FC Dallas punches their playoff ticket with 4-1 win over the LA Galaxy
FC Dallas punches their playoff ticket with 4-1 win over the LA Galaxy
Bernard Kamungo scores a brace in the first half.
FC Dallas finally punched their ticket into the MLS Cup Playoffs on Decision Day with an emphatic 4-1 win over the LA Galaxy.
FC Dallas scored all of their goals in the opening 45 minutes, with two coming from Bernard Kamungo. Ema Twumasi and Jader Obrian added in goals of their own as FC Dallas also extended their unbeaten run to nine games heading into the playoffs.
Four minutes into the match, FC Dallas got their dream start as Kamungo scored his fifth goal of the season. Nkosi Tafari picked off a ball in the midfield and then played a long ball through the Galaxy defense where Kamungo got in behind and raced into the penalty box to score the game’s first goal.
Eight minutes later, FC Dallas doubled their lead as Ferreira put in a shot on goal that was stopped by the Galaxy keeper but his save pushed out right to the feet of Twumasi who put in a hard one-time shot that pegged the post and went in for his first goal of the season.
The Galaxy got back into the game in the 24th minute on a bit of brilliance by Raheem Edwards on the right side of the field. A ball was crossed into the penalty box by Tyler Boyd and was not cleared out by a Dallas defender. Edwards collected the ball and took on Marco Farfan at the near post and then took a shot from a tough angle to beat Maarten Paes.
Dallas restored their two goal cushion five minutes later after a corner kick was cleared out. Asier Illarremendi played Paxton Pomykal at the top of the penalty box who then found an open Ferreira on the right wing. Ferreira crossed the ball immediately into the penalty box where Kamungo was there to head in his second of the night and six of the season.
Right before halftime, FC Dallas added a fourth to the scoreboard. Paul Arriola got behind the Galaxy defense on the left side of the field. After a touch he put in a ball across the penalty box to the run of Jader Obrian, who took a bad shot on his first touch that was saved but then he was able to put home his sixth goal of the season.
The second half saw LA push for more goals of their own but Paes came up with several big saves on shots from distance to help preserve the match.
Instant Reaction: How good was that opening 45 minutes? FC Dallas came into this game with a proper game plan and how to attack the league’s worst defense. They found the space that they knew they could have on the wings and for the first time in several weeks, they finally took advantage of those chances. This team looked drastically different and better than the one we have seen at home over the last month, picking up draws too.
The playoffs are next for this group and being unbeaten in nine games heading into says a lot about this group. It may not be pretty at times but it does seem to be getting the job done enough here.
Man of the Match: Hand it to Kamungo with the early brace.
What’s next for FC Dallas: The playoffs will begin next weekend for FC Dallas as they’ll enter Round One in a series with the Seattle Sounders.