{"id":9357,"date":"2017-08-20T01:47:38","date_gmt":"2017-08-20T05:47:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonsoccer.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=9357"},"modified":"2017-08-20T01:47:38","modified_gmt":"2017-08-20T05:47:38","slug":"fc-dallas-chasing-shadows-skc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2017\/08\/20\/fc-dallas-chasing-shadows-skc\/","title":{"rendered":"FC Dallas Chasing Shadows as Kansas City Dominates in Victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

(August 19, 2017) – Saturday night saw Sporting Kansas City play host to FC Dallas<\/a> in a Western Conference showdown. SKC was looking to remain unbeaten at home, while FC Dallas were looking to get back to winning ways. It was a tale of two halves though, as SKC dominated the majority of the match and took a 2-0 victory over Dallas.<\/p>\n

FC Dallas Chasing Shadows as Kansas City Dominates in Victory<\/h1>\n

The match saw FC Dallas in more of an attacking mode than the last few visits north. Dallas had decent chances early on but nothing that seemed to really worry Tim Melia. Oscar Pareja had his team come out in a traditional 4-4-2, with Carlos Gruezo back in the midfield from suspension. The lineup also saw dynamic defending duo Walker Zimmerman and Matt Hedges leading the back line. Dallas number ten Mauro Diaz was a late scratch to the roster and did not travel, picking up a knock in training midweek.<\/p>\n

It seemed the half would end scoreless, but a 42nd minute corner for Kansas City proved otherwise. Zusi whipped in a corner right to the middle of the goal box. Dallas seemed all night to struggle marking on corners, and Diego Rubio found himself running free. He met Zusi’s cross perfectly on the run, and placed a difficult finish with style in the top corner as Jesse Gonzalez could only watch.<\/p>\n

Kansas City Take Over<\/h3>\n

Both teams came out for the second half, but only one team really showed their true colors. Sporting Kansas City came out motivated and determined. Dallas seemed to be chasing shadows the majority of the period. Both teams are accustomed to playing in the heat and humidity, but Dallas seemed flat and predictable. For the visitors, Maxi Urruti continues to be the workhorse and was constantly dropping deep to try and create. Unfortunately, this left Cristian Colman up to trying to find space against a stingy and well-organized SKC defense.<\/p>\n

Again, Dallas had few chances in the second half, but once the ball was lost, SKC was excellent in retaining possession. And as Dallas were running around chasing the ball, Kansas City spread the ball wide and worked through channels to perfection. If on the rare occasion Dallas intercepted the ball, their legs looked too heavy from chasing to push forward on the counter. A few second half offensive substitutions hinted at a comeback, but fell way short. Tesho Akindele did end up on a beautiful through ball in the box from Kellyn Acosta, but again the SKC back line was right there to shut it down.<\/p>\n

Stoppage Time Security Blanket<\/h3>\n

The game wore on, and so did the hope of all Dallas fans. As the game limped into stoppage time, Dallas’ Coy Craft found himself with a half chance on goal, but it rolled wide with no real conviction. Just as it seemed the game would end 1-1, a long SKC clearance\/through ball found Gerso Fernandes down the right hand side. One would think at that moment you take the ball into the corner and count the seconds down. But Fernandes was in with fresh feet, and the Dallas defense was in no mood to chase. Fernandes was more than happy to take advantage of that. \u00a0He quickly collected the ball wide, and took a couple quick steps inside towards the 18, and smoothly placed a top shelf finish past Jesse Gonzalez.<\/p>\n

Let’s Get Personal<\/h3>\n

As an FC Dallas fan, I found myself thanking the ref for blowing the whistle to end the match. There were positives for Dallas in the match, but those positives were heavily outmatched by the negatives.<\/p>\n

Getting Zimmerman, Hedges, and Gruezo back on the field together was great to see. That being said, the lack of lethal finishing we’re used to seeing was very underwhelming. Dallas thrives on their wing play and speed on the attack. Everything in Kansas City tonight seemed sluggish and without purpose.<\/p>\n

Gonzalez kept Dallas in the game several times with some great saves. Any team knows that at some point, your keeper can only do so much. Just like a pitcher in baseball, throwing eight innings of two-hit baseball is fantastic, but you’re setting yourself up for disaster if you can’t get any offensive fireworks going. Gonzalez made five saves against SKC tonight, but it was all for naught when the ball isn’t hitting the back of the other net. Head coach Oscar Pareja will again need to feed this team positive vibes and push for points as we come into the later half of the season.<\/p>\n

Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n

Both teams look forward to very tough schedules in the next couple of weeks. FC Dallas head home and look to wrap up the Texas Derby<\/a> Wednesday night, as they host Houston Dynamo. They will quickly clean up and then head north to Ohio, with a Saturday night date against Columbus Crew SC. Big time games call for big time plays, and Dallas really need to find something now, or this season could fly right past them.<\/p>\n

SKC’s schedule doesn’t get any easier either. They’ll follow Dallas’ trail home to head down to Houston with a matchup against the Dynamo next Saturday. From there they will fly back up north for a midweek meeting with NYCFC, and then a few days later will find themselves in Columbus facing Crew SC.<\/p>\n

The Western Conference is tight at the top. \u00a0These next two weeks could be the difference between finishing first in the conference or limping into the playoffs. Buckle in everybody – the MLS Express is full speed ahead.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>