It was the first game in the post-Lucho Acosta era, and Coach Eric Quill seemed quite happy with the reaction from his team.
“I am pleased with the fight tonight from the start to the end, I didn’t think we let our guard down at all.”
FC Dallas Head Coach Eric Quill
We’ve been saying FCD needed 15 points from their final 10 games (or perhaps more accurately, play at a 1.5 PPG clip), and the win now makes that 12 from 9 games.
“We are coming together, especially the defensive unit. We are encouraging each other, rooting for each other. It’s amazing. I feel like, if we keep going like this, we are going to have a great end to the season. The taste is going to change, for sure.”
Lalas Abubakar
Lineups and Tactics
Coach Eric Quill stuck with the 3-4-3, which – like we’ve been saying – is as much about the center backs as anything. Bernie Kamungo at left wingback was the only personnel change, although Quill did move Osaze Urhoghide into the middle of the back three.
Since the social media shape was wrong again, I drew it up.
61st minute, Sebastian Lletget and Anderson Julio came on for Patrickson Delgado and Petar Musa.
80th minute, Christian Cappis came on for Shaq Moore, with Ramiro moving to right wing back and Cappis playing in the left 6/8.
87th minute, Louicius Deedson made his debut, coming on for Logan Farrington.
The Timbers also played a 3-4-3 (according to everyone but MLS). Here’s the whoscored.com version.
At halftime, the Timbers made two changes, bringing on Jimer Fory and Ariel Lassiter for Finn Surman and Ian Smith.
66th minute, Kevin Kelsy and Omir Fernandez replaced Felipe Mora and Cristhian Paredes.
Finally, the legendary Diego Chara came on for Antony.
Goals
1-0 FC Dallas goal. What a gift Maxime Crépeau gave to Petar Musa to celebrate the latter’s baby announcement. So kind of Musa not to waste the gift and show how much he valued it.
2-0 FC Dallas goal. Fantastic cross by Sebastian Lletget on the corner and a quality header by Lalas Abubakar. That’s his first goal for FC Dallas. He’s often good for 1-2 of those a year.
“Sebastian Lletget had a great cross delivered to me, so I give him a lot of credit. He also assisted me during the preseason. I also want to give credit to the coaches; Michel Garbini has had a headache all year since we had not scored a corner kick all season. This weekend, I thought the play he came up with was good. I just ran to the front post. At the end of the day, I was just there at the right time but credit to everybody. The whole team, everybody for tonight, all of us, from the staff, coaches, players, everybody.”
Lalas Abubakar
Lo Bueno
For the 2nd straight game, my FC Dallas Man of the Match was Logan Farrington. I thought his energy was high, his work rate was high, he combined with his teammates, helped keep the offensive flow going, played high defense when necessary, and provided outlets. He didn’t pass at a high rate, but he had 3 shots and 3 shot-creating actions. 2 progressive carries and 5 progressive receptions.
The three collective center backs played well. Often, FC Dallas has broken down in the back and the shape has been stretched, but not in this one. Coach Quill talked about the improved communication in those three, and that seems clear. I can’t help but think that having Osaze Urhoghide in the middle was also a big help. They pretty much handled Antony all night.
“I felt like the goals we gave up against New York were communication errors. So, I challenged the team to focus on the communication piece. I challenged [Sebastien] Ibeagha, Lalas [Abubakar], Osaze [Urhoghide], and Shaq [Moore] to be a unit and talk to each other as guys are running through and running off their back shoulders, because that just helps. It helps so much when you hear that information early and loud, and the honesty of midfielders tracking.”
Coach Quill
Ramiro perhaps played his best game of the year as well. Or at least it looked that way with the defense not breaking down behind him. He also filled in at right wing back late. I still believe, and this is in part because of what he’s paid, that he was meant to be a look room leader, spot starter, and gap filler. He can pretty much play anywhere at the base MLS level. 47 touches led the team, and he helped dictate the play when it did go through the middle. 3/3 on tackles, 2 blocks, 1 intercept, and 3 recoveries.
“He’s shown this since day one coming into the building. It’s in his DNA. He cares deeply. He’s a competitor, but he cares about the guys, and he’s a footballer. You can put him anywhere on the field and he will perform at a high level. We moved him out to wing back late, and what a beautiful job he did in the wide area. He just has a smart brain and a huge heart; he loves to win.”
Coach Quill
Petar Musa scored his 13th goal of 2025 in the 8th minute on a gift (tied fastest this season, Shaq Moore versus Inter Miami on April 27). The Moose now has 6 goals in his last 4 games all without Lucho Acosta (LA last started July 4).
Sebastian Lletget was really good off the bench, in just 30 minutes and 15 touches, he had 4 shot-creating actions, 2 goal-creating actions, 3 key passes, and was 2/2 in take-ons. 0 turnovers, 1/1 on tackles, 1 block, 1 interception.
Excellent job by Michael Collodi filling in for the injured Maarten Paes. While his save total wasn’t high volume (2 saves), being a backup keeper is about confidence and composure. Making the defense feel comfortable, and he did that. His feet were excellent, which really helps this side (which isn’t great out of the back).
“Same as it is every week. You must be prepared for anything to happen, and my job is to be ready when called upon. So that’s what I did tonight.”
Michael Collodi on his mindset.
Also, this save is huge.
As for the headband, Collodi apparently cut his head hitting the goal post in training (ouch). I went with the Rambo nickname (looks more like him and the headband is black), and the team went with the Karate Kid Collodi. In our Discord, someone else suggested “The Collodi Kid” which also works. I don’t anticipate he will be wearing the headband much longer, so none of them will probably stick.
Don’t be bothered by 65% possession for the Timbers (fbref). Possession can mean little these days. What matters is the goals, and they come through quality chance creation. So shots on goal (4-3 for Dallas) and xG (1.5 to 0.3 also in the favor of Dallas). Maybe it’s boring and not sexy, but goals are fun, and winning is what matters.
Camino del Medio
Bernie Kamungo has the physical profile to play wing back, and while he wasn’t great, he wasn’t bad either. If he could get dialed in at that spot, he might be able to really contribute on this team. So far, playing left wing hasn’t been working for him this year, and you can argue it hasn’t since 2023. 2 shot-creating actions, 2 progressive carries, and 3 progressive passes are good for him. 2/4 on take-ons. 1/1 on tackles, 1 block, 1 interception.
Louicius Don Deedson was handed the #7 jersey, deleted his instagram account, and made his debut. And… um… well, he didn’t play a lot, so it’s hard to judge. He looked fast, I guess. We need to see more than *checks notes* 0 touches.
Muy Feo
Why can FC Dallas not build up the right side? This has been an issue all year; the defense seems very reluctant to go through Shaq Moore. That’s also the side of Kiack in central mid. And in this game, it was mostly the side of Patrickson Delgado on the right (sorta) wing. Some balance and versatility in their, admittedly limited, build would be nice.
Patrickson Delgado played his worst game in a bit. He’d been putting together a string of good performances, but every once in a while, he puts up a stinker like this. He also looked confused, like he wasn’t sure where to be. Any chance he was the only guy in the XI to be bummed out Acosta is gone? Time will tell. 2 miscontrols, 2 dispossessions. 77% passing, 1 key pass, just 1 progressive carry, and 2 progressive passes. Not his usual standard.
No official word on how long Maarten Paes will be out. It seems no one really knows how long he’ll be out. We’ve heard FCD-connected people guess anything from 3 weeks to the rest of the season. Hopefully, this suddenly top-secret club will tell us. But better prepare for the longer timeline.
Instant Reaction – 3 Things
