FC Dallas Hold Off Philadelphia, Grab Home Draw
After Lalas Abubakar was sent off with a second yellow, FC Dallas locked down Philadelphia's offense and salvaged a point at home in a tough, gritty match.
(Graphic credit to the FC Dallas media team.)
What you are going to hear from the folks who follow FC Dallas regularly - Saturday’s home draw against the Philadelphia Union was a positive.
And really, that’s a solid take.
FC Dallas didn’t begin the game in the hole, going toe to toe with Philly for a bit, even generating at least one chance by Anderson Julio that should have led to a goal, but once Lalas Abubakar, already on a yellow, decided to recklessly go for the ball against a Union player on the break, the gameplan went out the window. Eric Quill picked up a yellow for arguing against the call, but it was not a difficult one to make by the referees. Abubakar made a poor choice, and it nearly cost his team any points.
Down to ten men, Philadelphia threw the kitchen sink at the home side, generating plenty of chances.
From that moment on, FC Dallas bunkered and held on for dear life.
In the second half, the Union were poised to score. In fact, it looked pretty grim for FC Dallas right after the whistle, but somehow, the home team hung on, even when MLS goal-scoring leader Tai Baribo subbed on in the second half. The best efforts went wide. One rebound was deftly parried by Maarten Paes en route to his second clean sheet on the season. Somehow, Dallas found a point at home in a tough situation.
Quill told the media how proud he was of the team for fighting for that draw.
“It is unbelievable to watch. I was inspired tonight watching the fight and the hustle and the desire behind the ball. It's not easy to do that,” Quill said. “You can't question the heart and the resiliency that we play with.”
But that doesn’t mean that fans have to be pleased with the product on the field.
Yes, FC Dallas has shown some resiliency and hard work to claw back a point in Cincinnati, to go on the road throughout this season and get some solid results, but the home form has been disappointing. The loss to rival Houston was particularly bad. Tonight, Dallas needed to turn the page on the Open Cup loss. They needed to take this chance against a rotated Union side and get a full three at home.
And they didn’t. Again.
Sure, Philadelphia is an excellent team. In some ways, they are who FC Dallas is meant to be - a well-drilled side with academy and first team aligned to produce young talent who can jump right in and produce big moments.
But fans are okay wanting more from Lucho Acosta and company.
Whether they are individual mistakes like Abubakar’s foul tonight or continued questions about the tactical shape or even curiosity about Quill refusing to rotate in fresh legs, FC Dallas haven’t wowed in key moments, especially at home. Their home form has become their biggest impediment to finding a way up the table into playoff positioning. It’s no longer just a blip - it’s become the norm.
I asked Quill what he would say to fans who are maybe souring on this team’s home performances.
“Stick with us,” he said. “We're going to get there. We got red-carded tonight. To the general fan it wasn't a fun night to watch low block defending, but if you're a soccer enthusiast and you really know the game, you had a real appreciation for what just went on tonight, and the desire that these guys played with, and the heart and hustle, that's for them. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't going to be pretty, but it was one of those games that are built on mentality and organization, communication, being a team, being tight in your lines, and committing to that. They're not going to get the touches in the moments that they want but I think we made our fans proud tonight, and I think we're going to get there. We're becoming a better and better side so stick with us, because we're not, we're not going to be in 11th place much longer.”
The good news is that the team will get a break to rest, take stock of where they are, and maybe work on some of those problems.