosts have also got the better of Earthquakes of late, going unbeaten in the last six MLS matches between them.

San Jose are looking for their first league win in games between the two sides since October 2021.

The Earthquakes are also shipping goals at both ends, having scored and conceded in each of their last 12 regular-season matches – the longest streak in a single regular season since Montreal did so in 12 straight in September-October 2020.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Austin FC – 50.8%

Draw – 25%

San Jose Earthquakes – 24.3%