It appears the FC Dallas roller coaster is back.
When the team is firing on all cylinders, they look nearly unstoppable and can go toe-to-toe with anyone in MLS. But like any good roller coaster, the downswings can be as extreme as the high points, and Friday's game represented a downswing.
After sitting tied for the best record in MLS just two weeks ago, FC Dallas were pummeled 4-0 by Sporting Kansas City at Sporting Park – the team’s second 4-0 loss of the season.
The culprit for the difficult result? A poor night overall on the defensive side.
“I thought we didn’t play well defensively,” Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja said after the game. “I thought we made a lot of mistakes on that end, but we will take responsibility for that and move on. Kansas City obviously was better than us.”
But it was a night where nothing went right for the visitors on their second stop of a five game road trip. For starters, Dallas entered the match without explosive winger Fabian Castillo, leading to a first half that only resulted in one shot attempt. The team finished the match with only five shots and just one of them on goal.
Defender Zach Loyd -- back in the lineup after missing the last three games due to a leg injury -- lost an aerial challenge off of a free kick in the 19th minute that led to SKC’s first goal. He also picked up two yellow cards, both for fouls on Sporting forward Krisztian Nemeth, before the half. The subsequent red card ejection, the fourth of Loyd’s career, only increased the misery for FCD.
“We didn’t play well. We played with ten [men] again, which is something we’re trying to correct,” Pareja said of his team, which is tied for second in MLS with three red cards on the season. “And all those things will be analyzed.”
Above all, FC Dallas were left disappointed with their inability to match Sporting's effort on the night.
“We know what we face when we come here,” Pareja said of SKC’s intensity, noting that FCD saw the same effort during a 3-1 win over SKC in early March. “But a big part of the first half was matching that intensity. We were playing well until we got that red card, and then concentration defensively just went downwards.”
Unsurprisingly, Pareja is already looking forward to the next challenge, which comes against the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium after nine days off between matches.
"We have to be mature,” he added. “These experiences are difficult to swallow. I take the responsibility, and we’ll move on.”
