FRISCO – Using a dominant first half to take command of a game the players felt they had to win, FC Dallas announced to the Houston Dynamo – and the rest of MLS – that it is on a roll.

Jeff Cunningham's nifty goal in the 20th minute was enough to allow FCD to defeat the Dynamo, 1-0, Thursday night at Pizza Hut Park, a rare victory over the league's best team that pushed FCD within sight of the playoff race.

The victory, paired with a record-setting 6-0 rout of Kansas City on Saturday, gave FCD back-to-back wins for the first time this season. It was the team's fourth consecutive win at home.

FC Dallas, which beat Houston for only the second time in club history (2-7-5), moved into a tie for sixth in the West with Real Salt Lake with 23 points as it struggles to get into contention. On the heels of ugly road losses to Colorado and Real Salt Lake, FC Dallas seems to have suddenly found itself.

"We talked to the players after those losses," FCD coach Schellas Hyndman said. "We were seeing points slip through our hands. We were down to 12 games left in the season. And the message was, let's go out and win all 12.

"We're not going for ties. We're not going for one point. If we don't win, we don't win. But at least we're making a hard run at it."

Thursday, FC Dallas began its run immediately. One pass after the opening kickoff, Cunningham chased down a long ball and split the Houston defense for a clear shot that sailed wide left a mere 13 seconds in.

FCD was the aggressor throughout the first half, consistently keeping the ball in Houston's end of the field and generating scoring chances.

"It's just a mentality," midfielder Dax McCarty said. "If you can come out and really put your opponent under pressure the first 10-15 minutes, it shows them they're in for a dogfight. ...

"We've jumped all over our opponents and haven't given them space to breathe. I think Houston was a little surprised, and they had trouble weathering the storm."

Cunningham, who was stopped on a weak attempt at a penalty kick in the 13th minute, finally broke through with a couple of acrobatic moves to get free. After beating a defender in the middle of the field, the Jamaican striker slipped past Houston's Geoff Cameron with a deft sidestep before rocketing a shot past goalkeeper Pat Onstad into the right side of the net for a 1-0 lead.

"I was determined to redeem myself," Cunningham said. "My teammates came over [after the penalty kick] and told me to keep my head up and keep playing. They saw I was devastated. That's what kept me in it mentally."

Andy Friedlander is an area freelance writer.