FC Dallas Fade in Carson, Settle for Scoreless Draw Against the Galaxy
Despite some stats that suggest FC Dallas were wasteful in the attack, the visitors saw out and held on for a 0-0 draw on the road against a depleted Los Angeles Galaxy team. A disappointing night?
On a perfect evening for soccer in Southern California, FC Dallas held on for a scoreless draw against the Los Angeles Galaxy behind Jonathan Sirois’ nine saves.
Away points, of course, are precious things, and the defensive performance, especially as the home side looked more dangerous as the game dragged on, is at least something to build on.
Here is the cold hard truth - the Los Angeles Galaxy are not good.
Yes, their roster is in a bit of a state of turnover, like FC Dallas’ Toyota Stadium with sections cordoned off and other structures crushed into bits, all the while they try to put some decent product on the field. That product hasn’t really materialized, even if a few new faces have recently arrived and may bear some promise. But, you wouldn’t know any of this the way FC Dallas struggled in Carson.
And maybe I’m being harsh — maybe there isn’t that much that separates FC Dallas from Los Angeles Galaxy. Standing-wise, there is only 5 points that separate the two, despite rosters being in different stages of development. The Galaxy don’t have a legit striker yet, and their new Japanese international may not have much more to give. Meanwhile, FC Dallas have Petar Musa, who is just ready and waiting for a sliver of daylight to punish opponents.
Beyond Musa? FC Dallas once look again like a team of spare parts, all trying to get in rhythm after a long break. Despite second half subs expected to provide some offensive spark, Anderson Julio, Bernard Kamungo, and Santi Moreno mostly disappeared, struggling to keep the ball, and rarely picking out the right pass from the buffet of options before them. Things were better in the first half, but I always get a little frustrated when our killer striker is the one coming back deep to try to drop assists for his teammates. We’ve seen that playbook before, and it just doesn’t work.
Meanwhile, Sam Sarver, who may not be a true MLS week-in/week-out starter, stayed on the bench despite his ability to break down defenses and provide a spark of emotion, joy, anything.
I think it is fair to ask questions of FC Dallas head coach Eric Quill.
“I was proud of us defensively. I thought we transitioned as a group with honesty. They’re a dangerous team in transition, and I thought we did a good job managing those moments. We were knocking on the door and had some really good looks, but we just couldn’t find that final play inside the box. We had a lot of almost moments, and so did they,” Quill told media after the match. “It was a highly contested game. This isn’t an easy place to come and get points, so I’m proud of the point we earned. We have to keep building, though.”
Let’s start over. Look, an away point is always a solid thing, and FC Dallas face a stretch of challenging games, most of them on the road in the weeks ahead with Leagues Cup play starting. Maybe we’ll look back at this defensive performance and feel pretty good about it. Maybe the Galaxy will get hot all of a sudden. Maybe Dallas is trying to find a location for Anderson Julio to finish out his career.
Until then, it’s okay to be a bit disappointed right now… and grateful for a keeper like Jonathan Sirois who kept this team in it.