FC Dallas Stops the Bleeding, 0-0 Draw in St Louis
FC Dallas Stops the Bleeding, 0-0 Draw in St Louis
Grabbing a crucial point on the road in St Louis, FC Dallas, for now, ended their losing streak behind a gutsy defensive performance in the Arch City.
Carrying a four game losing streak, FC Dallas needed a change of direction.
They found it in St Louis.
While still missing Asier Illaramendi and Jesus Ferreira, the prospects for road points appeared limited. Add to that the decision to leave Nkosi Tafari out of the starting lineup. Would Dallas have enough firepower to make something happen? Or at least would their defense hold up?
On Saturday night, enough lucky bounces and stalwart defending made it happen. FC Dallas looked closer to the defensive unit from last season as they switched back to a 3-4-3, a formation the squad had been working on in the preseason. Led by Maarten Paes in goal, the team did enough to block, thwart, and throw off St Louis attacks, who didn’t have a ton of trouble bypassing FCD’s midfield.
There were plenty of moments St Louis will want back from this one, including two late strikes that should have opened the scoring.
Omar Gonzalez, replacing Nkosi Tafari per a coach’s decision, nearly had a go-ahead goal for Dallas late in the second half, but he was easily ruled offside on review.
Overall, Paul Arriola performed competently at right wingback. Dante Sealy had an up and down game and no doubt will want to improve on this performance.
The midfield had moments, including a fairly impressive display from Liam Fraser to send Eugene Ansah for a tantalizing chance.
Petar Musa continues to show his quality with fierce hold up play, a bright spot in the attack so far this season.
There will be plenty to dive in and analyze as far as this game, but at the end of the day, a road point is a valuable thing in the conference. The team can return home and prep for Seattle with their heads a little higher and the alarm sirens on mute.
What did you think of the match?
I thought they played great. This is the kind of match where the injury narrative is appropriate. To play like that, get a point on the road, all while missing 5 starters (6 if you count Farfan) is excellent. Although Paes was key to getting the draw with some insane saves, so was Burki. Those Fraser and Lleget saves were nuts, and they got lucky Sealy missed the tap in.
Biggest take away for me was seeing Paes back to his old self. He hasn’t been what we’ve known him to be this season, until this game. Bravo.