That sound you are probably still hearing is the ball hitting the post. This game seemed to have the post or crossbar involved a lot.
For about four minutes, this was three points on the road for the third straight outing (yeah, pointing back to those results in May feels weird for context here…but it would have been the case). Then Dallas failed to clear its own penalty area for the second time in the night, Felipe Mora buried the equalizer and a win that Eric Quill’s side had genuinely earned turned into a shrug of a result.
That’s the frustrating part. This wasn’t a team getting run over, though some of the stats may suggest that. Dallas created solid looks, took care of the ones that matter, saw Petar Musa doing his usual thing, and the defense holding up for stretches. But a road point is only a good road point if you weren’t holding a lead in the 90th minute.
Let’s dive in.
The game plan continues to be the same
Look, we know that FC Dallas isn’t going to take this long road trip and dominate games…at least in terms of possession and field tilt. Portland dominated the possession game, with 62% of the ball on the night.
They’re going to absorb, wait for their moments and then pounce. Both goals on the night followed that script perfectly as they waited for a turnover before springing the ball free into space.
Our friends at Futi have these great graphics on how teams score now in their app (seriously, download their app today…its so good! We’re going to be using them a lot going forward in these posts).
This is where Dallas has been so dangerous this season. Absorb. Be patient. Wait for the moment. And then strike quickly.
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