Morning After: FC Dallas Comes From Behind

Sporting Kansas City went up early on a deflected goal but come away with nothing to show for it as FC Dallas surges and adjusts for the full three points in another wild one.

What a game.

In the first half, FC Dallas fans, and heck Head Coach Nico Estevez, were right to be restless. Sporting Kansas City had come into their turf and scored their first goal of the season. Dallas looked dangerous but also not quite connected.

It wasn’t that the team was playing awful, but things weren’t clicking.

In the locker room, a pep talk from Nico brought them back to earth, almost channeling a little Tedd Lasso.

“I told them we have to believe in ourselves. We need to believe that we are good. The first step to do well is to believe in yourself. They took that message,” Nico said in the post-game press conference. “Control your frustration. Control what you can control. What you can control is the action in front of you.”

“At the end of the first half, we were seeing a lot of frustration from the guys, thinking about the state of the game. But I told them we think about tying the game. When we tie, then we think about winning it. Stay in the present,” Nico shared.

This was an absolutely thrilling match in the second half, as FC Dallas came from behind via a beautiful interplay between Sebastian Lletget and Alan Velasco, who then struck from outside the box. Then later Geovane Jesus crossed to a surging Jesus Ferreira who slotted away the rebound.

But you also had two penalty kick saves, although only one counted as Maarten Paes stood tall once again. There was VAR involved. A second yellow that got rescinded. The whole game seemed to hang in the balance, whether FC Dallas would be grateful to hold on to a draw or push for more.

Here are a few more points to revisit:

• Sporting Kansas City truly feels like the emotional rival for FC Dallas. The games are rarely boring between the two sides. Peter Vermes and his side are feeling the pressure after a very slow start to their season, where things aren’t quite coming together.

• The bench played a vital role in this one, a welcome sight. Nico mentioned that his staff had planned for some changes to make use of Jesus Jimenez at halftime. The subs were ready. And then Dallas scored the tying goal. Such is managing a soccer team in this league. You have to be ready for things to turn on a dime. Fun fact - Sporting Kansas City made defensive subs before Dallas scored the second goal, placing them at a disadvantage later in the match.

• Jesus Ferreira has three goals so far in the season. While Jesus Jimenez may not have made a statistical impact, his presence likely created the space for Jesus to earn his third.