FRISCO, TEXAS — FC Dallas tied against Portland Timbers this Saturday night at Toyota Stadium. Nico Estevez made changes in the lineup after the defeat in Los Angeles last weekend against LAFC. The Spaniard changed the formation from a 4-2-3-1 to a more offensive 4-3-3 formation and made some changes in the starting lineup as well. The starting right back was Geovane Jesus, on the midfield Estevez changed both Quignon and Obrian to start Lletget and Pomykal.
Los Toros, as we have seen all season, started the game with high pressure trying to recover the ball as quickly as possible to create opportunities. The Dallas team did not have any clear chances besides their attempts to maintain the ball, and Portland had their first opportunity at the 29th minute of the first half. After recovering the ball in their area, a quick turn by Nathan Fogaça allowed him to position perfectly to send a pass to the space and Mosquera got it with his speed crossed it to the other side of the box and Moreno hitted the crossbar and the side post with his shot.
This was the first warning by Portland, but also an alert signal to Dallas that immediately reacted. Geovane Jesus would header a corner kick to the goal, but Ivačič would start becoming one of the match figures saving the shot and keeping the score at the 36th minute. This was not the only chance Dallas had to socre in the last minutes of the first half, just two minute after, Alan Velasco shot from outside of the box, got deflected to the goal, but again the Slovenian goalkeeper made an astonishing save.
The second half was not so different, it had opportunities for both teams to score. A shot from Moreno was the first opportunity for the Timbers to score, but his volley went wide deflected by Ibeagha. The reaction again by FC Dallas happened almost instanly, Alan Velasco tried a long shot that was saved again by Ivačič, and the score remained tied. The Dallas coaching staff then started moving the bench, they substituted Cerillo and Lletget, giving Santiago Jimenez and Facundo Quignon minutes on the pitch, and the results came shortly after that. After a shot saved by Ivačič, Jesus Ferreira crossed it inside the area and, after a few rebounds Quignon found the ball and sent it to the back of the net, giving the lead to FC Dallas at the 74th minute.
Los Toros found another great scoring chance just a minute after their goal, Santiago Jimenez made a great build up play with Arriola that ended with Alan Velasco scoring, but an offside was called and the goal would not count. Portland would not give up and they would try with the same formula they were successful creating chances, long direct passes to their attackers. After a long ball, Tafari miscalculated the trajectory and Mosquera would find a great scoring opportunity, but Paes was quickly in-front of him, saving the shot and keeping the lead for FC Dallas at the 76th minute. The Timbers would not stop trying, and their coaching staff subbed in Franck Boli and Mabiala, but FC Dallas got a clear chance after a nutmeg from Jimenez that Arriola sent above the crossbar before the substitutes made the difference for Portland. The Timbers would again try a long ball to the attackers but this time Dairon Asprilla, would leave it beautifully to Boli that shot a powerful volley impossible for Paes, tying the game in the stoppage time.
FC Dallas coach said “Anything can happen in this sport. I think our team did everything to win the game, and the numbers show that. At the beginning it was difficult because they made the game very slow and didn’t press.” The Dallas team is now in 6th place with 8 points, one point ahead of Austin that did not play this weekend. FC Dallas will face Inter Miami next Saturday in Florida, looking for their third win this season.
