FC Dallas earned a 2-1 win over Liga MX side Mazatlán FC in its Round of 32 fixture on Wednesday night at Toyota Stadium.
Alan Velasco and Eugene Ansah scored goals in the second half for FC Dallas to help the club advance to the Round of 16 on Sunday.
The match was a pretty open affair in the first half, with FC Dallas commanding most of the possession and the chances on goal. Four minutes into the match, Velasco had a chance from outside the penalty box that rattled off the post. Jesus Ferreira and Bernard Kamungo would also see some decent chances, but none were good enough to test the Mazatlan keeper.
The second half opened with more pressure from FC Dallas as the club earned their first regulation time penalty kick in 508 days. The penalty drought of 54 games is still tied for the longest in MLS history. Velasco stepped up to the spot and scored his first goal in the Leagues Cup to give Dallas the lead.
Dallas nearly had a second goal in the 52nd minute as Velasco found an open Sebastian Lletget in the penalty box. The United States men’s national team veteran played the ball across the goal to Jader Obrian, who then found the back of the net but was later ruled offside.
Mazatlan found their first goal in the 57th minute from Andres Montaño. The Liga MX side had a quick counterattack that saw them take advantage of numbers in the Dallas penalty box before Montano fired a shot past Maarten Paes.
The game wouldn’t be tied for too long as Ansah found his second Leagues Cup goal with some help from Ferreira in the 75th minute.
Instant Reaction: Aside from the one goal given up, this felt like a fairly complete performance from FC Dallas. The attack was flowing nicely with Velasco in the middle of the field, pulling the strings on some nice plays. This game could have easily been a three or four-goal game for the club. Advancing in this tournament is a good thing as this group continues to build here. Sunday will be a massive test, though.
Man of the Match: Velasco seemed like the guy that we’ve been wanting to see this season in this game.
What’s next for FC Dallas: With Inter Miami’s win on Wednesday night, FC Dallas will now get to host Lionel Messi and Miami on Sunday evening.
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