An Evening of Contrasts: North Texas Wins at Home, FC Dallas Struggles Again on the Road

Both teams were in action against St Louis City SC, but the results couldn't have been more different. What can they learn from each other?

Saturday evening was a feast for the soccer senses for FC Dallas fans.

On my iPad Air, I watched FC Dallas go up early against St Louis City in the Leagues Cup.

On my monitor, I had North Texas taking on St Lous City 2 at home, continuing their league form.

And while the teams both exhibited some attacking soccer, their games diverged, especially in the second half.

FC Dallas took the lead against St Louis City on a beautiful attacking sequence that began with Sebastian Ibeagha’s pass to Petar Musa, who flicked it on to Paul Arriola who then turned and sliced the ball to a blitzing Sam Junqua. Junqua, playing as a left winger, slotted the ball home confidently. The home crowd in St Louis was stunned.

Likewise, North Texas found an opening goal on a splendid cross over the defenders to Henry-Scott who took possession of the ball and slotted it home.

In both cases though, the teams would give up equalizers. St Louis powered one past Maarten Paes’ save, and St Louis City 2 likewise roared back. For a moment, hesitation hung in the air.

North Texas had just lost two straight.

FC Dallas has yet to win a game on the road.

Could the teams find another gear?

For North Texas, the answer came through Enes Sali, a young phenom who tallied his seventh goal of the year on a banger from the top of the box. The defense carried the home side the rest of the way, as St Louis City 2 was unable to equalize again. It was a satisfying performance for head coach Michel.

“There is a lot to improve still, but the way they played, the way they performed, it was good to see. Hopefully, we can keep going that way,” he said after the match."

Sali acknowledged that he wants to keep improving and make his case for minutes with the senior team.

“He is very unpredictable. When he has the ball at his feet, anything can happen. Good shot from the top of the box. He is always a player we want to have on the field,” Michel said about the youngster.

Meanwhile, FC Dallas almost found their go-ahead goal when VAR ruled a clear handball on a St Louis defender in the box, but Petar Musa stepped up and absolutely blasted the ball over the crossbar. That wouldn’t be the last time Musa would struggle to put the ball on frame, as the team found plenty of space to feed him but not grasp an equalizer.

In the second half, St Louis tallied their 2nd goal of the match off of a questionable PK.

Peter Luccin, interim head coach, was definitely frustrated from the overall performance.

“We need to be more consistent, more calm on the ball. We saw tonight there were spaces to play. This is how we scored the first goal. But we lacked consistency,” he told media after the match.

Still, Luccin praised young players like Carl Sainte, who had his best match so far for FC Dallas, and guys like Tomas Pondeca and Tarik Scott who stepped in under tough circumstances to try to change the game.

FC Dallas continues to struggle on the road, and unless they can put a complete match together, their Leagues Cup run may end prematurely.

It was a good night to be a soccer fan, but a mixed bag as FC Dallas bides time until they can get healthy and unlock that next level.

My thought - will Enes Sali get some minutes against FC Juarez? Would it hurt? Will Jesus Ferreira be ready for some minutes against the Liga MX team?