No Musa? No Problem! Down a number of starters, FC Dallas secured a 2-1 win on the road against the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
With their win, Dallas climbs to 4th in the Western Conference and sits at 7-4-4 on the season.
Lineups and Tactics
With the World Cup on the horizon, a number of players were unavailable for FC Dallas against the Rapids. Despite the missing pieces, Eric Quill held true to his 4-4-2 formation, with Jonathan Sirois getting his 2nd start of the season in goal.
Up top, Logan Farrington replaced Petar Musa, and joined Patrickson Delgado as the team’s dual striker setup. The midfield was unchanged as Santi Moreno (LM), Kaick Ferreira (CM), Ramiro
(CM), and Joaquín Valiente (RM) all remained in the starting lineup.
On the backline, things looked a bit different from their previous games. Ran Binyamin started for the 5th time this season, with this game being his first at LB. Alongside him, Shaq Moore and Sebastien Ibeagha started as the team’s pairing of CB’s, with Herman Johansson at RB.
The home side sported a 3-4-3 formation, with Nicholas Hansen earning his 6th start in goal. The backline consisted of Lucas Herrington (LCB), Rob Holding (CB), and former FC Dallas player, Reggie Cannon (RCB).
Up top, the Rapid’s leading scorer, Rafael Navarro, started at ST. On either side of him, Paxten Aaronson and Wayne Frederick, worked together as dual 10’s, something that FC Dallas has experimented with during the season.
Out wide, Georgi Minoungou (RWB) and Darren Yapi (LWB) started as Colorado’s wingbacks. Most notably absent from the starting XI was Dante Sealy, who came into the game sitting on 4 assists so far this season.
The Game
For the 5th game in a row, Dallas found the scoresheet and struck first.
In the 10th minute, Valiente played a ball to Farrington, who had his leg swiped by Aaronson and was taken down in the box for a PK. After a minute of deliberation for VAR, the referee confirmed the call. Farrington stepped up to take the kick and buried the shot for an early 1-0 Dallas lead.
Minutes later, Colorado answered right back. On the transition, Minoungou found Aaronson sprinting into the box, who immediately made up for his previous mistake by blasting home a goal in the 13th minute to equalize the game, 1-1.
Just before the halftime whistle, another Dallas player was taken down in the box. This time, Binyamin was tripped up by Minoungou, after receiving a pass from Moreno. In the 45th minute, Moreno stepped up to take the shot and rolled one into the bottom right corner to regain the lead.
After 45 minutes of action, Dallas took their 2-1 lead into halftime. Colorado controlled the majority of possession, as expected, with 62% of possession favoring the home side. Despite being outshot, the Burn had an xG of 1.61, compared to the Rapids xG of 0.69.
“We found a way, and these guys dug deep,” coach Quill said. “I’m really proud of their mentality to just fight and scrap. The back post defending on so many crosses, Sam Sarver, Ran Binyamin, Sebastien Ibeagha, Shaq Moore, those guys killed it on the backline defending so many crosses.”
Although Colorado added 10 more shots in the second half, only one of those was on target. Dallas’ game plan proved to be too much as they hunkered down and their defensive structure prevented the Rapids from finding an equalizer, ultimately giving the Burn a 2-1 win and all three points.
“I think it was an important victory for us,” Delgado said. “We deserved to win. We’ve been working toward this, and we’ve been winning a lot of matches recently. This gives us confidence to keep fighting at the top. It was very important. It cost us a bit in terms of the pressing, but those are adjustments we will improve with time and training.”
Even with a depleted backline, my Man of the Match made the most of his 2nd start on the season. Jonathan Sirois finished the game with 4 saves and was peppered with shots all game. He’s going to make giving the starting spot back to Michael Collodi as difficult as possible.
Up next after the World Cup break, FC Dallas travels to Providence Park to take on Portland Timbers on Wednesday, July 22nd at 9:30 pm CT. The Timbers are currently 4-8-2 on the season.
