It took 80 minutes for either team to find the back of the net, but once Dallas did, they couldn’t stop scoring. FC Dallas defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 3-0 at Toyota Stadium. With this win, Dallas climbed to 2nd in the Western Conference with 54 points through 31 games.
Lineups and Tactics
Dallas came out in their 3-4-3 formation, with Daniel earning his 8th start in goal. The lone change on the backline from their previous matchup was the addition of Osaze Urhoghide for Nolan Norris at CB. Sebastien Ibeagha (RCB) earned his 3rd straight start.
The midfield also saw one change as Kaick (CM) replaced Christian Cappis for the Brazilian’s 25th start of the season. Kaick was paired alongside Ramiro (CM) in the midfield. Out wide, Bernard Kamungo and Herman Johansson started at LW and RW, respectively.
Up top, Petar Musa started as Dallas’ lone striker. Daniel Job earned his 2nd start of the season as one of the team’s two CAM’s. The other was Joaquín Valiente (CAM), who returned to the starting lineup in place of Patrickson Delgado.
San Jose also sported a 3-4-3 formation, with Angus Gunn in goal for his 14th start of the season. The backline consisted of Reid Roberts (LCB), David Romney (CB), and Daniel Munie (RCB). Romney earned his 14th start for the Earthquakes.
Jamar Ricketts (LWB) and Jack Jasinski (RWB) started as wingbacks, while Eduard Löwen and Ronaldo Vieira were paired together as dual 8’s. Their counterparts, Timo Werner and Beau Leroux were paired as dual 10’, a very similar structure to Dallas in many respects.
Up top, Ousseni Bouda earned his 24th start of the season at ST. Most notably absent from the starting XI was forward Preston Judd, who leads the team with 16 goals this season. Judd was suspended for the match due to yellow-card accumulation.
The Game
The first half of game action was relatively quiet. Interestingly enough, Dallas managed to control the majority of possession (53%), which is something they haven’t done very often this season. Dallas also edged out San Jose in terms of shots on target as well, by a margin of 3 to 1.
“From start to finish, we allowed them no space,” Head Coach Eric Quill said. “We were on top of them every time they played the ball into someone’s feet. Osaze, Shaq and Ibeagha were physically impressive tonight, stepping up and winning those duels.”
Dallas broke through in the 83rd minute, after Santi Moreno played Kamungo through with a ball into the box from their own half of the field. Instead of continuing toward goal, Kamungo cut back and played a pass to Musa, who buried his 21st goal of the season to make it 1-0.
In the 88th minute, Dallas doubled their lead. Kaick made a run down the left side of the pitch before delivering a trivela pass into Musa, who played it back towards the Brazilian in the box. Kaick was subsequently taken down and was awarded a PK. Musa converted the kick to give Dallas a 2-0 lead.
“I’m happy to score two goals, but this is a reward for the whole team,” Musa said. “My teammates help me and try to find me with the ball every game, and I’m grateful for that. We work a lot in training, and I talk with the guys about where they can find me and how we can connect on the field.”
Moreno put the metaphorical ‘nail in the coffin’ after he netted his 4th goal of the season. In the 4th minute of stoppage time, Moreno settled the ball with his chest, danced around an Earthquake defender, and found the back of the net to secure the 3-0 win.
“Santi is a smooth character, man,” coach Quill said. “He makes defenders miss, and I don’t know how he got through there, got to the other side of the defender and finished with his left foot. But we see it in training. This guy is elusive, silky in the box and composed.”
There are a number of players who could have warranted being the Man of the Match. Petar Musa scored a brace, Daniel earned a clean sheet (after making only one save), and Kaick earned a penalty and completed 92% of his passes.
However, my choice is Bernard Kamungo. The Tanzanian national team player assisted Musa on the first goal; he created the most chances for either team (3) and completed 3 of his 4 dribbles. Statistically, it was a very solid night for Kamungo.
Up next, FC Dallas welcomes the Columbus Crew to Toyota Stadium on Wednesday, October 28th at 7:30 pm CT. The Crew are currently 11-15-5 on the season.