FRISCO, Texas — Welcome back to Keeping Score: Your complete FC Dallas match day experience.
FC Dallas has lost only one of its last 12 home matches to Seattle (eight wins and three draws including playoffs), dating back to September 2014. The Toros are 1-0-1 at home since the All Star break.
Seattle entered the match 1-1-2 overall since MLS play started again after the Leagues Cup. Seattle and FC Dallas tied 1-1 earlier this season at Lumen Field. Maarten Paes returned in goal for FC Dallas after missing the last match due to suspension for a red card he received against St. Louis CITY.
Jader Obrian opened up the scoring for FC Dallas in the 14th minute. It was his third goal of the season.
Alex Roldan knotted it up at 1-1 with a first-time volley in the 56th minute.
Seattle nearly stole the game in stoppage time, but a breakaway was tracked down by Jesus Ferreira on a 70-yard sprint back into the defense and forced back into the middle, where a cross into the box was blocked by left back Ema Twumasi.
In the end, FC Dallas and Seattle each took away one point in the standings, as they did back in July.
The final stats were pretty even across the board:
- Possession: FC Dallas 49.4%, Seattle 50.6%
- Shots (on goal): FC Dallas 7(2), Seattle 9 (3)
- Passing accuracy: FC Dallas 83.5%, Seattle 83.9%
- Crosses: FC Dallas 13, Seattle 11
- Saves: FC Dallas 2, Seattle 1
Frisco Foodie Fun
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
Jader Obrian.
Aside from scoring the team's only goal, Obrian's 86 minutes were very impactful on the game in the final third.
What they said
Head Coach Nico Estévez
Thoughts on tonight's game…
“It was really good tonight. Everything that we’ve talked about and worked on during the week, we accomplished which was good. The team had an amazing response. When we got to halftime, it was about adjusting the things we were doing well but wanted to do better. I’ll have to analyze the details of the game because we were a completely different team in the second half. There was a lack of quality and connection, then we started doing things we hadn’t talked about. I’m not sure why this happened. We know it was extremely humid and that affected players from both teams, we saw cramping and missed passes from both teams. There are a lot of things to analyze in order to get better from this game.”
On returning after a long break…
“We need to understand this is how the schedule is and we can’t try to find excuses. We didn’t do as well in the second half as we did in the first. In the past after a long break we might have started sloppier, but we had a good start tonight. We didn’t capitalize in the first half when we had the opportunity to put away a few goals.”
On the playoff race…
“The playoff spots are going to be decided on the final day. That’s the message, nothing is going to be decided in the next two weeks. Every team will go to the last game before they know if they’re in the playoffs or not. It’s going to be a long seven games in front of us, to find out where we’ll be and we have to be up for every game. It doesn’t matter if we win, lose, or tie, we need to prepare for every game, which is what we’re going to do. Things went great for us last year and some teams didn’t have the best seasons which helped us get into a better position earlier. In a normal situation knowing MLS, everything is going to be decided in the last game.”
Goalkeeper Maarten Paes
Thoughts on the result and his performance tonight…
“I think we owned control in the first half. We played a good first half. I think the second half was a little sloppier. There weren’t a lot of chances in this game, it was tough to go through. We really wanted to win this one, but we have a quick turnaround so we have to be ready.”
On the upcoming stretch of games…
“I think every game matters now. We know that there’s seven more finals to go and we’re ready for that. There’s some injuries, but we have a good roster to fill those gaps with the guys we have. Now it’s just about recovery and getting back on Monday to focus on Real Salt Lake.”
Midfielder Facundo Quignon
Thoughts on tonight’s game…
“We deserved more. We generated more opportunities to score and dominated the game. I am upset and angry with the result because we needed the win and the three points.”
On the upcoming games…
“It is important to flip the page and focus on the next games. Starting now, we have to focus on Real Salt Lake as it is a very important match and we do not have a lot of time. It is a weekday game that will come up very fast especially because we are away. The team needs to be mentally and physically prepared to fight and take those three points.”
Nico’s message to the team after the game…
“He made it clear that we have to improve and be able to finish the goal opportunities we get. There are small details that we all have to fix as a team, as those unexpected plays we allow our rivals to make is what causes them to score. Going forward we have to continue to be smart with the ball, and not lose focus as the end of the season requires all of our energy and for us to give it our all as it will be very tight but this is not over until the last game.”
Forward Jáder Obrian
Thoughts on the match…
“I am a little frustrated for the tie. I felt like we were doing a great job and my teammates were working hard. We have to flip the page and focus on the next one. We had the result in our flavor but we let it slip. We will rest and move on from this.”
On the team’s finishing…
“We needed to be a bit more clinical today. We were not there at how we wanted to and our finishing was not the best tonight. We will work on it during the week and transition it into the next match.”
Injury update
- Alan Velasco (right calf)
- Bernard Kamungo (right shoulder)
- Geovane Jesus (season ending knee injury)
- Tarik Scott (season ending knee injury)
- Sebastian Lletget (Hamstring)
What's next/8 ball prediction
FC Dallas goes on the road to face Real Salt Lake on Wednesday, Sept. 20. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CST. You can watch the match here with 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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