FC Dallas extended its unbeaten streak to five games on Saturday night by downing Copa Tejas rivals Austin FC 2-0.
Petar Musa added to his season tally in the win, while Bernard Kamungo scored his second goal of the season to help push FC Dallas within a point of a playoff spot in the MLS Western Conference.
Dallas started off hot with a couple of good looks in the opening minute before Musa scored his 15th of the season. Logan Farrington got the ball at the top of the penalty box and then played a back heel through the Austin defense where Musa was able to sneak in and score the game's first goal.
FC Dallas doubled its lead four minutes into the second half off a counter attack goal. Jacob Jackson punted the ball up the field to Patrickson Delgado. With the numbers forward, Delgado switched the field and found an open Kamungo behind the Austin defense. Kamungo took a couple of touches to get inside the penalty area where he fired a shot past Stuver.
FC Dallas had a chance to extend its lead in the 82nd minute. On another counter attack, Musa played the ball through to Anderson Julio. The Dallas winger took a few touches on the ball before getting into the penalty area. Julio managed to beat Stuver but the ball went a couple feet wide of the goal.
Five minutes later, Julio made it count for the game's third goal. Thanks to a mistouch by an Austin defender, Delgado and Kamungo played a give and go before Delgado found Musa at the top of the penalty area. The Croatian then played the ball through to Julio calmly finished the chance. Unfortunately for Julio, it wasn't meant to be as video review determined he was a foot offside on the play.
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Instant Reaction: Getting back to winning at home is important to say the least. The way this team came out to start the game was something we haven’t seen enough of this season, but it was good to see that kind of energy. There were a couple of nervy moments late in the game when Austin was winning more of the possession, but once again the defense came up stout and Jacob Jackson picked up his first shutout.
Random Stat for the night: With the shutout tonight, this marks the first time in 10 years that FC Dallas has three goalkeepers earn a shutout in a single season. The last (and only) time was in 2015 with Jesse Gonzalez, Chris Seitz and Dan Kennedy.
About the Subs: While former boss Nico Estevez used all five subs in a pretty quick sequence, Quill didn't go to his bench until the 75th minute when he brought on Anderson Julio and Lalas Abubakar for Logan Farrington and Kaick. In the final minutes of the match, Pedrinho and Sebastian Lletget came on for Ramiro and Delgado. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Nolan Norris came on for Musa.
Man of the Match: Let’s go with Bernie. He got the insurance goal in the second half and has really started to come alive in his new position.
Where does this fit into the season: As of this writing (there are still some games that could change this), FC Dallas is back to 10th place with a point back of San Jose.
What’s next for FC Dallas: The penultimate home game of the regular season will be next weekend, as FC Dallas hosts the Colorado Rapids.
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