FC Dallas Suffers 3-2 Defeat to Real Salt Lake

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FC Dallas Suffers 3-2 Defeat to Real Salt Lake

September 19, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Dallas News Release


SANDY, Utah - FC Dallas (9-13-7, 34 points) fell 3-2 to Real Salt Lake (14-7-8, 50 points) at America First Field Wednesday night despite goals from Jesús Ferreira and Alan Velasco.

LA CHEETAH STRIKES ONCE MORE

FC Dallas Homegrown forward Jesús Ferreira scored in the first minute of added time in the first half off a set piece. That is Ferreira's fifth goal of the season for Dallas and the club's 10th set piece goal of the year. Ferreira has now scored eight goals versus Real Salt Lake, the most in the series.

RETURNING FROM INTERNATIONAL DUTY

Maarten Paes and Show Cafumana received minutes tonight after returning from international duty and were part of the starting eleven. Show has played and started in every match he's been available for selection since joining midseason.

GOL DE LA JOYA

Alan Velasco scored his first goal of the 2024 season since returning from a season-ending injury suffered in 2023. His last goal came on Oct. 14, 2023 in a 1-1 draw versus the Colorado Rapids. Velasco is the fourth different FC Dallas player to score from the penalty kick spot this season and becomes the 16th player to score for FC Dallas this season. FC Dallas has converted its last seven penalty kicks in MLS.

SERIES HISTORY

Following tonight's result, Dallas is now 23-15-12 in regular season action versus Real Salt Lake.

UP NEXT: HOLLYWOOD COMES TO TOWN

FC Dallas hosts LAFC on Saturday, September 21 from Toyota Stadium. The match will kickoff at 7:30PM CT and will air on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, the FC Dallas app in Spanish and English, and Talk Radio 1190 AM in English.

FC DALLAS POSTGAME QUOTES

Interim head coach Peter Luccin

On the positives from tonight...

"I believe that there wasn't a moment when we didn't control the game. We had energy to come back after conceding and we were able to pull one back before the half. That was good for us at that moment as we tried to build our confidence. I felt like the goals we conceded tonight were pretty soft. I am happy for Alan (Velasco) for getting back on the scoresheet. We tried to level the match, but we did not take advantage of the chances we had throughout the match, especially in the first half with the amount of chances we missed."

On the defensive focus...

"We saw that against Vancouver, for example, we had much better behavior defensively. We were a bit more solid, of course we conceded some chances but we were more solid, compact and had more help from 10 players. Today, we saw it was different. There was too much space between the lines, too much space between players so that means that when one player got beat the next player wasn't close enough. When you're giving so much space it's hard to defend and this is what we saw today. Now, we'll want to have a better day against LAFC, similar to Vancouver."

On the message to the team ahead of back-to-back home games...

"We need to be clear now, we cannot lie. We have a game on Saturday and it could be our last chance even if we have two games at home. This Saturday will be important, like today was, but it will be really crucial for us if we want to try to make the playoffs. The game Saturday is crucial so we're making sure everybody is in good shape and has rest to play a good team and that's it. We need to be prepared for that game."

Forward Alan Velasco

On scoring his first goal in 340 days...

"I am happy to have scored again, but I wish that the goal had helped with the result. We were aiming for three points but we were hoping to at least get the draw. I am pleased to have scored but it would've felt better to come away with a better result. I hope to keep catching my old scoring form so that I can contribute to the team's final push towards playoffs."

On how the team can bounce back ahead of the next game...

"We have to keep working hard. We have a big home match coming up against LAFC in front of our fans. We need to work harder to get the three points at home."

Sebastian Lletget

On tonight's game...

"We know Real Salt Lake are a good team. They're a tough opponent but it came down to things that we could have done just a bit better as a team. We had some good chances, created some opportunities, but it just wasn't good enough. Saturday's match versus LAFC will probably be our last chance to kind of grab onto something. So that's our focus."

On Saturday's match versus LAFC...

"I mean, any team that comes to Toyota Stadium, we're always confident to get a win, there's no doubt about it. And we're going to carry on with a good couple days of recovery and momentum from training and recovery. I think we'll be alright. So that's the focus, obviously it is an emotional time right now, but we'll recover."

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