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Breakdown – FC Dallas vs. Houston Dynamo, May 2024

Theo

A point on the road against a big rival to win the Texas Derby feels like a win, especially with so many missing midfielders that FCD has to deal with.

Considering all the missing pieces, I think FCD played well, in its own way. Yes, it looks like FCD could break the ties record this year. It’s not pretty.

“Overall, the first 30 minutes were the best we have played on the road, combining good defensive work, good possessions and good plays. In the second half we started a little slow, but as the second half progressed we did a really good job of creating chances and playing in their half, keeping the ball moving ‘one side to the other.

Coach Nico Estevez

Compositions and tactics

Coach Nico Estevez roll again with the 3-4-3 5-4-1. Nolan Norris, 19, is making his third career start. At his side, Patrickson Delgado, 20 years old, “experienced”, is making his 6th start. Bernard Kamungo starts as a 3rd attacker.

FC Dallas XI at Houston Dynamo, May 18, 2024. (Courtesy of FC Dallas)
FC Dallas XI at Houston Dynamo, May 18, 2024. (Courtesy of FC Dallas)

53rd minute, Ema Twumasi I had to withdraw due to a bruised knee, Herbert Endeley replaced it.

65th, in what appears to be a planned exchange, the double pivot – Norris and Patrickson – replaced Carl Sainte And Tsiki Ntsabeleng.

At the 81st, Logan Farrington And Sébastien Lletget came for Jesus Ferreira And Petar Moussa. This also seemed planned.

Eventually, FCD obtained an additional submarine (see below) and launched Eugene Ansah for Kamungo.

Houston Dynamo in a 4-2-3-1. After a midweek rest, Hector Herrera is back.

Houston Dynamo XI vs. FC Dallas, May 18, 2024. (Courtesy Houston Dynamo)
Houston Dynamo XI vs. FC Dallas, May 18, 2024. (Courtesy Houston Dynamo)

68th minute, Blessing Latif replaced Sébastien Kowalczyk because the latter does a lot of running like a false-9 going to the edges.

73rd minute, Andrew Tarbell replaced Steve Clark for head trauma. That’s what earned FC Dallas the extra sub, even though Houston didn’t even use all of its own.

83rd minute, McKinze Gaines And Tate Schmitt replaced Herrera and Daniel Steres. Unfortunately for Gaines, he blew his hammer and had to be replaced 7 minutes later for Gabriel Segal.

Goals

1-0 Houston Dynamo aim. 51st minute. This is a great team passing goal. Clean finish by Amine Bassi…who ran right in front Patrickson Delgado. Patrickson was slow to react and failed to score the dangerous man’s goal.

1-1 FCDallas aim. 69th minute. Once again, FCD is taking advantage of a mistake. Sam Junqua presses coconut Carrasquilla in turnover. Pierre Moussa Transmitted to Jesus FerreiraFerreira to Bernie Kamungo, who found Musa for the goal. A prototypical (current) objective of the FCD.

“We controlled the match well. But we must do better. These games are defined on a very fine line. We created an incredible play that led to the goal. We need to create more of these opportunities.

Coach Nico Estevez

Lo Bueno

My Man of the match was Maarten Paes. 7 stops in the evening, what a fantastic performance. For three years now, I felt like Dallas’ great defense was just a good defense raised by Paes. That was certainly the case in this one.

“I felt really good, I felt like no one could beat me. It’s one of those where you want to reward yourself with a clean sheet. Some good saves, some easy saves but there are no easy saves as a goalkeeper. The concentration was high, the commitment was high and the community was good so it was a complete performance and we got a result.

Maarten Paes

I thought Nolan Norris was excellent… for being 19 and facing HH, Coco and Artur. It was unexpected that he played the link role, but I loved it. He added a certain confidence to his game that I loved. 90% passing, 2 progressive passes (t-3rd), 1 key pass (t-2nd), 3 passes in the final third (t-2nd), 1 foul committed, 1 block, 3 clearances, 1 interception and 2 recoveries . Only one of his passes was blocked, he had 1 control error and he was dispossessed 0 times. 0 times! But I need to work on these yolks. Including NTX, he got 6 yellows in 7 matches.

Sam Junqua was excellent, a large part of the construction was carried out thanks to him. He was calming and controlling. A great performance, I considered him my man of the match. 63 touches, 85% passes, 48 ​​pass receptions (1st). Defensively: 2 tackles, 2 blocks, 5 clearances, 4 recoveries, 28 runs led the team (a lot to relieve pressure).

Coach Nico Estevez seemed to want to replace some important players to keep some important players as fresh as possible for Wednesday’s Cup match. The two double subs seemed planned. The first to reduce the minute load on his youngsters and the 2nd to reduce the ball chasing load at the end of the match on his key attackers.

I know this space isn’t usually about the other team, but man, Coco Carrasquilla is a hell of a player. I would steal him so fast if I was a billionaire owner of MLS (yes, Junqua caught him napping). He made 7 progressive passes and 5 shot-creating actions.

Pierre Moussa now scored 4 goals in his last 5 matches. The Moose is indeed cowardly.

Chemin du Médio

I’m not going to complain about 40% ownership, which increased after the replacement of Hector Herrera. When a club is missing as many midfielders as this one, it causes them to become an even more bunkered and possession-hostile team than they already are.

Bernard Kamungo was hit or miss as it usually is. For most of the game, he seems lost and struggles to get back into the game. Then he got this incredible assist for the tying goal. I think he should start again in the Cup on Wednesday.

The 5-4-1 It’s even more boring than the 3-4-3 (yes, it’s kind of the same thing) but it works to get results while the midfield is a disaster. Do I hate watching it? Yes, it’s horrible. But the FCD is slowly coming out of the bottom of the ranking.

Muy Féo

Allowing Houston to score a goal in the half is a real drag. It’s hard to stay mentally focused and no, the water cuts haven’t helped.

“We felt like we could win this game. We had one of the best first halves away this season tonight. We just had a moment at the end of the first half after the water break where we lowered our level.“

Coach Nico Estevez

I hate water cuts in football. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

The worst part about watching this match was actually the commentators. Both were poor with multiple FCD-related factual errors and multiple errors reading the play in front of them.

Before the Dynamo game, FC Dallas was 0-4-0 when trailing at halftime this season. Now it’s 0-4-1. No baby?

Instant reaction – 3 things

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