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MLS FC Dallas

FC Dallas Earns Shutout in 3-0 Win against Toronto FC

June 22, 2019 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Dallas News Release


Frisco, TX - FC Dallas earns three points at home after shutting out Toronto FC, 3-0, with a goal from Bressan and brace from Dominique Badji.

Game Summary

First Half:

12' - Paxton Pomkyal played a through ball that split the Toronto FC defense, but Jesús Ferreira could only shoot straight at Quentin Westberg.

39' - Michael Barrios wiggled through the Toronto defense and his near post shot was well saved by Westberg.

39' -FC Dallas continued to test Westberg from long range, and Bressan tried a long range piledriver and forced Westberg to make another important save.

41' - After a run down the right side, a Barrios cross eventually found its way to Dominique Badji by way of Jesus Ferreira, who tapped the ball in from short range to open the scoring.

Second Half:

47' - Paxton Pomykal found himself with the ball 30 feet from goal and drove into the box but saw his shot saved.

48' - Alejandro Pozuelo had an immediate impact and played a ball behind the defense but Jesse Gonzalez came out and made a fingertip save.

51' - Barrios's corner was an outswinger and Bressan met the cross and hammered a header past Westberg's despairing grasp to score his first FC Dallas goal.

58' - FC Dallas had a 3-on-2, and Ferreira attracted the last defender and played in Badji who curled it into the far corner past Westberg to put FC Dallas up 3-0.

79' - Reto Ziegler found himself with the ball in the box but his goal bound shot from 10 yards was blocked.

Lineups:

FC Dallas - Jesse Gonzalez; Ryan Hollingshead, Reto Ziegler, Matt Hedges, Bressan; Edwin Cerrillo, Brandon Servania, Paxton Pomykal; Dominique Badji (Santiago Mosquera - 72'), Jesús Ferreira (Bryan Reynolds - 89'), Michael Barrios (Ricardo Pepi - 83').

Substitutes not used - Jimmy Maurer, Callum Montgomery, Pablo Ara?nguiz, Zdenek Ondrasek.

Toronto FC - Quentin Westberg; Eriq Zavaleta, Laurent Ciman (Alejandro Pozuelo - 46'), Drew Moor, Justin Morrow; Richie Laryea, Liam Fraser, Marky Delgado, Jay Chapman (Jacob Shaffelburg - 59'); Nick DeLeon (Jordan Hamilton - 82'), Terrence Boyd.

Substitutes not used - Caleb Patterson-Sewell, Griffin Dorsey, Ayo Akinola, Tsubasa Endoh.

Scoring Summary:

FCD: Dominique Badji (Jesús Ferreira) - 41'

FCD: Bressan (Michael Barrios) - 51'

FCD: Dominique Badji (Jesús Ferreira, Paxton Pomykal) - 58'

Misconduct Summary:

NONE

Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 81

Attendance: 13,623

Referee: Kevin Stott

Assistant Referees: Adam Wienckowski, Gjovalin Bori

4th Official: Nima Saghafi

VAR Official: Malik Badawi

AVAR: Kevin Klinger

FC Dallas head coach Luchi Gonzalez

Overall thoughts on the match...

They responded. They're focused on the two cups that are left, the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup. Whether it's in or out of conference we want to channel the disappointment from Wednesday and take the next step and move on. These guys made me proud because they got up, moved on and were very aggressive today in the press, transitions, whether counter or build, to get in the box and get service.

On three Homegrown midfielders...

Those were the three center-mids we felt were ready to do it. They had a really synchronized performance, not perfect but very coordinated, very synchronized not perfect but very coordinated, very synchronized, defensively and offensively. That's great for now and in the future.

On Dominique Badji's brace...

Badji has been open since preseason. He started as a nine and we've shifted around, on the wing late in preseason. He continues to challenge himself to pick up little things and be open and try things. Today was an example of being a player that can develop, that has a higher ceiling that maybe myself and he even thought in the preseason. He can score at the wing, at the nine, (it) makes him more versatile, increases his value, makes him more complete. Because of his attitude, I'm enjoying the process to keep adding those tools.

On Ricardo Pepi debut...

He's a player that's there because he scores, his mobility, his presses. I mean, in the short time he played, he stole two or three balls against good players. That's not easy to do. He's taking his steps. He's earning what he gets. These guys have to earn what they get.

On Bressan's night...

He's had his experience with us at the center back. He's done well. It was a moment we wanted to get Reto (Ziegler) back in the lineup and not move Ryan (Hollingshead) again, keep Ryan on the left, give him some consistency. We knew Bressan, defensively, is a player that really prides himself to shut things down his line. The goal is a bonus. For him to score on that, that's a plus. Having an extra player that's good in the air, and on set piece. Great night for him.

FC Dallas forward Ricardo Pepi

On making his MLS debut...

It felt great. It was a lot of excitement; it means a lot for me to keep on working. I was a little nervous, I've been more nervous before when I played in the U.S. Open Cup, but like today I got more confidence and it was great.

On playing a few matches for FC Dallas...

I mean, it means a lot because I used to be so nervous before, but now I am getting a little more confident and getting used to the player and it feels like we are a family now.

FC Dallas midfielder Paxton Pomykal

On using Wednesday's Open Cup loss as motivation...

I mean, obviously, there was a sour taste in our mouth, I felt like we were the better team, but at the same time that's a game where sometimes the result doesn't go your way, so we took the loss to heart and bounced back as you watched, that was a great performance from us.

On the team's performance against Toronto FC...

It feels good that our chances are turning into goals, 3-0 as well as the clean sheet you know that's huge. The guys in the back, Jesse as well, it's big to get zero goals against a team like Toronto, so hats off to them. And then guys are finishing, putting the ball in the back of the net, I think we could have scored 4, 5 or 6 today if we put away our chances, I haven't seen the stats yet, but I felt like we had a lot of chances.

On the team's confidence with the attack...

It obviously boosts it, I mean 3-0 is, like I said, a pretty dominant performance and the score line reflected what the game was, so I think from goalkeeper to back line to all the players and the guys who came in played really well and we really grew as a team today.

FC Dallas forward Dominique Badji

On what was working well tonight...

Just getting in the box and being aggressive and getting shots off. I think I've been a little passive the last couple of games so, it was nice to be aggressive again and score some goals.

On what tonight's performance did for his confidence...

My job is to score goals and so, the confidence is going to be high definitely and I can't wait to get back on the field Wednesday and keep it going. I want to ride this wave as long as it will take me.

On what this will mean for the attack moving forward...

Like I said, it gives all the attacking players confidence. The attack at times has been good this season, but not consistently and I think this is a turning point for us. I think we can use this game going forward to really cement ourselves and be aggressive attacking.

On using Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup game as motivation...

For sure. Wednesday's game was a disappointment; I don't think any of us really had a great night's sleep after that. After games like that you really want to look forward to the next game and this is us taking out our frustrations on the last game.

Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney:

On if lack of depth played a role in the second half:

The first goal really took a little bit of its toll because we put a lot of energy on the defensive side of things and hoping a little bit at halftime when we got [Pozuelo] on we could shift some of the attacking stuff but then it became a game we were chasing. When we're chasing a game like this we ended up getting stretched out and pulled apart and too many spaces opened up on the field. For [FC Dallas], there were lots of different pockets that they could utilize. Again, part of is because we end up chasing the game and if it's still 0-0 [at halftime] maybe we stay a little bit more connected as a group and just have a little more patience. A lot of the guys as changes in the midfield, nobody was a central midfielder, everybody was kind of a wide player, nothing in the back,

The message to the players after the game:

Mindsets start to shift when games get away and we play a game in a couple of days and it's just making sure that we're all having the same conversations moving forward about what we need to do in the next game and how we just need to clean up a few things that were in there. It's important because sometimes these types of games, when you're frustrated, can linger and I don't want it to linger.

On Badji's controversial first-half goal:

Goals change games and today was no different especially on a day when it's extremely humid and hot and you could tell. You don't want to get on the wrong side of this game just because it's a tough game to chase in the conditions so that goal means a lot, for sure.

Toronto FC goalkeeper Quentin Westberg

On losing guys to injuries...

"It's my club, it's my team, we are in this together. It's not frustrating for me and not frustrating for anyone else. We win together, we lose together, it's my club. It's not my problem more than anyone else's. Every player's the same, we are all there for one another."

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