A Doubleheader of Disappointment: North Texas and FC Dallas Rue Mistakes
In early action, North Texas Soccer Club coughs up a 3-2 lead, settling for a draw and shootout extra point. FC Dallas goes up 2-0 but loses 3-2. Controversy? Yes. But mistakes are costly.
On a busy Saturday night for FC Dallas fans, tossing and turning are likely reactions as they lay their heads down to sleep.
Let’s start with North Texas.
They came into the match against Austin FC 2 at home, experiencing life under a new head coach. Regardless of how drastic a coaching change might be, every team is going to experience something different. North Texas welcomes their in-state rivals, and for stretches of the match, they didn’t miss a beat. But Austin FC 2 found ways back into the match, and in the end, a late mistake on a back pass gave the visitors an own goal and a point to take home. North Texas professionally handled the shootout, but it left new head coach Michel with questions.
What can improve?
“It’s very simple. Less mistakes or no mistakes. Whenever we force someone to make a mistake, we have to press them,” Michel told media after the match. “We need a little bit more concentration.”
Tarik Scott, grabbing another goal, acknowledged the same, that his squad played well but made enough mistakes to open the door to the visitors.
In the Pacific Northwest, a difficult place for Dallas to play and gain points, the script seemed to flip. After battling for a long stretch of the match, keeping the Seattle home side quiet, FC Dallas found two incredible goals to go up. Then, things unraveled. Was it the substitutions? Was it a tendency to drop back and stop attacking? Was it individual mistakes?
Peter Luccin was succinct after the match, acknowledging the mistakes, the cruelty of the game, and maybe even his own missteps as a coach.
Maybe five in the back wasn’t the right choice.
Questions loomed when the broadcast showed a clear handball in the run-up to play that led to the go-ahead goal for Seattle. Some wondered if Major League Soccer put a call in to bail out one of their marquee teams in a dismal season. (Probably true.) Regardless, Dallas should have never put itself in such a position.
Luccin will now face his first test as interim head coach as Dallas prepares to return home. Can they make the adjustments? Can they communicate the needed personnel changes to transform this roster into championship quality?
I’ll be blunt. I love Dante Sealy. He seems like a good kid and a potential talent, but he doesn’t fit in Dallas. It’s time to cut the umbilical cords on a few players and explore their value in the broader transfer market. Even if Dallas takes a smaller cut.
And recognize there is quality talent in the roster to build a solid team around.
Let’s hope Dan Hunt gives Luccin and the front office permission to do so.