FRISCO, Texas — Welcome back to Keeping Score: Your complete FC Dallas match day experience.
FC Dallas and Atlanta United have split their all-time series with two wins each. The last time Atlanta came to Frisco, they lost to FC Dallas 3-2 in 2018. Both clubs entered Saturday night's match coming off of a loss.
FC Dallas fell to the Western Conference's top seed thus far, St. Louis CITY, while Atlanta lost its last match to the Eastern Conference's top club, FC Cincinnati.
Jesus Ferreira returned to the starting lineup after missing two straight matches due to illness. Goalkeeper Maarten Paes was missing due to the red card he received in the previous match.
Ferreira's impact was immediately felt, as he fought off a tackle along the endline and fed a ball across the box to Paul Arriola, who slotted home the opening goal in the 3rd minute. It was Arriola's first goal of the season and also the first time he had scored since Oct. 9, 2022 against Sporting KC.
Arriola celebrated the goal by tucking the soccer ball under his jersey to honor the announcement that he and his wife will be having a baby girl.
Giorgos Giakoumakis knotted things up just before the break, rising up on a ball crossed into the box and headed it to the far right post. It marked his 13th goal of the season (tied for first in the league) for Atlanta United. Thiago Almada was credited with the assist, his 13th as well, respectively.
While Atlanta dominated possession in the first half (63%), FC Dallas had much better chances in the final third, which contributed to their 1.49 xG. Atlanta's xG in the first half was only 0.28.
In the 57th minute, Saba Lobjanidze bent a shot into the far left post and in to give Atlanta a 2-1 lead.
Bernard Kamungo tied up the game again minutes later in the 62nd. It was his fourth goal of the season. Kamungo was injured on the play and had to be taken off on a stretcher. Eugene Ansah subbed on for Kamungo.
It seemed as if Ferreira snagged his second assist of the match, picking out Marco Farfan in the box to give FC Dallas a 3-2 lead in the 76th minute. After VAR review, however, the goal was disallowed.
In the end, it was a 2-2 draw for Retro Night. One point goes to FC Dallas in the standings.
Frisco Foodie Fun
To be honest, I had a really long day covering TCU's loss to Colorado before coming into this match, so I wasn't able to snag food to review. It is what it is.
In the meantime, check out all the new mid-season additions here.
Here's my breakdown of the Toyota Stadium new concession rankings this season:
- Hot Chicken Mac N Cheese
- Double Patty Cherry Pepper Relish Burger.
- Double Stack Quesadilla
- Jerk Chicken Wings
- Funnel sticks with cherry sauce
- Monster Taco
- Elote on a stick
- Vegan tenders
- Birria Grilled Cheese
#DTID Man of the Match
Jesus Ferreira.
It's so clear how much more dangerous the attack is when he's in the lineup. He generated the first goal for Arriola, and nearly grabbed the second assist before VAR took it away. His presence on the field draws defenders and helps open up others. Frisco's No. 9 was a welcoming sight back on the pitch.
What they said
Head Coach Nico Estévez
Thoughts on tonight's game…
“If you look at what we created today in expected goals, the difference between the goals we should’ve scored and the ones we actually scored is a lot. Atlanta has a lot of quality players and we knew we needed to attack and score goals, which meant that we needed to have energy and put in a lot of effort. We had great moments pressing high and forcing them to make mistakes then attack, but we had some issues in the low block and so we made adjustments at half time. We weren’t able to take control of the game with our possession tonight. We didn’t do a good job keeping and moving the ball around, then in the final third we rushed too much. Our play needs to be calmer and more composed so that we can make the right decisions, because the spaces to attack were there. We rushed so much that we made mistakes on clear passes, which we need to improve on. If we want to be a team that fights to win and get in the playoffs the difference is going to be in those moments.”
On Jesús Ferreira’s impact…
“We all know how important Jesús is to this team and to the league as a whole. He’s a player that you can count on to understand how to defend and press, helping the team be more aggressive. He also knows how to play offensively with his movements, getting the ball in pockets of space which makes it very difficult to mark him. It was really important to have him back on the field tonight.”
On Alan Velasco’s call-up to the Argentina national team…
“This call-up is something that’s really important for both Alan and the club. It’s great and we’re really happy to have a player at FC Dallas that got called up to the Argentina national team who were the recent World Cup champions. We’re really proud of Alan and the work he’s doing to become a better player and we know that he has a bright future ahead.”
Forward Paul Arriola
On the quick start to the match…
“It was the start that we wanted, we have been talking about coming out a little flat footed recently and we really wanted to get after them. Playing at home tonight and understanding that there's not very many games left this season, we really got to push. We gotta get our energy up and keep our attacking speed. And we did a really good job of that, we got rewarded with a goal early on. And to be fair, we could have went up to 2-0 or 3-0, and the game would be a little bit different but obviously they stayed in it. They were able to get one back and then the second half was up to either team to take three points.”
On what scoring a goal meant for him tonight…
“Yeah, it means the world. Obviously it hasn't been the year on the field that I wanted at all, honestly. There really has been mixed emotions off the field as well. Losing my mother-in-law about a week and a half and then announcing that we're going to have a baby girl, it's been a whirlwind of emotions. And on the field, I just kind of keep going, I go for them. I go for my wife who's my biggest supporter, who has always been there for me, and continues to be there for me. She was here tonight and it's just constantly trying to figure out how I can be the best human being, how can I how can I be the best husband and soon to be father. And at the same time, I just come come out here and play for the love of the game and try to give as much as I can. I felt like I really did that tonight. I felt like I ran the most I did all season. Fortunately, I was able to get a goal but you know, I'm still disappointed that we didn't get three points.”
Midfielder Liam Fraser
Thoughts on the back-and-forth game…
“We’re disappointed, it’s a game that we felt we could’ve gotten three points. We take this as a game where we lost two. For us, it’s a game we have to win and it’s ultimately really disappointing for us.”
On his first start and playing in front of the fans…
“It was amazing. I wish we could’ve given them three points and a better performance offensively. For me personally, I’m super happy to be here and be contributing and hopefully that’s the first of a lot of games here.”
On the bye week during international break…
“We’ll get a few days rest, a few days to reset and collect our thoughts before getting back to the process. We’ll do what we were doing the past two weeks, training hard and pushing again for the last stretch of the season.”
Forward Bernard Kamungo
On the team’s result tonight…
“It was not the result we wanted to be honest. We really wanted to get the three points. As you can see, the team gave it their all to get the three points tonight but it didn’t happen. That won’t stop us and we will move forward onto the next game to get three points in the next game.”
On his goal scoring expectations this season…
“I am just trying to help the team out to be honest. I am not really looking at how many goals I am getting personally. I want to look at these stats as a team. “
On heading into the international break…
“For me, I need that time to recover so I can get back on the field as soon as I can. It’s great having this week off, it helps us get ready for the next game.”
Injury update
Bernard Kamungo: Sprained AC joint
What's next/8 ball prediction
FC Dallas takes on Seattle Sounders next on Saturday, Sept. 16. They'll host the Sounders at Toyota Stadium with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. on MLS Season Pass.
"8 ball" bold prediction tracker:
At the beginning of the season, I said FC Dallas would have three players score 12-plus goals this season: Jesus Ferreira, Paul Arriola and Alan Velasco. At this point, it looks like I'll only get one of the three correct.
- Ferreira: 10/12
- Arriola: 1/12
- Velasco: 2/12
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