- Maarten Paes earned his second clean sheet of the season.
- Franco Jara made his first start of the 2022 season.
- MLS Box Score
Chicago, IL (April 2, 2022) - FC Dallas (2-1-2, 8 points) earns a point on the road vs. Chicago Fire FC (2-0-3, 9 points) Saturday afternoon at Soldier Field.
Game Summary
First Half:
- 3’ – SHOT (DAL) – Facundo Quignon attempts to head in a cross from Alan Velasco but his header goes wide of the goal.
- 15’ – SHOT (DAL) – Brandon Servania’s cross fell kindly to Jáder Obrian but the Colombian’s shot was too high.
- 37’ – CHANCE (DAL) – Franco Jara found Obrian with a long ball but Chicago’s Boris Sekulić was able to clear the danger.
- 45’ – SHOT (DAL) – Alan Velasco and Marco Farfan combined on the left wing but the Argentine’s curling shot was just wide of the goal.
Second Half
- 55’ – SHOT (CHI) – Sekulić nearly found the opener for Chicago but his left-footed shot was just wide of Maarten Paes’ near post.
- 84’ – CHANCE (DAL) – Nanu found Obrian with a through-ball behind Chicago’s backline but Miguel Novarro blocked Obrian’s low cross for a corner kick.
- 88’ – SHOT (DAL) – Nanu forced a save from Gaga Slonina after collecting Brandon Servia’s pass in behind Chicago’s defense.
- 90’ – CHANCE (DAL) – Ferreira dribbled beyond Chicago’s defense but his pass didn’t find Kalil ElMedkhar’s run into the box.
Weather: Rain, 40℉
Attendance: 11,411
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
Assistant Referees: Logan Brown, Jose Da Silva
Fourth official: Calin Radosav
VAR: Geoff Gamble
Ast. VAR: Peter Manikowski
FC Dallas Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Nico Estévez
On the midfield battle…
“First thing, it was tough conditions to play in. The pitch was very soft, the rain made it very difficult with the speed of the ball. I think we did a pretty good job throughout the game, and it was a battle like you said. We were in the advantage and controlling at times, and I think we did a good job playing away. I think we held them very well.”
On the attacking side of the game…
“We planned two things, if we’re able to win the ball and transition quickly, we knew we could hurt them and we saw a lot of situations where we forced them to make mistakes and we recovered the ball at different heights of the field which gave us good chances to score. I think we had good opportunities with that. The second thing, throughout the game, we knew we’d have the ball and we felt comfortable in possession. It was more about how we could draw them out so we could attack their wide areas. We saw on the right with Jáder (Obrian), Nanu and Brandon (Servania), we created overloads on that side which allowed us to create more difficulties for the opponent. And it was a situation where we couldn’t connect the last pass or last shot to score a goal and win the game.”
Midfielder Paxton Pomykal
Thoughts on the match…
“Playing away from home is never easy, especially in those conditions. Today has to be one of the toughest conditions I’ve ever played in. Growing up in Texas, playing with windy conditions is not fun either. It was like 35 degrees and raining. The first half was okay, but in the second half the grass felt long, there were puddles everywhere. It was a messy game altogether. A lot of if was played in the middle and I am happy to come out with a clean sheet, and be able to get a point. Of course every game we want three points, but with todays’ conditions we will take it.”
Midfield battle…
“They [Chicago Fire FC] lined up in a 4-4-2, their two center midfield guys had a lot of range, and we were just trying to figure out how to move whether it was Brandon [Servania] or Facundo [Quignon] and we figure out how we could play together to break them down. Our pressing was okay in the first half but in the second half it got better. We played the ball a lot more, and had more possession in the second half with better chances. They stepped their lines up and made it difficult to play through them.”
FC Dallas Midfielder Brandon Servania
Initial thoughts on the match…
“We were able to get a point. The guys are a little frustrated we couldn’t get all three points because that’s the mentialty, go into every game trying to get three points. This game we felt we could’ve (done that). But there’s some good things to take away from it. We can do better but it’s a point on the road so we’ll take it.”
On the midfield battle offensively and defensively…
“The conditions weren't perfect but it was definitely a battle in the middle. I think we did a good job overall trying to impose ourselves. We had to sit back at times and defend a lot but we were able to do a decent job on the road.”
