MLS FC Dallas

FC Dallas Downs Philadelphia, 2-0, to Remain Unbeaten

Published on April 21, 2018 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Dallas News Release


FRISCO, Texas - FC Dallas (3-0-3) defeated the Philadelphia Union, 2-0, tonight at Toyota Stadium to remain unbeaten in MLS play this season.

Homegrown right back Reggie Cannon sped up the right flank and was rewarded with an outlet pass from Michael Barrios in the sixth minute of the match. Cannon took the ball to FC Dallas' attacking third before sending a pass back to Barrios. The Colombian's centering pass skipped through the area before being cleared away for FCD's first corner of the match, which produced a headed shot on goal by Cristian Colman.

A give-and-go between Colman and Santiago Mosquera, who was making his second MLS start, put FC Dallas' No. 11 in alone against Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Andre Blake in the 21st minute. Mosquera tried to slip a left-footed shot past Blake, but his low shot went just wide of the post.

One-minute later Barrios had a breakaway chance of his own and attempted to slip a low shot by Blake but the Union goalkeeper made his third save of the match in the 22nd minute.

Mosquera made a sliding interception of a pass in the 34th minute. After getting back on his feet, the winger ran at Philadelphia's back line and let a hard shot fly. Once again Blake came up with a save, this one a diving left-handed block to keep the match scoreless.

Just before halftime, Blake made his fifth save of the match on a shot from inside the area by Mosquera. The Colombian made a well-timed run and Roland Lamah found him with a perfectly-weighted through ball. Mosquera's shot looked to have beaten Blake, but the 'keeper pushed it up and over the bar at the last second.

The FC Dallas defense finished the first half without allowing a shot on goal.

Philadelphia's first shot came in the 58th minute from Union winger David Accam, who came free well inside the area and volleys a cross on goal. FC Dallas' Jimmy Maurer dove low, to his right side, to make the save but the left the rebound out in front of goal. A split second later, Philadelphia's C.J. Sapong hit a follow-up attempt but Maurer was able to reach up, across his body with his left hand to make a second, more spectacular save, to keep his MLS-best 0.50 goals against average intact.

The match turned on the save from Maurer and four minutes later FC Dallas' Matt Hedges was fouled in the box by Philadelphia defender Auston Trusty on the home side's season-high 11th corner kick of the game. Referee Alan Kelly pointed to the spot and Mauro Diaz sent Blake the wrong direction on the ensuing penalty to give FCD a 1-0 lead.

Maxi Urruti scored to make it 2-0 in the 74th minute on an assist from Lamah, his third of the season, matching his season high from 2017 in just the sixth game of the season. Lamah's outside-of-the-foot pass curled into the path of Urruti, who had just come on the pitch five minutes earlier. The striker took the chance well, walking around Blake before smacking a pinpoint shot under the hands of the goalkeeper and out of the reach of backtracking Union defender, Trusty.

Lineups:

FC Dallas - Jimmy Maurer, Anton Nedyalkov, Reto Ziegler, Matt Hedges, Reggie Cannon, Roland Lamah, Victor Ulloa, Jacori Hayes, Michael Barrios (Tesho Akindele 79), Cristian Colman (Maxi Urruti 69), Maxi Urruti Santiago Mosquera (Mauro Diaz 61).

Substitutes not used: Kyle Zobeck, Ryan Hollingshead, Kris Reaves, Carlos Gruezo.

Philadelphia Union - Andrew Blake, Keegan Rosenberry, Mark McKenzie, Raymon Gaddis, Haris Medunjanin, Alejandro Bedoya, Fabrice-Jean Picault (Iisinho 65), David Accam (Cory Burke 75), Borek Dockal, C.J. Sapong.

Substitutes not used: Joshua Yaro, Warren Creavalle, Anthony Fontana, Matthew Real, John McCarthy.

Scoring Summary:

DAL: Mauro Diaz (PK) 64

DAL: Maxi Urruti (Roland Lamah) 74

Misconduct Summary:

DAL: Jacori Hayes (caution) 17

PHL: Haris Medunjanin (caution) 90+2

Weather: Cloudy, 61 degrees

Attendance: 13,326

Referee: Alan Kelly

Assistant Referees: CJ Morgante, Jeremy Hanson

4th Official: Alejandro Mariscal

VAR: Luis Guardia

FC Dallas Head Coach Oscar Pareja

General thoughts on the match...

First of all I want to thank all of the fans that came tonight in spite of the weather. With the rain and all those things, to still see the stadium with that energy... The people that came and stayed into the game the whole time, it was very much appreciated by the players and the coaches.

Regarding the match, I thought it was a very good game from us. The first half we had a different look. The plan was just to allow Philadelphia to have the ball in the middle. We knew that we could hurt them on the counter-attack. We knew we could use the space that they would give us, exposing their fullbacks and going that high. We had four forwards in the lineup that could get in-behind. That is where we created our chances.

In the first half, I thought we could have been up two or three goals. In the second half, we tried to do the same, knowing that later in the game we had subs that could change the game. We had the option to change our look and bring some creativity into the game. That did happen. We were happy to see the helpfulness of the players who started the game on the bench. The guys who started the match gave all for the team so I'm very content for the performance but mostly because I see a team gelling together. That makes us happy.

On the lineup versatility...

We are in a transition mode. When we have flexibility in the lineup, it not only provides us with different options, it creates competitiveness within the team that will make us better. We will plan for the next game with either formation being an option for us next week.

On Jimmy Maurer's back-to-back save to turn the tide of the match in the 58th minute...

I thought it was unbelievable. Jimmy has done a great job, not only on those save but in providing the team with maturity there, communication and I have to recognize that when you win games and score goals, the highlights go to the forwards. Today, the highlight of the game was that save to keep us in it.

FC Dallas goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer

On his highlight reel save...

It's just instincts and reactions... just from training, because you're not thinking. It's so quick. [David] Accam got a volley off on a cross. He got loose, got off a volley. I was able to get down to my right and make the save but I wasn't able to hold or push it wide. I kind of left it out in front. Then [C.J.] Sapong came in and I was just able to get my left hand up in time and get the block. I was happy to see it go out of bounds.

FC Dallas defender Reggie Cannon

Thoughts on tonight's match...

It's a great feeling for the team always to come away with the three points. Keeping the shutout, Oscar kept telling us that the forwards are going to do their jobs and we just have to trust them. Getting the shutouts are a big part of MLS and we did our job, trusted our forwards and we got the win, which is an ecstatic feeling, especially at home.

Thoughts on being a fullback...

I was starting to gain a little more confidence of wanting to go forward and when to stay. I'm starting to get a little bit of experience on my development. Oscar keeps telling me to keep going and to keep pushing for that position. Hernan Grana and Atiba Harris pushed me last year and said to keep attacking. Fullbacks, this is part of their game, to go out there and attack. Grana and Harris kept pushing me last year and it's paying off this year. I'm starting to figure out when to stay and when to go and overall be knowledgeable about what position I'm in at all times and I'm starting to get better.

FC Dallas midfielder Victor Ulloa

Thoughts on starting tonight...

It feels good. It feels great. Soccer players always want to play games and compete. I'm glad I've been able to get back on the field. I've done pretty well. I'm happy for the three points and a great two games for the team.

Thoughts on playing next to Jacori Hayes...

We work hard every day in the training grounds and any of the three of us or now four with Kellyn [Acosta] coming back, are going to be ready to play those positions. We just have to make it a problem for the coach. It's a good problem for him to have.

Thoughts on being undefeated...

We always want three points at home. That's the mentality of the group, always. We haven't had many of them lately, so we're glad we got one away last week and we're making them count. Big, huge points.

Thoughts on playing New York City FC next match...

It's going to be a fun game. They're No. 1 one in the Eastern conference. They are another talented group of players. They are flying right now, but we're going to try to do our thing and get another three points away from home.

Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin

General thoughts on the match...

Overall, a disappointing night for us. The group had a good start again, a lot of possession in the first half... 56 percent on the road, which is rare. The challenge now for us is to do more with it. We need to penetrate more and create more opportunities. I thought up until... David and C.J. made a good play. It bounces to C.J. and it looks like we are going to get a goal. It just doesn't go in and that's kind of the way things have been going for us right now. Dallas comes down on a corner kick that seemed pretty harmless. I watched the reply back now and again, I understand why Alan Kelly calls it. From his vantage point it probably looks like Auston [Trusty] is grabbing him a ton but really, I think Auston made a decent play and gets the ball. Obviously, he lets his man get goal-side, which is unacceptable but at the same time he still bailed himself out. I think it's a soft penalty. If you're calling that you're pretty much calling every one. It's disappointing. The second goal, two young center backs that will learn from that one... [Maxi] Urruti gets in their blind spot and punishes them. Still a lot of possession but we need to do more with it at this stage. We have to find a way to win a game ugly.

On his halftime adjustments...

It was clear that they had targeted to go over our right side and play over the top. A situation where we are talking with the young back four about if there is not pressure on the ball we have to drop together. With the speed that Dallas had, they basically put four guys up against our back four and for moments of the game I thought we dealt with it. They didn't really try and play through the middle. It was all long balls, very direct, over the top. Those were the only situations that gave us trouble. I talked at halftime about dropping together when we didn't have pressure on the ball. Make them really earn it. If they're going to create a goal or a chance let's have it where they actually put some passes together. We adjusted to it decently at half. In the first half it was just balls clipped over the top that made us scramble. I thought the first 15 minutes, we dominated. Then they had 15 and the final 15 was kind of up in the air after we settled down. Andre [Blake] made some big saves for us but it was definitely their tactic to come down our right-hand side, based on last week's game.

On creating chances just before FC Dallas' penalty kick goal...

Borek [Dockal] drifted and found some good pockets of space. David [Accam], on the volley, [Jimmy Maurer] makes a great save. We actually react well to it. I haven't seen that replay yet but I believe he might have saved it again off of C.J. Then there is a scramble. It sounded like it was out of bounds... I think it was but yea, we created chances right up to the point where we concede the goal. That call changed the game drastically. It's a game on a wet night when guys are falling. There is a lot of contact in the box. I think you can let that one go. Auston [Trusty] does recover and gets his foot on the ball. Disappointing in that regard but the referee made the decision. We were punished and that is the way it is going for us right now.

On the run of bad luck...

It's difficult. We have to stick to what we believe in. We have to continue to keep the ball. We need to penetrate more. We tried to play more down the middle. We had some success there but not as much as we would have hoped for but yea, it's a challenge right now to keep the guys positive, keep their heads up. We'll get back. We'll sit down. We'll look at the tape. We'll make adjustments. I thought that the guys who came into the game actually showed some life, which is a positive. We'll have some decisions to make now.

Philadelphia goalkeeper Andre Blake

General thoughts on the match...

We came up short today. We're returning home with a loss. We are disappointed. I think it was a though one. We took their best punch in the first half. Unfortunately, they [FC Dallas] scored two goals in the second half. We are just going to have to keep on going.

It's kind of though. It's soccer. Sometimes you get your chances and if you don't take them, it comes back to haunt you. It's just though luck right now. Nothing is really going our way, but I guess we just must keep working on trying to create our own luck.

On the penalty...

I'm not sure what happened. It was a corner kick. I was locked in on the ball. I heard the whistle go off. I'm going to have to go back and look at it again.

Philadelphia Union defender Mark McKenzie

General thoughts on the match...

I thought we did well. It was just a few positioning things. There's a few positioning things I need to work on. I'll go back to training this week and watch film this week. I'll try and find the errors in my game so I can fix them.

It was unfortunate for me to slip in this situation. I wasn't wearing the proper footwear to adapt in the game. I'll get treatment again when we get back to Philly. I'm going to take care of my body and hope to get back out to training.

On creating chances prior to FC Dallas' penalty kick...

We took a few punches towards the end of the first half, but I felt like once the second half started, we started to create our own chances and kept the ball swinging. The momentum was swinging our way at one point.

Check out the FC Dallas Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major League Soccer Stories from April 21, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central