FC Dallas went to Carson and got their first away win of 2022 against the LA Galaxy. Let’s look at three of the biggest takeaways from the win that saw them move up to second in the Western Conference.
1) Bounce back from a tough defeat
After a big win against a heavily rotated Sounders side the previous weekend, FCD had a big let down mid-week in the US Open Cup matchup with Sporting KC, allowing a 2-0 lead to turn into a 4-2 defeat in extra time in the KC heat and humidity. It would have been completely unsurprising to see FCD struggle to deal with a quality LA Galaxy team away from home but Dallas bounced back in incredible fashion, scoring three goals in the first 23 minutes and basically putting the game to bed in the first half. It was fantastic to see this kind of mindset and attitude on display from a young group of players and that ability to forget about the heartbreak and disappointment from earlier in the week and put on that kind of performance says a lot about the mentality of this group of players and the coaching staff.
2) Ferreira on fire
There were a lot of very justified questions coming into 2022 about the 9 position on this team. With Ricardo Pepi departing in the summer, the responsibility fell to Jesus Ferreira. The club put their faith in him in a big way, rewarding him with a Designated Player contract and through the first third of the season, Ferreira has repaid that faith in a big way. A week after passing his dad’s goal tally for FCD, Jesus bagged a brace to bring his tally to 9 this season, putting him at the top of the league. In a game where he was matched up against one of the greatest strikers Mexico and CONCACAF has ever produced, Ferreira was the star man. It certainly took some time early in the season to get Jesus out of the mindset of playing more as a 10 as he did for the past 2.5 seasons, but as time goes on, he looks better and better up top and is proving to be one of the most important players on this team in 2022.
3) Squad depth steps up
FCD has been relatively injury free through the first few months of the season, but they were hit, for the first time in 2022, with the dreaded “Health and Safety Protocols” showing up on the injury report. We don’t know the full details of what this means, but it forced Jose Martinez, Maarten Paes and Alan Velasco to miss the game against the Galaxy (Martinez and Paes did not even make the trip, meaning they will almost certainly also miss the Vancouver game on Wednesday). This forced Nkosi Tafari, Jimmy Maurer and Jader Obrian into the starting lineup and all three players delivered. Obrian had a great assist on the very well worked first FCD goal, Maurer came up with some important saves, especially in the first half as the Galaxy tried to respond to FCD’s early pressure and goals and Tafari looked like his 2021 self in defense partnering with Matt Hedges, limiting the Galaxy to few chances over the course of 90 minutes. This depth is going to be tested throughout the season but most immediately again on Wednesday as the team crosses the northern border to play Vancouver.
How are you feeling after FCD’s first away win of 2022? Will they follow it up with a win against Vancouver on Wednesday? Let me know in the comments below!
Featured Image: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
