In a game where nothing seemed to go their way, FC Dallas managed to secure a 1-1 draw against St. Louis City SC at Toyota Stadium on Saturday night. The game was physical, messy, and a bit disappointing, if we’re being honest.
Lineups and Tactics
With Bernard Kamungo and Julio Anderson out, Head Coach Eric Quill decided to spice things up against St. Louis City. Louicius Deedson got his first start at LWB for Bernie, and Christian Cappis returned to the starting lineup, replacing Kaick from the DC game.
In goal, Michael Collodi earned his 7th start of the season, with the rest of the team holding a 3-5-2 formation. On the backline, coach Quill opted for Shaq Moore over Herman Johansson at RWB, who’s still working up through training with FC Dallas after being called up to Sweden’s national team.
Up front, as expected, the Pairington of Petar Musa and Logan Farrington played out as the team’s attacking duo. After his phenomenal free kick against DC United, Patrickson Delgado started as the team’s CAM, over the team’s newest signing, Santigo Moreno, who came off the bench.
St. Louis City, donning their Tina Turner kit, held a 3-4-3 formation, with Roman Burki getting his 7th start in goal. It was quite an experienced lineup with Dante Polvara, Timo Baumgartl, and Jaziel Orozco all getting their 7th starts as well on the backline.
Forward Sergio Cordova earned his second straight start of the season, alongside Marcel Hartel and Simon Becher, who started at LW and ST, respectively. Most notably absent from tonight’s lineup was Brendan McSorley, who is second on the team in shots on target, despite not having started a game for St. Louis all season.
The Game
After 45 minutes of an incredibly physical game, both teams headed into halftime tied at 0-0. St. Louis City controlled the majority of possession, while also accumulating two shots on target.
Dallas, on the other hand, only registered one shot. Nine total fouls were committed, with Dallas being responsible for two of them.
“There’s no one reason I can point to,” Collodi said, in reference to tonight’s slow start. “It’s something we’re known for, coming out with the right mentality, running over teams, and breaking them down. For whatever reason, it wasn’t there tonight. We’ll look at it, figure out what went wrong, and fix it for next week.”
Minutes after the whistle blew to start the second half, Deedson broke through for the Burn. After causing a turnover in the St. Louis backline, Musa found a wide-open Deedson in the 48th minute. The Haitian wingback took a touch and slid it under the keeper for his first goal for FC Dallas. 1-0, Burn.
That lead wouldn’t last long, though. In the 61st minute, St. Louis City answered right back. Daniel Edelman played a cross toward Baumgartl in the box, who sat uncovered at the back post. Baumgartl rose up and tapped it home for the 1-1 equalizer.
Despite late pushes from both teams, this game would end as a draw. One point in disappointing fashion, as the offense for FC Dallas failed to show up tonight, only managing 3 shots on target throughout the game.
“We have high standards, and we know what we want to be this season,” coach Quill said. “Nights like this aren’t us, and that’s why it’s frustrating. The group isn’t satisfied with a point. They understand the importance of three, and I expect them to respond next week.”
A few players came to mind tonight as having played well, in my opinion. Nobody was perfect; in fact, most were far from it. Musa, the focal point of this offense, had himself a solid game. Both Nolan Norris and Moore also played very well on the backline. My Man of the Match, however, is Michael Collodi.
With four massive saves, including one in the 95th minute that ultimately saved a point for the home team. The Collodi Kid seems to have gotten his mojo back and is in a great run of form now. Without his saves, this may have been a completely different post-game report.
“Personally, I think there were a lot of good defensive actions,” Collodi said. “I thought we defended well in most moments, except for the goal, and there’s always room to improve. Even when there are shots, there’s always room to be better. We’ll look at it and move on from there.”
Up next, FC Dallas welcomes the LA Galaxy to Toyota Stadium on Saturday, April 18th at 7:30 pm CT. The Galaxy are currently 2-3-2 on the season.