FC Dallas may be eliminated from playoff contention, but on Sunday night, the club pulled out their seventh shutout of 2024 in a scoreless draw on the road against the Portland Timbers.
Jimmy Mauer started his third game of the season in goal and secured his second shutout on the road, while picking up six saves.
Portland pushed in the first half for an opening goal and nearly came away with one in the 39th minute. Santiago Rodriguez chipped in a ball to Felipe Mora who was open in the penalty area but his attempt on goal was stopped by Jimmy Maurer.
It took Dallas 50 minutes to get their first quality look at goal as Sam Junqua picked off a pass in the midfield and quickly played it forward to Sebastian Lletget. The Dallas veteran took a few touches to get a Portland defender on his heels before taking a chance at the top of the penalty box that forced James Pantemis to make a stop.
Four minutes later, Dallas again had a golden opportunity to take the lead as Tsiki Ntsabeleng played a ball behind the Portland defense, where Logan Farrington was able to get free in the Timbers’ penalty area and take a shot on goal. But the rookie’s attempt was stopped by Pantemis.
Portland nearly grabbed the lead in the 88th minute on a counterattack started by Antony. The Portland winger got in behind the Dallas defense before cutting back to chip a ball back to Mora, whose kick forced Maurer to make a leaping save to keep the game level.
In the second minute of stoppage time, Dallas had a chance on a counterattack of their own as Ntsabeleng played a long ball behind the Timbers’ defense where Paul Arriola was able to get on the end of it to score a goal but he was called offside.
Instant Reaction: Peter Luccin did some heavy rotating for this one and a bit of a formation shift to try and slow the big Timbers attack down, and it worked. Portland had their chances and did test the Dallas back line a good bit, but the moves worked. As the second half wore on, Dallas actually looked the part with none of their Designated Players on the field. It wasn’t a great match, but to wrap up your road schedule with a shutout, I think you take it.
About the Subs: After halftime, Luccin subbed out Alan Velasco for Tsiki Ntsabeleng. It was a while until Luccin went to his bench again, as Jesus Ferreira came on for Farrington in the 75th minute. In the 85th minute, Eugene Ansah came on for Bernard Kamungo.
Man of the Match: Maurer continues to wrap up his career with a few big saves.
Where this fits in the MLS Playoffs race: FC Dallas is still eliminated from contention. So, yeah, it doesn’t mean all that much.
What’s next for FC Dallas: The final game of the season comes in two week’s time as FC Dallas hosts Sporting Kansas City on an anticlimactic Decision Day.
Comments