Fifty in Frisco: Jesus Ferreira Finds the Winner as FC Dallas Drops Austin FC

In front of a jubilant crowd, FC Dallas took their chances, while Austin FC couldn't break down their in-state rivals. But Jesus is back.

On Tuesday night, FC Dallas needed a bench player, Logan Farrington, to find the necessary goal to keep the team moving forward in the Open Cup. The assist for that goal was courtesy of Jesus Ferreira, FC Dallas’ homegrown Designated Player and icon who has been hampered by injury to start the year. It doesn’t take rocket science to imagine that Dallas needs Jesus to get going to turn this season around.

After Petar Musa was gifted an easy score early on against Austin FC, Musa blessed his striker partner with a beautiful pass. In return, Jesus couldn’t be saved, grabbing his first goal of the 2024 season.

Oh, and his fiftieth in Major League Soccer.

That’s something special.

The overall performance of FC Dallas was “in-character”. Sure, they took their two goals well and generated a few other opportunities that they likely would prefer to do better with. However, the team also struggled to express themselves in the midfield and possess the ball for stretches of the match. Maybe there were tired legs after playing the Open Cup match earlier that week.

The defense, too, shouldered the majority of the load of the game, with Maarten Paes and Marco Farfan, in particular, thwarting chance after chance from Austin. Dallas couldn’t keep the ball, which allowed Austin to wind up and go again and again. Austin’s lone goal came off of a penalty kick on an ill-advised foul by Ema Twumasi. Other than that, Dallas stood tall.

A win at this stage of the season is a huge boost. It’s a boost for Copa Tejas standings, but it’s a boost to give FC Dallas more time to unlock their best self.

Paul Arriola and Sebastian Lletget should be back in practice this week, getting this squad closer and closer to a preferred starting formation.

Marco Farfan, in particular, was my man of the match. He was relentless, on point, and a thorn to the Verde’s attacks. It’s great to see him return from injury and immediately provide an upgrade to the streaky Dante Sealy.

The midfield needs work, but I have been impressed with the energy of Patrickson Delgado. It’s clear that these guys need more time together to learn how to balance and compliment one another’s presence. And to unlock that ability to really clamp down on a match.

This one was nervy in those final ten minutes.

So, yeah, the point is - it’s a work in progress. But Saturday’s big win gives us another reprieve from despair as FC Dallas tries to bottle that something special.