Morning Hangover: FC Dallas Loses
Minnesota United FC found a scrappy goal, and FC Dallas couldn’t break down their northern visitors, losing their first home opener in 13 years. Ugh.
I am sitting here with coffee this morning, pondering the disappointment of FC Dallas’ home opening loss to the 2023 season.
Not pretty. In fact, there were plenty of shades of last season, when Dallas came out with a lot of energy and some ideas but failed to get the ball in the back of the net. Questions will remain from this performance, and in fact, those questions were echoed from the team in the post-game last night.
Head Coach Nico Estévez said, “I think, we did everything that we could on the side of effort, the fight, the desire to fight this game. But I think we rushed in the worst moments. I think we had some patience, building up when we broke lines then we rushed a little bit in the last pass, the last cross, the last decision. We didn’t do well.”
Overall, the performance wasn’t awful. Minnesota definitely had moments, and the single goal came off of a blocked shot that bounced right into the waiting path of Garcia. He put it away without hesitation. Other than that, Dallas seemed to control the majority of the match and generate more opportunities, even if those opportunities weren’t all that juicy.
Much will be asked about the offense and Jesus Ferreira’s inability to influence the game more, not something you want to see much more of.
Defensively, it could have been worse. Sebastian Ibeagha didn’t have his best debut on the back line, nearly gifting a goal to Minnesota in the first half. Ema Twumasi was decent, but Geovane Jesus looked more dangerous when he replaced him in the second half. The midfield didn’t quite click, though Paxton Pomykal continues to look poised for a great season.
What do we take from this match?
Don’t panic - it is the first game of the season, and there is plenty of time to correct mistakes and build.
The home opener loss is disappointing, but FC Dallas has been known to start strong and then falter as other teams catch up. Last season, the team started a bit slow then figured it out. I don’t mind that change if it means a more consistent season overall.
The lineup has questions. Will we see Geovane start at RB next weekend? Will we see Ibeagha back in the starting lineup? Will Edwin Cerrillo get a look as a starter?
Let’s not hit the alarm just yet.