FC Dallas Struggles against the Red Bulls in Second Straight Loss

Rain-soaked conditions added to the difficult task for FC Dallas and company, who struggled for a second straight game.

On Saturday night, as FC Dallas took on the Red Bulls in New Jersey, I almost wanted to don my rain jacket as an unrelenting deluge of moisture soaked players and pitch.

When the final whistle blew, FC Dallas were left with their second straight loss and questions after an optimistic preseason campaign.

This, of course, was not how the season was supposed to begin.

There were positives on the evening. Jesus Ferreira started and found his first goal of the 2024 campaign, a beautiful free kick that gave his team a chance to claw for a point. After going down early (again), Dallas worked to adjust and correct some mistakes to gain a bit of confidence. You also can give credit to Maarten Paes, Sam Junqua, and Nkosi Tafari for solid shifts in less than ideal conditions.

But those question marks are growing.

Sure, the team isn’t healthy yet. We haven’t seen the best XI for this squad. There are players still adjusting and growing into their roles. The rain no doubt made it all extra difficult to establish themselves away from home.

Take away an overly generous penalty kick called on Ema Twumasi for a tug on a shoulder (that may have been nothing more than a gentle caress), and maybe Dallas can find a way for at least a point.

But don’t kid yourself. FC Dallas struggled in large stretches of the match. The midfield and defense couldn’t complete passes well, often coughing up turnovers that led to dangerous opportunities for the Red Bulls’ high press. Twumasi was a step slow and ineffective on the second goal of the night. Dante Sealy couldn’t quite get going as a left wingback after his solid start in the opening match.

When the offensive players received the ball, they couldn’t formulate enough opportunities. It just didn’t click or was easily thwarted by the Red Bulls defense.

Jesus Ferreira acknowledged as much after the game.

“The team responded after a tough first half. Personally, I couldn’t find myself and I was lost for the majority of the first half,” Jesus said to media. “In the second half the team responded after the second goal we conceded. We are aware that we took too long to respond and too long to find our feet. We took a long time to execute our game plan. There were spaces that we knew were going to be available and we took too long to find them. I got to be better for the team, they hold me at higher standards and I have to be contagious with my energy. I need to do better in that part.”

The questions are beginning to pile up for this team, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to panic. The season is early. There is time for players to get healthy and for the staff and team to come together to make some corrections to their game plan. Maybe they have been unlucky a bit and that luck will turn around.

In the meantime, here is what needs to be answered.

1 - Who is the starting right wingback? So far, we’ve seen Herb Endelay, Bernard Kamungo, and now Paul Arriola get nods, all to varying degrees of effectiveness. It’s not good to be searching for your starter at this point, but it also seems Nico wants something very particular for this position?

2 - Is the formation the right one with these players? Maybe with a fully healthy XI, you can make the current system work, but when Ema Twumasi is your answer on the back line and the team can’t advance the ball into dangerous areas, flexibility is needed. What formation will get the most out of the players you have right now?

3 - Is Nico putting young players into positions to succeed? I love the youth movement at FC Dallas, and I think Dante Sealy and Bernard Kamungo have plenty of time to develop and grow in confidence at this level. The gameplan though needs a tweak if you expect these young guys to be the difference right away. Kamungo in particular had much more success off the bench last season when he could push weary defenders. Right now, teams are pressuring both guys too easily.

4 - Is a reinforcement at center back still a conversation? With three green cards announced this week, Dallas should have the means (if not the salary cap space) to look for another potential defender to strengthen that part of the squad. These past two games, if anything else, reveal how badly the roster could use help, though such a player may not come cheap.

FC Dallas needs to rebound with a win this weekend. If they can’t, the questions are going to get louder about Nico’s strategy and approach this season. Thank goodness there is time for adjustments.