Nico Estevez: "We're not done working"
After ending the winless streak, FC Dallas is getting back to work on Sunday.
FC Dallas finally looked like themselves on Saturday evening in their second win of the season. Not only did the 2-0 win over the Houston Dynamo give the team a boost in the Texas Derby for 2024, but it also snapped a long, seven-game winless streak.
Head coach Nico Estevez told the media after Saturday’s match that the team wasn’t done working here and that they would be back at it on Sunday in training to prepare for a busy stretch that will see them go to Canada next weekend to face Toronto FC before returning home to battle Memphis 901 in the US Open Cup the next week and then rivals Austin FC that following Saturday.
“Tomorrow is not a day off. We work, and we train,” said Estevez. “I’m really happy for all of the players and the staff that have been working really, really hard these last few weeks with no reward on the scoreboard. And today, I think, is a reward for all of the hard work that everyone has put in. Now we just have to keep going and keep moving forward and use that to build confidence and to try and win against Toronto.”
When asked after the game if he felt relief from the winless streak being snapped, Estevez smiled and said he was happy for the players and his staff to be able to quiet all of the noise that had been following them for the last few weeks.
“The best thing to break that is winning,” said Estevez. “And then because then, if not the noise to the players, you know and for the fans, for the staff to everything, it gets bigger and bigger, and when you build that noise, it doesn't help. When you're supporting players, go with the players and know that they're humans, and they have ups and downs, and they all want to win. It was important to win, but also the way we did it. ”
FC Dallas got a little help from Houston on the night. Five minutes into the match, Griffen Dorsey was sent off for a foul against Marco Farfan. FC Dallas ended the match with 24 shots to Houston’s two as the offensive appeared to finally find its grove in the second half with goals from Petar Musa and Sebastien Ibeagha.
Despite the result, the players know they still have a long way to go.
“Getting this win in front of our fans means a lot to us, to be honest,” said Farfan. “You know, yes, we did win, but at the same time, we are not proud of it yet. We had a winless streak, and we just won one game. We have a long way to go to get to where we want to be this season. It’s a very long season, and we will fight for every point possible.”