FC Dallas 2-Philadelphia Union 0
There were a few raised eye-brow before the match when Dallas fans glanced at the starting line-up. Oscar Pareja went with the 4-4-2 formation that got the win on the road in New England, which meant there was no place in the line-up for Mauro Diaz, but he was joined on the bench by goal-starved striker Maxi Urruti. It’s fitting that the narrative of the match would end up revolving around these two players.
Dallas and Philadelphia kicked off the match under a torrential downpour, and Dallas had a flood of chances in the first half, but just could not find the back of the net. Philadelphia’s back-four looked frail, and time again FCD found to ways outpace them on the counter. Mosquera and Barrios both found themselves one-on-one with Union keeper Andre Blake, only to squander their chances. Blake was in inspired form, twice making great saves from Mosquera. The team’s failure to be clinical in front of goal continued to be this team’s biggest failing, but Oscar Pareja must have been scratching his head as to how it remained goalless at the break.
If the first-half was frustrating, the second was nearly disastrous were it not for the heroics of goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer who made an insane double-save. First he beat out a volley from David Accam, then still on the floor he managed to grasp CJ Sapong’s rebound away from 2 yards out. You’ll do well find a better save in the MLS this entire season. Many have been wondering what Pareja will do when Jesse Gonzalez returns from injury, but with three clean-sheets and the best defense in the league, surely Maurer has cemented his place between the sticks for Dallas.
Diaz replaced Mosquera on the hour and within two minutes he was on the score-sheet. Auston Trusty was whistled for a holding Matt Hedges for a very soft penalty. Diaz calmly slotted in the bottom right corner, sending Blake the wrong way. With Dallas struggling to finish in open-play they were fortuitous to be gifted a penalty to take the lead, and despite the barrage of chances they had faced in the first half Philadelphia would have felt very unlucky to go a goal down.
On 68 minutes Urruti replaced Colman and it only took him 5 minutes to latch onto a great through ball from Lamah, take the ball around Blake and calmly slide the ball home from a tight angle, to bring all 3 points to Dallas.
In the post-match conference Pareja said he felt “content” with performance, and he must be pleased with the way his team got the job done Saturday night. He noted that this was a “different look” to his team but he was keen to emphasize that this is period of transition and he will continue to take opportunities to experiment with formations and line-ups.
Pareja praised the attitude of both Diaz and Urruti for their attitude in coming off the bench, but finding a system that plays to both players strengths remains a challenge. Pareja must have some concerns with how many chances it took for Dallas to find a way past Philly. There is a sense that at times this team tries too hard to score. But with the encouraging results of the past few weeks this team will be growing with confidence, and hopefully we’ll see the players relax and their composure in front of goal improve. Pareja was pleased to “see a team gelling together” and they can go to New York next week, in a showdown with only other unbeaten team in the MLS, with nothing to fear.
FC Dallas
Philadelphia Union
