For the second straight week, FC Dallas hoped to climb into the driver’s seat for the Supporter’s Shield race.
But Dallas failed to climb to the top of the ladder again on Sunday night at StubHub Center, just as they failed to climb out of an early hole they dug themselves during a 3-2 loss to the L.A Galaxy.
“We’re a little frustrated,” said defender Zach Loyd. “We came in here with high hopes. We came out of the gates a little slow, and when you do that against a team like L.A and put yourself in a hole, it’s really hard to come back.”
Dallas gave up two early goals within three minutes of each other in the first 15 minutes, one to Giovani Dos Santos and one to Robbie Keane. Both resulted from a complete breakdown of the Dallas backline by the Galaxy DPs, and both players, along with Gyasi Zardes, were able to find holes in the Dallas defense and execute pinpoint passes that left the Dallas defenders on their heels.
Both Loyd and head coach Oscar Pareja were disappointed in the team’s performance in the opening 20 minutes.
“We were trying to be aggressive, but we looked pretty fragile in the back,” said head coach Pareja. “And against these types of players, they punish you.”
In similar fashion to their season thus far, Dallas did not go down without a fight and were able to bounce back. Mauro Diaz, who played his first game since Aug. 2, set up Michael Barrios in the 35th minute to give Dallas a fighter’s chance going into the half. And even when Steven Gerrard gave the Galaxy a 3-1 cushion in the 57th minute, Atiba Harris breathed life into the visitors after finishing a shot in the box coming from a Ryan Hollingshead pass.
“We’re happy with the [fact] that we didn’t give up,” Loyd said. “A team like L.A once they start rolling, we’ve seen them kind of steamroll teams here, especially as of late. But we went down and guys continued to have the belief that we could get a point out of this. We fought to the very end, and came up just a little short.”
Ultimately, the mismatch in the back was too much to overcome for FC Dallas. It also adds to the narrative of the club struggling on the road, particularly against top foes, with Dallas now sporting a 4-8-3 road record. They still have only taken points on the road once this season against a team above the red line.
Pareja did focus on a few positives in the match in addition to the team’s ability to not let the game get completely out of reach. He said Diaz went deeper into the match than expected, given his nearly two month layoff, and that Kellyn Acosta looked sharp after nursing an injury of his own as of late.
Also fortunate for the club is the fact that three of Dallas’ final five games will be played at Toyota Stadium, and only one of the road games is against a top Western Conference contender.
The bottom line, however, is that Dallas missed a chance for the second straight week to lead the charge in the Supporter’s Shield. Pareja and his squad knows it.
“We’re not happy,” Pareja said, “because at this point, we need points.”
