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For the second week in a row, FC Dallas has looked good under new manager Luchi Gonzalez, this time snagging a preseason victory over the Seattle Sounders 2-1 on Saturday morning.
Gonzalez continues to throw out his 4-3-3 formation with some twists in the midfield as Carlos Gruezo, Paxton Pomykal and Jacori Hayes earn some solid minutes in the win over their best competition to date in 2019.
Badji continues to score
34' - FCD strikes first!
— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) February 16, 2019
Barrios sets it up perfectly for @dbadji14, who finds the back of the net. FCD up 1-0.#FCDvSEA | #FCDPreseason
Watch: https://t.co/fVjd7OShLJ pic.twitter.com/XVK6QZGzFs
There were plenty of items to take in from this one including the two goals. The finishing there by Badji continues to ramp up his momentum going into the new season. He had a couple other chances to get on the board including this one below...
Paxton looks at home in the starting lineup
Pomykal again. Drifts deep, then combines to set the winger free.
— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) February 16, 2019
Badji has to get there to finish that in order for my #Baerantee to not be dumb. pic.twitter.com/bpfm9IFb9i
The build up on the first one is something you are going to want more of this season. Paxton Pomykal certainly looks like a MLS starter right now with movement on and off the ball like this. Is he a #8? Or a #10? Right now it doesn’t really matter when you are getting production like this.
Roberts shows a flash
Mere seconds after coming into the match, @thomas_roberts gets one past Bryan Meredith and doubles the lead. FCD 2, SEA 0!#FCDvSEA | #FCDPreseason
— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) February 16, 2019
Watch: https://t.co/fVjd7OShLJ pic.twitter.com/ZHYKk9zcMG
Goals like this tell me a couple things. For starters, Roberts is super comfortable with the ball at his feet and he isn’t afraid to give it a go from distance. Two, if the confidence is being instilled in FCD’s young players like this to have a go from distance right now, then this is all the more reason to continue to find ways to play the kids.
Roberts may not be MLS-ready right now but you can damn sure bet we’ll see more of this in 2019 when he gets his chances.
Other thoughts and observations
- Ryan Hollingshead had a so-so match from what I could see. Easily the weakest link in the back four but not by a large margin or anything. He’s going to serve just right as the backup to Marquinhos Pedroso this season.
- Getting an early look at Bryan Acosta was definitely a positive thing to see. He’s not fully fit just yet but he’s certainly going to give Jacori Hayes a good push for that starting role on March 2.
- Santiago Mosquera was a bit of a pest out on the pitch for Seattle. I definitely want more and more of that. He bigger annoyance he is for other teams, the better off this attack will be this season.
- It was cool to see that FC Dallas squared off in a second game against former head coach Schellas Hyndman. Gonzalez even gave a little pep talk to his old coach/boss’ team.