It is safe to say that summer in Texas is here. It was toasty at kickoff but there was a breeze to provide relief. FC Dallas looked to keep their winning streak going after two road wins and last weeks home win. It was a strong performance from FCD as they imposed their play from start to finish resulting in a 2-0 win. Let’s take a closer look.
Tactics
It looks like the 4-3-3 is here to stay as Oscar Pareja has found another formation and system that produces results. I’m really proud of the versatility that Oscar(Papi) and the team is showing.
FC Dallas starting XI vs. Montreal Impact “Photo: FC Dallas”
Diaz again slots in as a false winger while Lamah took up a spot in the midfield. Dallas valued the possession they had by working the space available and going at the Impact from different parts of the field. Passing in the defensive 3rd and midfield was decisive with each pass looking to create an opening. On the defense, the strategy was to defend in a 4-5-1 with keeping the play in front of the midfield three.
Events
Dallas started the game with the intent of scoring and came very close within the first minute. In 5′, Diaz won a freekick on the left side of the box and after the linesman called as offsides on Hedges was actually an own goal as VAR corrected the call making it 1-0 for the Huntsmen.
this goal is for goobers pic.twitter.com/iOLavtbts3
— Big D Soccer (@BigDSoccer) June 10, 2018
Maxi Urruti who had an amazing game was fouled in the box in 13′ which Mauro Diaz stepped up and slotted the penalty to the bottom left of the goal giving FCD the 2-0 lead.
Diaz slots it home from the spot pic.twitter.com/09ryZqUOvp
— FC Dallas Nation (@FCDalNationDAL) June 10, 2018
Santiago Mosquera was subbed in for Rolan Lamah in the 64′ but he couldn’t go for more than 10′ minutes which is a bummer and a concern on what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Hopefully, it is nothing major.
Thoughts
Overall, it was a very complete performance from the Huntsmen. While the majority of the statics showed that FC Dallas and the Impact were on par, FCD made were more effective in playing out their game plan. Our backline+Jesse had a very solid and clean game with a few hiccups. Also, can we talk about how Reggie Cannon is playing beyond his years? He just keeps getting better and better each game.
It was great to see Kellyn go a full 90′ and had a good game hustling both on the attack and defense. Gruezo had a quiet game and picked up “smart” yellow card but Victor Ulloa came in a really made an impact both in his distribution and defense which helped close off the game. Lamah to me was just kinda out there but did help occupy space.
Maxi did his usual Maxi things and did help keep the Impact backline on their heels and out of 4 out of 5 shots being on target. Michael Barrios had a very good game as well as running and controlling the ride side of the field. His dribbling, crossing, and shots were all quality. I do hope that he works on shot placement instead of just hitting the ball as hard as he can. Mauro Diaz is embracing his role as a false wing well. He cut in, played vertically and horizontally, and pulled the strings on the left side instead of the middle which really speaks volumes about his quality as a player.
What was a tad frustrating was passing in the final third. Now the quality of defending in MLS has improved the times where players just need to lift their head and make a simple pass to another player in space is something that could use improvement. The aspect of deciding whether to pass or dribble is what separates good from great teams and therefore the quality of scoring opportunities. That and finishing…
You can tell that defending in the 4-3-3 is getting better and a work in progress because the Impacts good chances at goal were when they had numbers and the ball behind our 3 midfielders. As long as we had at least 2 of our midfielders in front of the ball, Montreal had to force the ball out wide which is a strong defensive point for FCD. It was very clean and solid defending.
FC Dallas and MLS are now going into a short World Cup break but FC Dallas will be back in action on June 20 as they take on Sporting Kansas City in the Round of 16 in the US Open Cup.
