MATCH NOTES
- Goalkeeper Maarten Paes recorded his second shutout of the season
- MLS Box Score
ST PAUL, MINNESOTA – FC Dallas (4-3-3, 15 points) and Minnesota United FC (3-3-3, 12 points) played to a 0-0 draw Sunday night at Allianz Field.
SHUTOUT
Goalkeeper Maarten Paes earns his second clean sheet of the season after making five saves in tonight’s 0-0 draw. His first shutout came on the road against Inter Miami CF in the 1-0 win on April 8 and the five saves ties a season-high.
FIRST START FOR SAM JUNQUA
Left back Sam Junqua made his first FC Dallas start since joining the club ahead of the 2023 season. Junqua completed 76.5% of his passes in 68 minutes played.
END OF A STREAK
FC Dallas’ scoring streak stops at eight matches after playing to a 0-0 draw at Allianz Field. Dallas had five shots with two shots on target.
UP NEXT
FC Dallas comes home to host new Western Conference opponent St Louis CITY SC on Saturday, May 6 at 7:30PM CT for the 2023 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Weekend match. The match, presented by WinStar World Casino and Resort, will be available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, the FC Dallas App and TUDN 1270AM.
POSTGAME QUOTES - FC DALLAS
Head Coach Nico Estévez
Reaction to the result and performance…
“It’s really important coming off a loss and having two games away in a row like we had and not conceding to get a point and something positive. It’s difficult in this league to play away. The two halves were pretty different. In the first half we had good control of build up but we didn’t create many chances and we lacked when we were playing deeper. The crosses that we had, some of them should’ve been on the ground and we could’ve executed better. In the second half, the game opened a little bit with more fatigue and the opponent opened more and we found spaces to counter attack. Defensively, we had some moments where we were very compact and solid and in other moments it was difficult to stop the opponent’s attack and it’s a good learning moment for us in terms of preventing some of the chances MInnesota created today. In the first half, I think it was more from our mistakes and giving up the ball in the wrong spaces. In the second half it was more in transition moments which we prevented well.”
On creating chances in the final third…
“In the second half we won the ball in areas with numbers forward and allowed us to be more dangerous. In the first half, we had a more difficult time winning the ball in their half and we were forced in the second half by adjusting some of our pressure. It helped us to force them to make mistakes and win the ball. Sometimes the best action in the first half came from build up but I think we rushed too much when we arrived in the final third. We might have to be a little bit more patient to draw them out more and move them more to attack the penalty box.”
On Geovane Jesus’ adaptation to MLS…
“Geovane is adapting very well. He’s doing a good job on different sides, on the sports side but also on the personal side. He’s learning English and getting more comfortable with the language, he has his family here and they’re enjoying Dallas. On the field he’s understanding very quickly what we’re looking for him. Still think he has to keep learning but he’s doing an amazing job on that. His attitude and willingness to understand things is great. His physicality helps him adapt to this league and he’s very dangerous on passing and crossing. He was on the bench today because only 11 players can play and we thought that it was a good moment to play Ema (Twumasi). We know the quality of Minnesota’s wingers and we selected players to help us avoid those situations. At the end of the game, having Geovane fresh could make an impact on the defensive side.”
Goalkeeper Maarten Paes
On earning his second shutout of the season…
“It felt good to get a clean sheet tonight, especially after last week’s performance. It was a tough away game because Minnesota played with a lot of intensity. Luckily, we were able to shut the door on them and didn’t allow any goals in. We could’ve scored, but it wasn’t our best performance overall. Sometimes you have to be happy to earn a point on the road considering all the factors that come into play.”
On preparing to host St. Louis CITY SC…
“Getting the clean sheet tonight is important for the defenders. I feel like this helps us boost our confidence. Playing against a low block we were able to keep them outside of our 18. We were able to defend properly in set pieces today, and that is something that Minnesota is strong at. Next week is a new challenge, and we are already looking forward to it.”
