FC Dallas finally exorcised a demon that had been hanging around for nearly two decades, snapping a winless run in New York. The win itself wasn’t super pretty, as Dallas relied on some grit, defensive stability, and relied on quick transitions to get the result. Dallas walked into Sports Illustrated Stadium and walked out with three points, a clean sheet, and the end of a four game winless streak.
Dallas flipped the script of the last few weeks and delivered a result that felt long overdue, in many different ways. The best part, we saw some breakthrough performances from younger players.
Let’s dive in.
A formation change?
If you saw how Dallas was lined up at the start of the game, it did seem like Eric Quill was sticking with the 3-4-2-1 (or 3-4-3) that we’ve seen the majority of this season. But there were a few subtle differences on Saturday night. The 3-4-2-1 was more of an attacking posture, while the defensive and possession side looked a bit more like an old-school 4-4-2.
Herman Johansson played a bit more up the wing in possession along the right side, while Nolan Norris dipped more along the left. Joaquin Valiente also played a bit more wide, while Ran Binyamin also slotted in more as a winger, than as a central midfielder.
We knew New York would want to play with pace and pressure up front. It is what they do. They want chaos and for opposing sides to feel uncomfortable. Dallas on the night, never looked truly uncomfortable outside of maybe one or two spots. And even then, the defense held its shape and didn’t give up any big chances.
Seriously, no big chances were given up on the night. While Michael Collodi did face a few shots on goal, none were really good enough to do anything or cause any real strain.
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