Road Points: FC Dallas Hold on for 2-2 Draw in Portland
Musa is back. FC Dallas played a pretty good first half, and after giving up two scrappy goals, held on for a vital road point.
Remember our mantra, Major League Soccer fans.
Road points are always good.
The big headline from FC Dallas’ road draw at the Portland Timbers, 2-2, was just how good the team looked despite some sloppy second half play from a back line that didn’t look quite so organized. Despite that and despite some feeling like three points were left there in the Pacific Northwest, you can still appreciate the effort and the point. It all adds up in the end.
In the first half, FC Dallas pinged the ball around like wizards. Kaick in particular had a strong game (even though he did fade a bit as the game wore on). Logan Farrington was unlucky not to get on at least one ball to punch through a breakthrough. Instead, Valiente found space in stoppage time of the first half and slid the ball over to Patrickson Delgado who took a step and slashed it home. Beautiful stuff.
But, really, FC Dallas should have had at least one other goal.
In the second half, Portland came out with extra fight and pinged the posts several times on near misses. They found a breakthrough of their own that started with some missed talks when Sam Sarver, who is no defensive wizard, couldn’t stay with the play. From my vantage point, the back line got disorganized. It happens.
But Petar Musa came on after a busy World Cup and snatched an errant pass to single-handedly put FC Dallas back on top. He is now the golden boot leader in Major League Soccer. FC Dallas, pay the man!
The lead would not hold, despite Dallas threatening a couple more times. Eric Quill’s second half subs attempted to boost some weary legs, but the second half formation never completely gelled when they didn’t have the ball. Bernard Kamungo struggled a bit to influence the game after a long injury — which is all true. Sam Sarver earned some hard fouls and wanted to blast past every Portland defender, even if that was a little bit wishful in the end.
Still, there is so much to like from this performance for the first actual action after a long layoff. Debutant Daniel in goal also found some nice saves, even if he could do little on the two given up. He will need some help.
With San Diego looming this weekend, Eric Quill is not going to apologize for fielding a team that is going to push hard for points. It’s worked. They have a lot of road games ahead, and there isn’t a ton of reason to go defense first in the matches. Roll the dice. Fight like hell. Go for the win.
Here are my questions:
What role is Bernard Kamungo going to have? Frankly, I much prefer Nolan Norris on the left. He isn’t going to burn defenders, but he is a good passer and just helps balance that side of the field.
When will Petar Musa start? Will he be ready to go on Saturday? I imagine he will.
Is Patrickson Delgado going to be a rollercoaster? Will he find consistency? His goal was beautiful and deserved, but then he disappears. Will we see Kamungo or Logan Farrington in a more advanced role in his place?
Most importantly, let’s just enjoy watching Petar Musa while we have him.