PORTLAND, Ore. — Providence Park hasn’t been too kind to FC Dallas in the recent past. They lost twice on the Portland Timbers' home field last season, including once in the playoffs, a result that ultimately ended their MLS Cup run.
But it’s a new season for the Texans and they made sure everyone knew it with a relentless attacking performance en route to a 3-1 win over the Timbers here on Wednesday night.
"This place is difficult. It has been a challenge for us,” Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja said after the game. "We played against a very good team, but we have a group of players today that came out very sharp, especially in the first 45 minutes, when we created a lot of options to score."
It wasn’t long ago that FC Dallas went on a road trip and came away with serious doubts. Four weeks ago, the young FCD team was crushed in a humiliating 5-0 defeat to in-state rival Houston Dynamo.
Since then, they are unbeaten in their last five matches and sit in first place of the Western Conference at 14 points, two points clear of Sporting Kansas City, which lost at home on Wednesday.
"It always creates urgency, one way or another, when you lose that way,” Pareja said of that loss in Houston before the tide turned. "The good part is we reacted well. We have been getting good results. We have been playing well. The league is tough. It’s difficult. It’s complex and it’s long. It just gave us another experience. It’s a long journey.”
The journey may be a long one ahead, but FC Dallas is looking to show they can compete for the long haul.
Star attacking midfielder Mauro Diaz, who leads the league in assists despite missing his third straight match, was again ruled out with a hamstring strain. But FC Dallas spread their attacking efforts around against the Timbers, with all but two field players – defenders Matt Hedges and Ryan Hollingshead – taking shots. Dallas outshot Portland 17-13 on the night.
Dallas will return home to host Sporting Kansas City on Sunday (7 pm ET, FS1), but after that looms another tough road stretch that will have Dallas face three opponents in three weeks coast to coast.
“We’ve won our last two road games and we want to be road warriors,” said goalkeeper Chris Seitz. “In this league, you have to get points on the road in order to be at the top, where we want to be. For us this is our third opportunity on the road and we responded really well to it. We’ll try to replicate this going forward.”
