FRISCO, Texas — When FC Dallas and the Portland Timbers met for the first time in 2019 back on April 13, the two teams were in totally different scenarios. FC Dallas was enjoying a positive, 3-2-1, start to its season, and Portland was trending in the opposite direction as it traveled to Frisco with a 0-4-1 record.
FCD took all three points that day with a 2-1 victory, and since then, both teams have been gradually improving in different areas of the pitch. Fast forward to now, and both teams are in search for an important win. Portland currently sits in 11th place in the Western Conference but is only four points below the playoff line with a game in hand on Minnesota United, which currently sits in seventh.
FC Dallas is coming off a devastating draw to the Vancouver Whitecaps in a match that saw a 2-0, 60th minute lead finish at two-a-piece after a 94th-minute stunner from the Whitecaps. A win on Sunday could propel FCD into third place, and the club is currently five points behind second-placed LA Galaxy. The opportunity of getting a win on the road this weekend is massive.
“It’s an environment, for us, exciting to play in, and we embrace that challenge to go in there in that environment — and compete and do our things with confidence and togetherness," FC Dallas Head Coach Luchi Gonzalez said. "Portland is a team that’s evolved, you know, they’ve added Brian Fernandez as a forward, he’s been potent and an immediate impact. We’re aware of that, and we’re looking at video, and they’re evolving in their way. This is a great test. But, we’re evolving, too, and I think we’re improving our ways to get the ball and to attack with it in transition and press together and to go for games."
Since the first FCD-Portland match this year, FC Dallas has gone 4-4-4 while Portland has improved its record significantly — going 5-4-1. Portland has been able to get wins against weaker Western Conference opponents and putting-up a tough fight against the top half of the league.
"Our first result against them was very positive, I think just because we were familiar with them from preseason," FC Dallas midfielder Edwin Cerrillo said. "Games have gone by and different teams have gotten different players, and different teams are in different moments right now. Just like us, they’ve improved, just like every other team in the league, and I think it’s still going to be a challenge, but we’re familiar with them and we know how we can hurt them as well. I think if we execute the game plan that Luchi gives us I think we can come away with the three points."
Portland has a history of being a tough team to defeat at home — especially for FC Dallas. Portland is 6-1-3, all-time, at home against FCD, and Sunday is setting up to be another big match for both clubs. FC Dallas knows it let two points get away against Vancouver, but the team is using that result as a lesson for the rest of the season.
In the first half of Wednesday's match, FC Dallas dominated front-to-back. Once it had a 2-0 lead, the formation played more defensive-minded and it began to sit back in an effort hold on to the result. The mentality backfired and Vancouver was able to muster-up quality chances, and it took advantage of them. FC Dallas midfielder Paxton Pomykal said the team is learning from its mistakes in an effort to make sure those kind of results don't happen again — starting Sunday night.
"We lost two points at home, and that hurt because we felt like we deserved more," Pomykal said. "But, there’s three points for the taking on the road. We’re going to try to implement some of the stuff we did against them last time, so, obviously, they’re a fresh team, they’re at home — a place where they’re really, really talented and good — and they’re really solid at home. They get a lot of wins, so we have to go in there strong and get the result."
