Nothing separated the Red Bulls and FC Dallas in their scoreless draw Saturday night. The Red Bulls controlled the game throughout but simply couldn’t score, while Dallas held on for a point. New York remains winless at home, Dallas also winless on the road.
Red Bulls outshoot, outplay FC Dallas but settle for 0-0 draw
Team News
A surprising call from Gerhard Struber, as he goes with Ashley Fletcher in his first MLS start over Patryk Klimala in attack. Frankie Amaya returns to the starting lineup after serving a suspension, he’s alongside Cristian Cásseres Jr in midfield. Dru Yearwood is amongst the substitutes, while Luquinhas makes his second straight start, opposite Lewis Morgan as the wingers.
For Dallas, Paul Arriola gets the start over Jader Obrian on the wing. He joins Alan Velasco and top scorer Jesus Ferreira in attack, young midfielder Edwin Cerrillo makes way for Ema Twumasi in midfield. The other change sees Facundo Quignon at right-back over Nanu.
Red Bulls starting lineup: Carlos Coronel; John Tolkin, (C) Aaron Long, Sean Nealis, Tom Edwards; Frankie Amaya, Cristian Cásseres Jr; Luquinhas, Omir Fernandez, Lewis Morgan; Ashley Fletcher
New York subs: Ryan Meana, Lucas Monzon, Dylan Nealis, Daniel Edelman, Dru Yearwood, Tom Barlow, Patryk Klimala, Zach Ryan
FC Dallas starting lineup: Maarten Paes; Marco Farfan, Jose Martinez, (C) Matt Hedges, Facundo Quignon; Paxton Pomykal, Ema Twumasi, Brandon Servania; Alan Velasco, Jesus Ferreira; Paul Arriola
Dallas subs: Jimmy Maurer, Edwin Munjoma, Joshua Quinonez, Nkosi Burgess, Edwin Cerrillo, Kalil Elmedkhar, Jader Obrian, Franco Jara, Tsiki Ntsabeleng
First Half: Red Bulls-FC Dallas hold each other scoreless in first half
Red Bulls were in control of the opening 15 minutes of the game. They lined up in a 3-4-1-2 with Omir and Fletcher up top, Luquinhas in behind them as the 10. Dallas in their usual 4-3-3 and Ferreira up top looked to threaten.
New York had the majority of possession but couldn’t put one in the back of the net. Morgan nearly scored the opener in trying to chip in an empty net. But Hedges was there in the nick of time to head it away. Morgan also had a decent free kick chance, but Paes was equal to it. FC Dallas struggled to maintain any sort of possession for a spell of time. The away side were outshot seven-to-two in that opening frame, while the expected goals numbers came to 0.30-0.11 in favor of the Red Bulls.
In their best moments, FC Dallas relied more on the counter attack. However, that often left Ferreira isolated and having very few touches. Frankie Amaya came back like he never left and leads the game with two key passes thus far. Fairly clean game with only one yellow card, that to Casseres Jr for a foul on Arriola.
— New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) April 16, 2022
But for New York, they did nearly everything but score in the opening frame. Dallas did less but remain a threat, as the first half ended scoreless.
Second Half: Nothing separates the teams in a scoreless draw
New York continued to have control of proceedings. However, the search for an opening goal by either team remained. Even with the introductions of Patryk Klimala and Tom Barlow, chances weren’t apparent. It didn’t look better for Dallas either as they didn’t produce much in the final third.
CARLOS! CORONEL! pic.twitter.com/mfN66xGEcm
— New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) April 17, 2022
Klimala headed one that hit the top of the crossbar. New York outshot Dallas 20-5 with and expected goals tally of 1.65-0.29. Franco Jara had a great chance to give the away side all three points but was stopped brilliantly by Carlos Coronel. New York couldn’t find much of an attacking threat out wide, and again had to settle for crosses in the box. Even in set pieces, many if not all of them didn’t produce a quality chance and left a lot to be desired.
“I think we improve many things but in the end we are professional soccer team and we have to realize points, especially at home, and this makes today my boys and my coaching team and me unhappy,” Head Coach Gerhard Struber said.
“We invest a lot today. In the end, it’s always for a group a disappointed, a frustration feeling when you invest so much and in the end you stay with one point int he end in the dressing room together,” Struber said. “But this is also sometimes sport and you have to grow up, the resilience one more time to be ready in the next game and that’s it, and work hard between. This is our situation and not much more.”
New York did way more than Dallas to come away with a win, but eventually time ran out. Both teams have Open Cup duty in midweek before resuming league play. Red Bulls travel to Orlando where all they do is win on their travels. Dallas hosts Houston in the Texas Derby.
Three takeaways from New York Red Bulls vs FC Dallas
Red Bulls drop points at home again. It is becoming a worry, Red Bull Arena was once a fortress but now the team is now winless in four attempts so far. Even while dominating proceedings, Gerhard Struber’s side struggle to break down opponents and score more than a goal on their own patch. Their next home game isn’t until early May against the Portland Timbers. We’ll see how the team carries on until as they face a road trip where all the team does is win away from home.
FC Dallas didn’t do much and they’re fine with it. They didn’t do much and came away with a point. Jesus Ferreira was held in check and so was Alan Velasco and Paul Arriola. They remain in good form and are in good shape in the Western Conference.
New York needs to solve their attacking woes soon. Two new attackers start the game, and a shutout to show for it. While it’s still relatively early, questions remain on how this team will soon click. The hot early start-shine is coming off and now the Red Bulls are regressing to the mean, pressure is going up for the strikers. Struber will need to work some magic in order to get this team looking dangerous.
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