FC Dallas took the pitch at MAPFRE Stadium on Sunday with a lineup featuring two teenagers, five Homegrown players and a 20-year-old in goal; the average age of coach Oscar Pareja's midfield was less than 20.
Not only was FCD's fresh-faced squad good enough to beat Columbus Crew SC, one of the top teams in the MLS Eastern Conference, without Fabian Castillo, Tesho Akindele, Blas Perez, Moises Hernandez and Je-Vaughn Watson. It was able to do so by a stunning 3-0 scoreline and via the calculated execution of a “perfect game,” in the words of a very proud Pareja.
In a textbook display of catenaccio cunning enough to make Jose Mourinho beam, the North Texas club willingly ceded two-thirds of possession to Crew SC, trusting their back four and young 'keeper Jesse Gonzalez – making just his third MLS start – to patrol the penalty box effectively, then picked their spots to break out in transition with devastating efficiency.
“A lot of tactical moves with a team who possess the ball pretty well and attack. We played very intelligent,” said Pareja postgame. “Our group did a perfect game today. And the small things we asked them to do – first to hold their urgency and their initiative to penetrate and have possession, and be patient to take advantage of our options to score.
“Today just made us look that we can take this team for real. This is a young group of guys that are playing well.”
Though shorthanded in several areas, Dallas did have veteran savvy at the heart of their defense in the form of
Matt Hedges
and
Zach Loyd
. The center-back tandem kept things organized and calmly thumped away more than two dozen Columbus crosses – and also rode their luck, as the early penalty kick conceded by Loyd was wastefully slapped wide of Gonzalez's right post by
Federico Higuain
.
Atiba Harris drew first blood on an FCD corner kick just minutes later, and the pieces fell into place from there.
“It went exactly as planned,” said Loyd. “It really helped getting that early goal – that forced Columbus to throw more numbers forward, so it left them really open to the counter. I thought we did really well executing what we've done all week.
“It's a growing game for us.”
With the victory, FCD own the best points-per-game mark in MLS, keeping them in the thick of the race for multiple honors as the season reaches its final sprint.
“It was huge for us. We're still a couple games back in the Western Conference, so that three points on the road for us puts us right back in the fight for the Supporters' Shield,” said Loyd. “The guys that stepped up today are the guys that haven't been getting a lot of minutes. I think they showed their quality – that's just a testament to them.”
In the bigger picture, Sunday may prove a watershed for the club's longstanding commitment to youth development, and it further burnishes Pareja's reputation for grooming talent.
“It's huge for the club to see five Homegrowns starting, and one other one on the bench. We have another one called into the national team [Hernandez]. So that makes us proud,” said Pareja. “At the same time, we need to come here to a very difficult place and get a win in a game that will put us in a great spot. A big responsibility for these young guys, but they stepped up today.
“The ability for the coaches in the academy to bring these guys up to us – it's a very quiet job that they do there, and for me, it's easier when I see the talent there. So they make my life easier with all the work that they put together, and the coaching staff and the model of the team, and the FC Dallas initiative to develop players.”
