After scoring first, FC Dallas’ defense helped Jonathan Sirois secure his 2nd clean sheet of the season and ultimately a 1-0 win against LAFC at Toyota Stadium.
The win propelled the Burn to 2nd place in the Western Conference with 47 points through 27 games.
Lineups and Tactics
Dallas held their usual 3-4-3 formation, with Sirois returning to the starting XI for his 10th start of the season. The lineup saw quite a few changes, including Nolan Norris starting at LCB alongside Osaze Urhoghide (CB) and Sebastien Ibeagha (RCB).
With Norris returning to action, Shaq Moore moved out wide to LWB in place of Bernard Kamungo. Herman Johansson replaced Ran Binyamin at RWB. Christian Cappis and Kaick were paired together in the midfield as CM’s.
Up top, Logan Farrington was inserted for Petar Musa as the team’s lone striker. Joaquín Valiente and Santi Moreno started as dual 10s. Most notably absent from the starting XI was the suspended Ramiro, who is usually paired with Kaick at CM.
Opposite the Burn, Los Angeles sported a heavily rotated 4-3-3 formation. Hugo Lloris earned his 24th start of the season in goal. The backline consisted of two familiar faces, former FC Dallas players Ryan Hollingshead (LB) and Nkosi Tafari (CB).
Evgen Cheberko (CM), Eddie Segura (CM), and Marco Delgado (CM) patrolled the central midfield, behind Jeremy Ebobisse, who started at ST. Alongside Ebobisse, Tyler Boyd and Armindo Sieb started at LW and RW, respectively.
Most notably absent from the starting XI were Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga. Son, who is with the South Korean national team, has 6 goals and 13 assists through 26 games this season. Bouanga, who is with Gabon, has 15 goals and 8 assists.
The Game
Dallas opened up the scoring for either team early on. In the 34th minute, Johansson’s pass into the box was deflected away for a corner. Valiente stepped up to the flag and belted in a cross that found a leaping Urhoghide, who bodied an LAFC defender on his way to heading in his 2nd goal of the season, giving the Burn an early 1-0 lead.
“We had some half-chances, and sometimes you need a set piece,” Head Coach Eric Quill said. “Osaze Urhoghide scored a beautiful header on the set piece, and that forced them to extend their lines and play a little more, which helped us find a rhythm and create some good transition moments.”
Unlike how most of this season has played out for Dallas so far, the home side dominated possession with 57% through the first 45 minutes. Both teams had 6 total shots each; however, Dallas maintained the edge with 2 of those shots being on target, to LAFC’s 1.
In the second half, LAFC (almost) found their equalizer. In the 73rd minute, Cheberko’s cross from the corner was headed away, and the rebound shot was stopped. The follow-up from Ebobisse was tapped home.
However, after further review, VAR ruled that Ebobisse had knocked Sirois down prior to the goal being scored, negating the goal that was scored and restoring the 1-0 lead for Dallas.
The second slate of action was dominated by LAFC, with the away side maintaining 60% of possession. Despite the lack of second-half possession, Dallas ultimately walked away with the 1-0 home victory, earning Sirois his 2nd clean sheet of the season.
Speaking of solid performances, not only did Osaze Urhoghide net his 2nd goal of the season, but he also had the most defensive contributions for either team tonight, with 13. Our Man of the Match also completed 89% of his 46 passes and won 4 of his 5 ground duels.
Up next, FC Dallas travels to Bank of America Stadium to take on Charlotte FC on Saturday, October 10th at 6:30 pm CT. Charlotte is currently 12-8-7 on the season.
“Now we sit in second place, deservingly so, but we keep our feet on the ground,” coach Quill said. “I hope our fans are proud and see the fight in our guys every night. There’s a consistent fight from us. It’s not just sometimes. It’s here all the time, and I’m proud of us.”