Morning After: Disappointment in Dallas
In its third straight home loss, FC Dallas once again delivered disappointment in Frisco, giving up two goals before mounting a late attempt at a comeback. Quill had no answers after the match.
FC Dallas head coach Eric Quill started his post-game comments after a third straight home loss, mostly closing the doors on any postseason action for the Burn, with a heartfelt plea of support to neighbors further down in Texas hit by torrential rain and flooding.
“A lot's obviously happening in our world right now, and I feel selfish that I'm sitting here talking about a soccer game when you know the things that are going on in our world are happening and lives are lost. It is a tough world to process right now,” he told media. “And so, I have a few comments about the game, if you want. But we haven't started thinking about the next two games, but disappointment in what this homestand was. We're going to continue to work. But the devastation today in Central Texas is probably at the forefront of everybody's minds and should be, and I think we should all say a deep prayer that God can make sense of this, and we can all rally around each other to help in whatever way we can to piece this devastation together. That's what's most important right now.”
While his words are no doubt sensitive to families who are searching for answers after flooding and climate disasters swept away loved ones, Quill’s comments sounded strange to fans who filled Toyota Stadium anticipating a turnaround, a renewed performance from a team that has struggled often this season and kept promising to solve their issues. Maybe fans needed a scintillating 90 minutes of joy to shift their minds from the tragedy of turmoil in our communities.
Instead, while we did get an incredible goal from Logan Farrington late in the second half, FC Dallas gave little respite to the home crowd in another listless performance.
Minnesota United FC, not eager to possess the ball, were happy to take the opportunities Dallas presented to score two goals that are typically straightforward to deal with, both on set pieces. But maybe FC Dallas is in such bad shape that they are struggling to do even the basic defending asked of them. The defense, in particular, is woefully underperforming and looking nothing like a Major League Soccer-level unit. It’s a maddening reality when their two starting central defenders occupy nearly $1.4 million in salary cap space.
“We're going to look and figure out the best game plan as far as if we need to make personnel changes, if we need to make formation changes. We're going to look hard at it, look hard at the opponent. But I really don't think it's formation, I don't think it's tactics. I don't see tactics being the forefront of our problem right now. I just think it's concentration errors and switching off. That's what’s beating us right now,” Quill told the media. “We've got to lock in and find our concentration levels that need to be at this level to win games. We're going to go on the road with that mentality we've had all year long, and we're going to pursue victory. I know there's confidence in who we are on the road, and I wish I had an answer as to why we can't do it here. I'm searching. I'm searching for the answers, and we are searching, and we're going to do it. We're not quitting. We're never going to quit. The solutions are out there. We got to find them, and we got to execute the solutions.”
At this point in the season, it’s a scandal that FC Dallas is not surrounded with plentiful answers on this team’s challenges with experienced staff from the front office to his bench. Is Quill not listening to the criticism of those around him? Is he not watching the game film? Why are the potential solutions escaping this team?
In particular, recognizing that injuries have plagued this team, too many veteran players do not look like they belong on the field. Rewarding them with start after start seems to excuse their poor play. Is it time to trust the youth more? Can those rumored summer signings arrive sooner rather than later? Can the team move a few players who are underperforming?
In particular, the body language and demeanor of the players after the goals and at halftime were more than enough to cast doubts on the mentality of this team. Who was angry? Who was getting into the face of their teammates? Who was asking for urgency? From the broadcast, this was a team resigned to defeat.
At what point has Quill lost this locker room if they are not taking basic steps to improve?
But let’s celebrate Logan Farrington at least, getting a nice ball in from Petar Musa and, with a quick turn, blasting a shot in goal. It was a nice reminder that this team is capable of a surprise, of excellence, of beauty. Let’s hope the rest of the team finds that courage too.