By: Anthony Miller
After falling behind early in the second half, a last-second rally by FC Dallas wasn’t enough as the team fell to Sporting Kansas City 2-1.
A 54-minute weather delay interrupted the start of the match after lightning struck within eight miles of the stadium. The first half was a mixed bag of good pace on offense as FC Dallas was able to attack well on transition plays, but not able to execute with goals. Their defense was stout for the first 40 minutes of the game with goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer making a couple of nice saves for the team. It wasn’t until the 41st minute that fans saw the first goal of the game by Sporting Kansas City’s Gadi Kinda to make the score 1-0 going into halftime.
FC Dallas’ offense started the second half slow, not getting many opportunities to possess the ball as it was Sporting Kansas City who came out aggressive. That led to Sporting Kansas City’s Daniel Salloi scoring the team’s second goal in the 60th minute giving Sporting a 2-0 lead over FC Dallas. The mood for FC Dallas changed as they started to get more shots and were eventually able to get a goal from their top player Jesus Ferreira in the 91st minute in stoppage time. FC Dallas was not able to get the equalizer goal in the last five minutes of the game as they fell to Sporting Kansas City 2-1.
FC Dallas drops their record to 6-4-5 and 23 points on the season as it is the team’s first loss in six MLS matches. They previously had won two matches and had three draws. It’s only the fourth match this season that the team surrendered two or more goals as they are eighth in MLS in goals allowed at 16. FC Dallas is holding strong in fourth place in the Western Conference as they are just three points behind the Seattle Sounders who are in first place.
Biggest Takeaways from The Weather-Delayed Loss
One keynote from this game that will have an impact on the immediate future of FC Dallas is middle fielder Edwin Cerrillo received his fifth yellow card of the season Wednesday night resulting in him being suspended for their next matchup against Nashville SC on Saturday. Cerrillo started nine games for FC Dallas in the middle recording six shots on the season. FC Dallas will have to go to their bench for Saturday to find someone to step up in his place.
Defender Collin Smith made his first MLS appearance for FC Dallas on Wednesday getting the start in the process. Smith was recalled by FC Dallas from his loan with USL Championship’s Birmingham Legion FC. The 19-year-old will return to Birmingham at the end of his recall which will be Saturday night. While the team surrendered two goals, he was able to hold his own and performed well in his first start in MLS.
Looking at who were the standouts from the team, Jader Obrian had a solid game as he was aggressive on the offensive side and had some nice crossers who almost connected multiple times. Obrian was able to keep the pace up on offense and passed the ball well setting up the offense with 11 shots in the game. Ferreira was also able to set himself up with some nice shots in the match as in the 17th minute a goal was scored but was called offside which erased the goal. His goal in the 91st minute was his ninth goal of the season which is tied for second in the MLS.
Looking Forward to June
FC Dallas will not be in action as much in June as they only have four matches to play in the month. They will have their first match of the month on Saturday as they take on Nashville SC who is the second-best team in the Eastern Conference. Their matchup with St. Louis City SC will be played on June 7, but it is not a full game as they are completing an abandoned game from earlier in the season. FC Dallas will conclude with matches against the Portland Timbers and in-state rivals Austin FC.
With how tight of a race, it is in the Western Conference, two of FC Dallas’ four opponents this month are top two teams in their conferences so it is imperative that the team can get some key wins against them. The team is on pace to make the postseason and can’t have any step-backs with losses. Getting results in all four games is critical for the team to stay in the running. With how well their defense has played this season, it seems fair that they are doing what needs to be done to be contenders.