After coming out flat against Orlando City SC, FC Dallas conceded two goals in the first half and ended up on the losing end of the game. Dropping their first game back in almost two months, 2-1 at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium.
Lineups and Tactics
With Antoine Griezmann and Co. in town, FC Dallas held a 4-4-2 formation with the first glimpse of their newest acquisition, Daniel, in goal. The backline consisted of Nolan Norris (LB), Osaze Urhoghide (CB), Shaq Moore (CB), and Herman Johansson (RB).
The midfield grouping of Christian Cappis (CM) and Kaick (CM), was paired with Patrickson Delgado (LM) and Joaquín Valiente (RM) out on the wings. Up top as ST, Sam Sarver played alongside Logan Farrington, as Petar Musa had not yet returned to the team from his World Cup bid with Croatia.
Most notably absent from the lineup, aside from Musa, were Santi Moreno and Ramiro. Moreno was available off the bench; Ramiro was not. It was also worth noting that both Michael Collodi and Jonathan Sirois were available to play, but neither saw any action during the game.
Orlando City sported a 4-4-2 formation as well, with Javier Otero getting the start in goal. The backline consisted of Adrián Marín (LB), Robin Jansson (CB), David Brekalo (CB), and Griffin Dorsey (RB).
The midfield lined up with Iván Angulo (LM) and Eduard Atuesta (RM) out wide on the wings, and Luis Otávio (CM) and Braian Ojeda (CM) compacted in the midfield. Up top, Griezmann and Martín Ojeda started as dual strikers.
The Game
Orlando came out roaring as they kicked off the scoring in the 9th minute. Off the counter, Griezmann received a lob over top the defense, which he volleyed just past the outstretched arms of Daniel, for the 1-0 lead.
Despite dominating the majority of possession in the first half, Dallas found itself in a hole early on. The away side doubled their lead less than 15 minutes later. In the 22nd minute, Angulo played a through ball to Ojeda, who chipped it over Daniel to extend their 2-0 lead.
After 70 minutes of action, head coach Eric Quill made his first substitutions of the game as Norris, Delgado, Sarver, Farrington, Valiente, and Johansson all came off for Nick Simmonds (ST), Moreno (LM), Anderson Julio (ST), Sebastien Ibeagha (CB), Bernard Kamungo (RM), and Joshua Torquato (LB).
8 minutes later, four more subs came on as Enzo Newman (RB), Ran Binyamin (CM), Caleb Swann (CM), and Lalas Abubakar (CB) came on for Moore, Urhoghide, Cappis, and Kaick. The refreshed lineup proved to be pivotal as Moreno took a late chance from the top of the box in the 90th minute and curled in a shot which found the back of the net, to cut into Orlando’s lead.
Despite the effort from the Burn, Orlando managed to ward off any sort of an attack as it was a relatively quiet second half from the home side, aside from the late goal. This game finished 2-1, but fans getting ready for the season have much to look forward to.
With it being a mid-season friendly, much of the night’s action was left up to interpretation. However, one thing that cannot be disputed was the goal from our Man of the Match, Santi Moreno. Despite only playing 20 minutes, the Colombian forward made his presence known, with the lone goal that almost kick-started a comeback.
Up next, 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.
any reason why deedson didn’t play? I understand he may be out of the rotation but if he can’t even make the bench for a friendly match, it’s time to move on from him.