FC Dallas Bounce Back, Draw San Jose 2-2 on the Road
With the away draw, FC Dallas ends a four game losing skid, restore some confidence, and actually look solid for once.
Coming into this match against the San Jose Earthquakes, FC Dallas felt the heavy weight of their struggles - inconsistent defensive performances, minimal offensive production, and, most importantly, lack of team cohesion.
But what Eric Quill saw tonight in the away draw, despite believing that the team left three points out there, was the performance of a group of guys who played like a team.
“Disappointment for the guys because they deserved to get three points tonight. But the amount of positives outweigh the negatives,” Quill told media after the match. “The way we played tonight, it was a team. I saw a team fighting, a team front-footed, aggressive and I challenged them to be a team. I challenged them a few days ago because I didn’t see a collective group that loves each other like you have to to get results. Today, I’m really proud of what I saw given where we are, given what’s happened recently. It’s not easy to do to come out with a belief like they had and with that fight. I’m just gutted for them that they didn’t get that three (points).”
Despite going down in the first half to a beautiful (but poorly defended shot) by Ian Harkes, Dallas fought back. Petar Musa grabbed a rebound, turned, and zipped the ball to level the game near the end of the first half. And really, FC Dallas appeared to have most of the momentum, dealing with counter attacks and looking to win balls and get up the field quickly.
In the second half, Petar Musa earned his brace to briefly give Dallas a lead at the end of a sequence that involved Logan Farrington and Ramiro - and probably one of their more beautiful goals of the year. Alas, the celebrations were short-lived as San Jose nullified seconds later after a header by Josef Martinez.
Our friend of the show, Will Perkins, noted that the cross into Josef likely crossed the end line but it was not reviewed.
The other big storyline was the absence of Lucho Acosta due to card accumulation. Eric Quill went with three center backs, with Marco Farfan tucking in on the left side. Homegrown Josh Torquato made his first start, doing quite well as a left wing back opposite Shaq Moore. All in all, it was a much better performance from FC Dallas with a midfield that combined well together, covered a lot of ground, and pushed forward into attack. They generated more than enough to get two goals, though the defense continues to have moments where they are just late or second best or simply unlucky.
Still, the away draw gives FC Dallas a vital point and lifts them at a time when they needed to turn things around.
The big questions that loom after this match:
Does Eric Quill keep Lucho Acosta on the bench?
Can he get strong performances from a lineup like this again?
How will arriving reinforcements boost the team?
When will Osaze Urhoghide be ready to go longer?
Is Marco Farfan really a potential target by Tigres?
We can confirm that Don Deedson Louicius, the Haitian international winger and former Atlanta United academy product, is an FC Dallas player. His announcement will come on Friday, and he gives Quill a fresh attacking option as they try to figure out the best formation going forward.
Ultimately, it is so nice to have a little positivity after the recent run for this team. More please.