FC Dallas picked up their second loss of the season, losing 2-1 to LAFC on Saturday night.
Lineups
FC Dallas — Maarten Paes; Marco Farfan (Sam Junqua – 87’), Nkosi Tafari, Sebastian Ibeagha, Ema Twumasi; Facundo Quignon, Facundo Quignon (Tsiki Ntsabeleng – 70’); Jáder Obrian (Geovane Jesus – 40’), Alan Velasco (Jesús Jiménez – 70’), Paul Arriola (José Mulato – 88’); Jesús Ferreira.
Substitutes not used — Jimmy Maurer, Amet Korça, Paxton Pomykal, Bernard Kamungo.
LAFC — John McCarthy; Ryan Hollingshead, Giorgio Chiellini, Jesús Murillo (Aaron Long – 65’), Sergi Palanca; Kellyn Acosta, Ilie Sánchez; Timothy Tillman, Stipe Biuk (Dénis Bouanga – 65’), Carlos Vela; Kwadwo Opoku.
Substitutes not used — Eldin Jakupović, Denil Maldonado, Erik Dueñas, Nathan Ordaz, Julian Gaines.
Scoring Summary:
LAFC: Timothy Tillman — 2’
FCD: Nkosi Tafari (Sebastien Ibeagha, Jesús Jiménez) — 73’
LAFC: Dénis Bouanga (Carlos Vela) — 84’
Misconduct Summary:
FCD: Ema Twumasi (ejection) — 35’
LAFC: Jesús Murillo (caution) — 38’
FCD: Facundo Quignon (caution) — 41’
FCD: Nico Estévez (caution) — 45’+4’
FCD: Sebastien Ibeagha (caution) — 53’
FCD: Edwin Cerrillo (caution) — 62’
FCD: Nkosi Tafari (caution) — 66’
LAFC: Ryan Hollingshead (caution) — 69’
Weather: Clear, 59°F
Attendance: 22,163
Stats
Possession: FC Dallas 42.3%, LAFC 57.7%
Shots: FC Dallas 7, LAFC 21
Shots on Target: FC Dallas 3, LAFC 6
Corner Kicks: FC Dallas 0, LAFC 7
Duals Won: FC Dallas 47, LAFC 50
Fouls: FC Dallas 16, LAFC 12
Yellow Cards: FC Dallas 4, LAFC 2
Red Cards: FC Dallas 1, LAFC 0
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC DALLAS
Head Coach Nico Estévez
On the postgame message to the team…
“I will say we didn’t play good the first 15 minutes of the match and that goal [LAFC] scored is what resulted because of it. We have to be critical and take a look at ourselves first. When we scored the goal that was disallowed, I immediately started to get doubts because Jáder (Obrian) is a small guy, but then Acosta was making an effort to block the shot, but unfortunately Jáder was in the keeper's way.
We kept responding and then the red card deflated us a little bit. It was difficult to accept because the referee did not bother looking at Tillman’s pull on Alan Velasco early in the game. Ema was trying to avoid a head-to-head collision and he unfortunately makes a connection between his bicep and the player's head.
At halftime, we talked about having a special group of players with special characteristics. We had to go out there and recognize that those first 15 minutes of the half were poor. We had to believe that even with 10-men we can still attack, connect, counter and even score. We did a good job on that, but unfortunately they were able to come away with the win late in the match. I am proud of my players and it’s not easy to start sloppily and respond the way we did with 10-men and calls not going our way.”
On the yellow card he received in the match…
“I wanted to show my players that I’m fighting for them. I told them in the half, if I have to get a red card, I will get it. We are all fighting together today and they have to see that I have the energy to fight with them. They saw that and that also helped them understand that we were fighting from the bench with them and helping them achieve their objective today, which was coming here and winning against the champions.”
On the momentum shift after the first 15 minutes of the game…
“We came in sloppy, afraid and slow in the beginning of the match. They were onto us mentally, physically and intensity wise. Our backline, movement and actions were not ideal at first. From the seventh to the 10th minute, I was a bit more proactive on the bench and I was yelling more than I usually do. I was telling them to think about what I said to them in the locker room before the match, but I don't think it worked as well. I just wanted them to show more energy, the game plan was clear. Once they were on it you could see a different side than to the one in the first 15 minutes. We created spaces and we were able to hurt them a couple of times. At the end of the game the opponents bench was telling us how we deserved more today and to not feel down.”
Defender Nkosi Tafari
On the goal he scored and the chemistry he has with Sebastien Ibeagha…
“It’s coming along pretty well. I’d actually like it if we were on the other end of three points instead of centerbacks scoring goals.”
On the team’s perseverance tonight…
“We have a great group of guys here. I don't know how long we were down. Maybe 70 minutes? Seventy-five? We were fighting and had chances to win the game. In all actuality, if we were even, 11 v 11, they knew that we were dangerous and that the game could turn any way at any moment. So we just have to keep pushing forward, trying to be a little bit more rigorous in the next game around and take our chances.”
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