FC Dallas Grind Out 1-1 Draw Against LAFC
Son Heung-min opened his MLS account with an unsaveable free kick, but Logan Farrington found an answer not long after to earn a point at home for Dallas.
Here’s my instant reaction from tonight’s feisty and gritty performance against Los Angeles FC:
FC Dallas is looking like a team again.
The players appear to be battling for each other and the home crowd at the right time in this season, after what has mostly been a disappointing year. We are witnessing a return to a DAWG mentality that was promised when Eric Quill took over. Yes, it’s taken some weird twists and turns to get there, including departures from long time players and the sale of a former league MVP in Lucho Acosta.
But, we can see the improvement. And that matters.
Son Heung-min, of course, deserves plaudits for stepping into this Los Angeles FC squad and helping them from the get go. His free kick was spectacular and may well earn goal of the week to entice those curious fans around the world to tune in to Major League Soccer. LAFC was dangerous throughout and controlled play for long stretches of the match.
Meanwhile, FC Dallas also found ways to impact the game and could argue they deserved more. This isn’t a team built to out possess others. They want to get on the counter and use their speed and physicality to their advantage. Logan Farrington laced in a terrific goal to respond to Son, and Michael Collodi looks like a MLS keeper with his energy, his leadership, and his shot stopping ability. More importantly, this squad fought for each other and put their bodies on the line.
You cannot argue that there was a lack of effort.
And the defense was locked in and more than good enough.
If you want to split hairs, you can wonder whether or not more points were possible if Dallas found just a little bit more quality. Late in the second half, with human spark plug Sam Sarver on, it was disappointing that the formation couldn’t utilize him more and or at least generate some possession. Still, with the way the team has played at home in recent months, a point against a really good opponent isn’t bad.
Of course, Los Angeles FC could argue that they had an opportunity for the road win just the same.
It was that kind of match - hard fought, lots of fun to watch, and exhausting.
For now, though, I think FC Dallas fans can continue to lift our hopes a bit for the hard push to come over these next few weeks. If they continue to play this hard and with this determination, more points are on the table.