Dallas, TX
Late lapses, penalty kicks sink FC Dallas in Leagues Cup opener vs. Charlotte
FRISCO – After a two-month slump filled with injuries, unavailable players and tough losses, FC Dallas needed a reset.
What resulted was a chaos-filled tournament game that had everything from hard fouls to a penalty shootout, resulting in Charlotte taking home a win, beating FCD 4-1 in penalties in the opening match of the Leagues Cup group stage.
“Overall, I think we did a lot of things good,” FC Dallas head coach Nico Estévez said. “We were back to the identity that we have been building for the last year and this year. But we didn’t capitalize on the really good chances that we had.”
The game saw the return of many of FCD’s injured players, and Jesús Ferreira, who missed the last five games while on international duty with the USMNT. He started the game, just two days after competing in the MLS All-Star game Wednesday night.
Paul Arriola, José Martínez, Ema Twumasi and Paxton Pomykal were all on the roster for the game after missing time due to injury as well. Ferreira was the only one that started, but Martínez also made an appearance off the bench.
For Ferreira, the quick turnaround did not seem to affect him much. He came close to scoring the first goal in just the seventh minute when his shot was blocked inside the box, an early warning to Charlotte FC’s back line.
That went on to be the story of the game for FC Dallas. The FCD attack had 10 shots, with six on goal, but only scored twice.
“If you play forward and you get a lot of chances and you’re not finishing, it’s not good,” forward Bernard Kamungo said.
For much of the first half, FCD was able to create shots, but none troubled Kristijan Kahlina in Charlotte FC’s goal. That was until just minutes before the halftime whistle when Ferreira found a wide open Bernard Kamungo streaking down the right side.
Kamungo rifled a shot into the bottom corner, giving Kahlina no chance to keep the game tied going into the half. It was the second consecutive game where Kamungo scored, and was his fourth goal for FC Dallas in all competitions this season, second on the team to Ferreira.
Though he didn’t score, Ferreira’s goal contribution was further evidence of how much the team missed him over the last five games. Ferreira occupied much of the attention from the Charlotte backline, creating spice down both wings for Kamungo and Jader Obrian.
Many of FCD’s early chances came down the wings, eventually resulting in the breakthrough goal where Ferreira was directly involved.
“We changed the way we want to attack in the way we want to be more aggressive, creating some kind of overloads or runs in behind, and I think it worked out very well,” Estévez said.
From the second half onward, though, chaos ensued.
In the 58th minute, Charlotte FC was awarded a penalty after a foul in the box, a call that drew furious reactions from the FC Dallas players. The referee decided the relatively light contact was enough for a foul, though, and Karol Swiderski rolled the penalty neatly into the back of the net, sending Jimmy Maurer the wrong way.
Charlotte almost turned the game around just minutes later, but its goal was disallowed for offsides.
What ensued over the next 30 minutes was scrappy, yet entertaining for the sparse, but engaged crowd at Toyota Stadium. A number of hard fouls and a handful of yellow cards created a chippy atmosphere, but FC Dallas was able to retain its quality from the first half.
FCD broke the tie in the 75th minute after Sebastian Lletget received a pass from Kamungo, and placed his shot in the bottom corner, right past the outstretched glove of Kahlina.
The goal was almost a copy of Kamongo’s goal in the first half, and further represented FCD’s attacking game plan. This time, Kamungo drifted his run towards the middle, creating space for Lletget to make an overlapping run, where he was wide open for the shot.
But the adversity continued for FC Dallas.
With just minutes of stoppage time remaining, Benjamin Bender got on the end of a perfectly placed free kick to tie the game. That sent the game to penalties where Charlotte kept its composure, and took home the win.
Just over 15 minutes prior, FC Dallas and its fans thought Lletget’s late goal was enough to earn the win. It was Lletget’s first goal since returning from injury, but the result took the focus away from an encouraging individual performance from him.
“It’s definitely a positive to take out from today, but it’s hard to look past the penalties,” Lletget said on his goal.
The loss will sting for FC Dallas, as it stayed in control for most of the game, but two lapses allowed for Charlotte to take the game to penalty kicks. From there, FCD lost the soccer lottery, and will leave the match with one point after tying in regulation. Charlotte will take home two points for winning the shootout.
“When you go through a situation of PKs, you have to be very confident, have courage and be brave. And I think we lacked a little bit on that,” Estévez said.
Photos: FC Dallas comes up short in PKs vs. Charlotte
On Twitter: @peter_rauterkus