FRISCO - A little bit of home cooking was just what the FC Dallas offense needed.
In three matches over the course of eight days at Toyota Stadium, the home side netted 10 goals after scoring just twice in the previous three road matches.
“That level of confidence has been increased,” Oscar Pareja said. “That level of confidence has been increased.”“Our forwards have been more polished in their finishing… The decision making is better. The boy are getting their confidence back as well because they always create a lot of chances.”
It’s no coincidence, though, that the offensive resurgence has coincided with the return of the team’s offensive catalyst.
“A lot has changed since Mauro’s return,” Maxi Urruti said after scoring his eleventh goal of the season, a career-best for the fifth-year striker. “He’s very important for us, I always say that. He gives purpose to the team. He knows what he is playing for… He knows when he needs to go in-depth or not and that’s very fundamental for us. So, I’m very happy for his return.”
It also doesn’t hurt that the league’s newest assist leader is operating down one wing, while the Frisco success of Roland Lamah continues down the other.
“[Michael Barrios] gets to the end line more than anybody I’ve ever seen,” Ryan Hollingshead said of the winger after his ninth and tenth assists of the year. “The amount of times he gets past his defender and is able to cut a ball back, it’s just absurd. The guy is crazy quick and it’s huge to have a guy like that on our team.”
The chances were coming earlier in the year, but the luck just wasn’t on Dallas’ side. Now, though, everything is coming up FCD - something they hope continues after the Gold Cup break.
“It was just a bad stretch we had,” Hollingshead added. “Hopefully we’ll come back from this break and continue on this streak of scoring goals and putting it in the back of the net.”
