MLS returned from the Leagues Cup break and on Saturday, goalkeeper Michael Collodi and better-rested host FC Dallas shut out the visiting Portland Timbers 2-0 in Frisco, Texas.
Despite not playing for 15 days, Dallas (7-11-7, 28 points) looked like the in-form side. In the eighth minute, Petar Musa continued his offensive tear, thanks to a mistake by Portland (10-8-7, 37 points).
On an FC Dallas free kick, the ball sailed into the 18-yard box and goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau tried to catch the ball but bobbled it with Musa standing directly in front of him. The ball bounced off Musa’s chest and the forward slotted the ball into a wide-open goal.
The goal is the sixth in four matches for Musa and his 13th in 22 matches.
In the 62nd minute, center back Lalas Abubakar scored his first goal as a member of Dallas on a corner kick. In a crowded goalkeeper box, Abubakar sent the corner kick on a header into the bottom right corner of the net.
Sebastian Lletget sent in the cross on the Abubakar goal after he entered the match in the previous minute for FC Dallas.
Defensively, in his third MLS start, Dallas backup goalkeeper Collodi had three saves in the win. None was bigger than in the 36th minute when Portland nearly tied the match with a two-on-one break that ended with a diving save by Collodi on David da Costa’s shot to keep the game in Dallas’ favor.
The win for Dallas featured strong defensive work that head coach Eric Quill challenged the team to play after giving up two leads in their last MLS match, a 4-3 defeat to NYCFC on July 25.
Portland, in theory, should have had an advantage in the match after continuing play through the Leagues Cup and not needing any time to shake off rust. Also, the Timbers played on Wednesday in the stifling Texas heat in Austin against Club America, preparing them for 96-degree temperatures on Saturday in Frisco.
In addition, the home side was without Luciano Acosta, whom the club sold to Fluminense in Brazil on Friday. Portland forward Santiago Moreno didn’t play, and he also could be heading to the same Brazilian Serie A side for a transfer fee of $5.5 million plus an additional $500,000 if certain performance metrics are met, ESPN reported on Saturday night.
–Field Level Media
