FC Dallas came away with a 1-0 win where we saw a good amount of squad rotation. FCD started their USOC campaign with a nice convincing as they look forward to repeating the magic of 2016. Let’s take a look.
Tactics
FC Dallas continued with the 4-3-3 as homegrown Jordan Cano and first-round draft pick Ema Twumasi getting their professional debuts.
FC Dallas starting XI vs San Antonio FC “Photo: FC Dallas”
FCD looked to control the game right from the start while in the first half it seemed to go back in forth while in the second half Dallas really made their presence known. Brandon Servania(M), Jesus Ferreira(F), and Chris Richards(D) are the other homegrowns that made the bench for the USOC game as this game focussed on getting the homegrowns and reserves minutes.
Events
The first thing that grabbed everyone’s mind was SAFC’s goalkeeper and his hair. Just take a look at it
That's some beard. #SAvFCD pic.twitter.com/GArGbHIq3S
— Mohammad B (@NaqOutPunch) June 7, 2018
Jordan Cano had an amazing goalline save
25' – @JimsMaurer steps out of the box for a split second, but @JordanACano2 keeps the ball from going in for @SanAntonioFC!#SAvFCD | #USOC2018 pic.twitter.com/OSMnON8xEt
— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) June 7, 2018
Dallas went into the half 0-0 and it was evident that Oscar Pareja and Tesho Akindele did not want to be in San Antonio any longer than they had to
making it 1-0 for the Huntsmen.
Dallas needs just 11 seconds to take a 1-0 lead. Barrios on the turnover finds Akindele. #SAvFCD pic.twitter.com/DxTJWuhfVj
— Carter Baum (@CarterBaum) June 7, 2018
Thoughts
Dallas did a great job of imposing themselves in this game from the thought and executed what they wanted to do. Our midfield did a great job in the transition from defense to attack and providing support both on the attack and defense. It was a shame that both Cristian Colman and Paxton Pomykal both came off due to what appeared to be injuries. Colman was getting into the rhythm of the game and I felt that Pomykal was getting better with each passing minute. Ema Twumasi was a great surprise for me as he did an amazing job and had two really close chances of scoring. He did a great job of controlling the side he was occupying and kept the SAFC defense honest which opened up space for other FCD players.
While this was our second team line-up, the last 20 minutes of the game did display SAFC really pushing for the equalizer. SAFC did prove to be more of a threat with each passing minute. Our defense did hold up but I would’ve like to have seen FCD been more assertive on controlling the ball those last minutes of the game. Our finishing was also a little lackluster as well. I think this summarizes FCD’s finishing this year:
Somehow, @FCDallas doesn’t score here. #SAvFCD | #USOC2018 pic.twitter.com/4G5NgR0b9b
— Big D Soccer (@BigDSoccer) June 7, 2018
FC Dallas will play Sporting Kansas City on the road in the US Open Cup on Saturday, June 16. FC Dallas will also return home this Saturday, June 9 at 7:00 pm as they take on the Montreal Impact and can be viewed life in person at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX or on TXA 21.
