After spending most of the summer living out of a suitcase, FC Dallas suddenly looks like a team gathering some serious momentum at exactly the right time.
Three games in seven days. Three wins.
Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Portland Timbers wasn’t nearly as chaotic as the comeback win over Sporting KC last week, or as solid as the midweek win in Minnesota, but it may have showed just how much determination this group has at not settling for just a playoff berth this season.
It wasn’t exactly pretty, and the underlying numbers that we’ll get into tomorrow suggest Portland had its chances. But after months of road games and a brutal stretch in one week, you don’t stress over the lack of style points in this victory.
Let’s dive in.
Running out of gas but still winning
“Now we’ve got a good run of games at home coming at us, and we want to keep chewing up these home points because that’s going to take us further toward our goals. But I’m really proud of the work these guys just put in because they’re dead. They’re dead. It was like a car on its last leg trying to get over the finish line, and they found a way. They found a way to do it, and I’m extremely proud to be their coach.” - Eric Quill on his club after the win
Let’s face it, we’re at the point in the season when you have any sort of schedule congestion, things are going to be asked of you.
On Saturday, Portland asked a few things of this Dallas group that didn’t have Petar Musa in the starting lineup, or Osaze Urhoghide (thanks to a yellow card accumulation suspension), and was playing its third game in seven days.
Having any sort of gas in the tank was impressive enough. This group had just enough to hold off the Timbers, who are really turning into a pesky team under Marti Cifuentes.
I think it is safe to say, this wasn’t the prettiest of wins we’ll see this Dallas team win in 2026. I wouldn’t even classify this one as a gritty performance, either.
This one was more about the club’s determination that we’re seeing at this stage in the season to get the job done and not be satisfied with where they’re at in the standings right now.
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