“After they tied it 1-1 and 2-2, our attitude was, ‘Not tonight. We will find a way.’ I like that about this group.”
FC Dallas Head Coach Erix Quill on his team’s play.
FC Dallas opened the season with 3 points on Saturday, taking care of Toronto FC by a 3-2 scoreline. While it is a win, Toronto FC is in a rebuild coming off of a terrible season and doesn’t have all its pieces. This was not a complete team that FCD was facing.
“We scored early, and early in the season you have to learn how to stay locked in and not concede. The goal we gave up came when we were about to take control of the game, and it took some momentum out of the first half. Those are goals we need to fix.”
Coach Quill
Lineups and Tactics… And Goals
I used to do two sections in this space with lineups, tactics, and goals. But since Chris Winters has moved up with us and is doing game reports on FC Dallas, you can go read his post for all those elements.
I will concentrate on the Good, the Middle, and the Bad.
Lo Bueno
My Man of the Match for FC Dallas was Petar Musa. With two goals and an assist, he was fantastic. Musa is in peak form right out of the gate, that boads well for his performance up to the World Cup. Man, it may be really hard to hold onto this guy much longer.
Logan Farrington was also fantastic with a goal and an assist. On many other nights, his performance would have gotten him the MOTM. Playing next to Musa, they are harder to come by.) This pair is going to have a fantastic season because you can’t ignore one for the other. 6 of 9 on dribbles (Sofascore).
“I see it every day. I didn’t know Logan well before I got here. Now we’re seeing the real thing with the two of them. There’s a brotherhood, a tight-knit connection. They see the same pictures, they look for each other, they enjoy playing together, and they work hard in the front half to help us behind the ball and trigger our pressing. Their hold-up play was impressive tonight. Our ability to skip lines, play into them, and watch them body Zimmerman and Thompson, collect the ball, and let numbers join was huge. That is very effective in a two-front.”
Coach Quill on Musa/Farrington
The midfield felt surprisingly good in the 6/Double 8 look. Christian Cappis, the only mid with two names, looks terrific linking play (86% passing, 3 key passes), and Kaick brought a greater level of 8’ing than I was expecting (78% passing and 1 key pass). Ramiro was mostly solid, but he still has trouble tracking/reacting to a fast mid on the dribble. The fact that the MF wasn’t the weak spot in the side was surprising.
While he wasn’t quite as confident as he was at the end of last season, Michael Collodi was quietly strong with 5 saves. That’s a solid night’s work. With the TFC shot ratio and xG, you can argue FCD only won this game because of Collodi.
“I thought our aggressiveness and our vertical play were clear. If you were in the stadium and know the game, you saw a front-footed, aggressive, vertical style. That is who we are. It is part of our identity. We want to be in your face.”
Coach Quill
Congrats to Shaq Moore on making his 100th MLS regular-season appearance.
Camino del Medio
I thought Herman Johansson was better than what we’ve seen in the last couple of seasons in his debut with a nice two-way game. He and Bernie Kamungo are such a contrast. Neither was great, nor was either terrible. Both had 4 muffed receptions, that needs to be better.
Herman Johansson‘s positioning offensively and defensively was terrific, putting himself in good tactical spots to build play. The turnover that led to the goal wasn’t good, and the referee decided early that Johansson, being bigger than almost everyone, was getting all the foul calls (5). In individual defense, he didn’t get any tackles, blocks, or intercepts, but he didn’t seem to get pulled out of position and was often there for outlets.
“Like any newcomer to the league, he’ll go through an adaptation phase. Richie Laryea is a national team outside back with a lot of pace, and I think Johansson was tested by him. It was a good battle on that side. As he learns the league and the profiles he’ll face, he’ll develop the game plans that suit him best.”
Coach Quill on Johansson
Compared to Bernie Kamungo, who is one-dimensional with a straight-ahead offense, but gets lost defensively. Bernie’s offensive night was good, 89% passing and 2 key passes, with an assist. Defensively, 4 tackles and 3 intercepts, but he’s often emergency defending and sprinting back after being out of position.
Muy Feo
The back three wasn’t great and seems to be the weakest link on the team, which is surprising given they all returned, and Osaze Urhoghide played fantastically. But allowing Toronto 7 shots on target out of 13 isn’t good. (FCD had only 3, by comparison, and all three were goals.) Toronto actually had a higher xG via MLS (1.6 to FCD’s 1.5). There was a lot of “just boot it” defense with 27 clearances by the back three alone.
“There is a long way to go, but I hope our fans are proud. I am proud of the three points. We are not the finished version of ourselves yet. We will keep growing and getting better. I liked our response tonight.”
Coach Quill
FCD played much more up the left (43%) than the right (29%) and middle (28%). A combo of new guy Johansson and Sebastien Ibeagha not being great with the ball at his feet (53 touches to Moore’s 68 and Oz’s 73)? Ibby kept it fairly clean in this one with 90% passing and no dispossessions, but the team clearly preferred the left. That’s the side Cappis is on as well, with Kaick on the right. Let’s keep an eye on that balance in the future.