There were plenty of reasons for FC Dallas to fold on Sunday night.
Eric Quill's side wasn't particularly sharp for 90 minutes. They struggled to play out of pressure, conceded goals at bad moments and found themselves staring at a two-goal deficit in the second half. Add in the milage accumulated over the entire summer on the road, and a 3-1 scoreline could have easily become the point where FC Dallas finally ran out of gas.
Instead, this club did what is has done repeatedly during this stretch: kept on fighting.
FC Dallas erased deficits twice and scored twice late to earn possibly their grittiest road point of the season when they tied St. Louis CITY SC 3-3.
“We weren’t at our best tonight,” Quill admitted afterward. “We brought more pressure on ourselves than we needed to.”
While the play on the field may not have impressed Quill, the response certainly did.
“What is clear every day of the week with my group is that we have resilience, we have belief in each other, and we have a mentality that we never lay down,” Quill said. “It was 3-1 after what happened last week, but our guys are fighters, man, and I’m really proud of that about them.”
That resilience was needed almost immediately.
Dallas struggled to settle into the match before Shaq Moore provided the first response on the night with his first goal of the season. The veteran defender collected the ball in a one-on-one situation, tried to work his way into the penalty area and stayed with the play after his initial move didn't quite pay off. When the ball fell back into his path, Moore decided to have a go.
“I thought, ‘You know what? Why not take a shot?’” Moore said. “I took the shot and it went in.”
The goal brought Dallas level, but St. Louis restored its advantage before halftime and eventually pushed the margin to 3-1 with roughly 25 minutes and change left to play on the night.
Again, Dallas could have disappeared. In years past, Dallas would have disappeared.
But this group doesn't give up quite that easily.
Quill turned to his bench looking for another response, and the substitutes helped changed the match. Logan Farrington eventually delivered the equalizer, finishing a move created by fellow striker Petar Musa.
“I was hoping just to get one chance, one close chance on goal,” Farrington said. “I saw a ball come to Musa, and as the strikers run, you run diagonal across the box, and he knew where to find me.”
Nolan Norris played a smart ball that Sam Sarver dummied to Musa. The Croatian put the ball into Farrington's path and the forward did the rest, striking it first time to complete the comeback.
For Quill, Farrington's response carried a little extra significance.
The Dallas coach said he told Farrington before coming onto the pitch to be ready to score.
“He got the game-tying goal,” Quill said. “That’s what he has. He’s got star power, and he’s a starter.”
Quill also pointed toward Farrington as an example of the mentality within the group. Despite not being included in the starting lineup, the forward remained ready when his opportunity arrived.
“A guy like Logan is a starter for us, so he could easily be disappointed not to be in the starting lineup, but he comes in and does the job,” Quill said. “Our subs made the difference, and it’s a credit to our team and our collective group.”
Farrington had a similar explanation for the comeback.
“It's just a little bit of grit and determination,” he said. “It wasn't the prettiest game ever, but the boys grinded it out today.”
Dallas will want to still adjust from the mistakes made on Sunday night. The backline was under pressure for most of the match and St. Louis proved to be a dangerous side throughout.
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But after an exhausting run away from Frisco, style points weren't exactly the priority. Finding one more point in the middle of a playoff push was.
“We made it out alive,” Moore said. “We could have easily given in with all the games on the road, which in this league is never easy. But we dug deep and got some important wins.”
Now, finally, the road signs point toward home for FC Dallas. After not playing in Toyota Stadium from the middle of May through the end of August, Dallas will finally turn home. Farrington didn't bother hiding how much the team is looking forward to it.
“We're ecstatic to go back home,” he said. “See our fans and see our families. We've been on the road for what feels like all year right now.”
Quill, however, knows simply stepping back onto their home field won't suddenly make things easier as the playoff race continues to heat up.
“Going home doesn’t guarantee you wins,” he said. “We’ve got to execute and have a proper game plan.”
Dallas survived the difficult road stretch, that also included a run in the Leagues Cup. Now comes a difference challenge of making the most out of the eight final home games.
“We control our destiny in a lot of ways,” Quill said, “and we need to make sure we keep our foot on the gas pedal.”
