FC Dallas returned to MLS play on Wednesday night with a wild 2-2 draw that saw the posts getting as much action as the back of the net.
Patrickson Delgado opened up the scoring in the first half with a stoppage-time strike for his third goal of the season. Portland striker Kevin Kelsey tied up things midway through the second half with a shot that hit off the post and went in.
Both teams traded chances and strikes off the post before Petar Musa scored his now league-leading 13th goal of the season in the 88th minute. The Croatian, fresh off his World Cup adventure dribbled between two defenders before firing a shot that found the back of the net.
But Dallas failed to fully put away the Timbers in their own building, as Felipe Mora buried the equalizer two minutes into stoppage time.
Key Moments
20’ - First chance of the night as Moreno springs free in the Portland defensive end, he finds Farrington along the left wing. Farrington dribbles into the penalty box and fires a shot that hits off the near post.
45+3’ - GOAL!!! Right before halftime Dallas takes the lead! Valiente dribbles through the Portland defensive zone before dishing the ball off to Delgado at the top of the penalty area. Delgado doesn’t waste any time on the ball as he rips a shot low and hard past the Portland keeper.
63’ - Two quick strikes for the Timbers, both hitting off the post!
66’ - Timbers goal. Kevin Kelsey collected the ball inside the penalty area after a Sam Sarver challenge doesn’t clear the ball. Kelsey hits a shot that goes off Nolan Norris, hits the post and goes into the back of the net.
68’ - GOAL! Dallas nearly takes the lead as Sarver finds Kaick around the penalty spot, but Sarver is whistled offside on the play.
79’ - Post again for Portland! De Costa sends in a free kick that goes off the Dallas wall. The ball drops to the feet of Kelsey who immediately takes a shot on goal that hits off the post and goes out.
88’ - MUSA! GOAL! After a bad giveaway around midfield, Musa collects the ball, dribbles around a pair of defenders before firing a shot that goes into the far corner for this 13th of the season!
90+2’ - Portland goal. Mora ties it up late with a shot from the penalty spot after Dallas does a poor job of clearing the ball out of the area.
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Instant Reaction
This is going to be another one of those road performances that go down as a ‘what if’ potentially when the season is done and dusted. Dallas had the chances on the night to be in the lead, especially late in the game when Musa put them on top. Giving up a goal in the final minute to drop points isn’t the best way to start this second half of the season, but it is better than a loss.
About the Subs
Around the hour mark of the night, Eric Quill went to his bench for a trio of subs to bring on Sam Sarver, Petar Musa, and Bernard Kamungo. He took off Logan Farrington, Patrickson Delgado and Santiago Moreno. In the 84th minute, Quill brought in a pair of defensive subs when he added Sebastien Ibeagha and Ran Binyamin to the mix, taking off Herman Johansson and Joaquin Valiente.
Man of the Match
Kind of hard not to give it to Musa, who was a big addition off the bench in the second half.
Where does this fit into the season
The draw (along with other results on Wednesday) keeps Dallas in 5th place on 26 points. Technically, tied with RSL on points but the Utah side has a tiebreaker against Dallas at the moment in number of total wins.
What’s next for FC Dallas
FC Dallas continues its nine-game road trip this weekend when they head down the coast to battle San Diego FC.
