By Will Martin
You might recall an earlier meeting that FC Dallas enjoyed in Frisco back on April 12th that was a very windy night.
A game played against the Seattle Sounders. Clint Dempsey was fresh off a hat trick in Portland one week prior and would add two more goals on the FCD in the second half of said game which Seattle overcame a 2-1 deficit to win by a 3-2 count.
David Teixeira would get a goal on that evening.
Lo and behold the Sounders made a return visit to Frisco last Wednesday night. A team tied for first in the Western Conference with the L.A. Galaxy looking to grab that Supporters Shield with a win and three points.
Fresh off a one goal loss to the Galaxy in Los Angeles, FC Dallas had other ideas.
David Teixeira would make sure of it by powering a kick into the net in the eighth after Andres Escobar would feed a pass to Tex that was to the right of the Sounders defense. David would then proceed to find the far post past goalie Stephan Frei for a early 1-0 lead.
Wind would not be a factor this night in Frisco as both sides played their style of soccer with an intensity and an urgency that befalls two teams looking to get to the next level come the playoffs.
That 1-0 FC Dallas lead would last until the 58th minute when Denny Neagle would successfully place a 30 yard blast past Raul Fernandez into the top shelf of the net. A tie that looked to instill a swagger for the people of the Emerald City.
David Teixeira indeed remembered seeing what Clint Dempsey did back on April 12th in the second half. Tex chose to borrow from the book of Clint when Andres Escobar would test the backbone of the Sounders defensive line.
A subsequent centering pass to David Teixeira would lead to a second goal in the 78th minute for a 2-1 FC Dallas lead.
The lead was cushioned to 3-1 when Michel connected on a corner kick that Blas Perez headed past Stephan Frei for a goal in the 88th minute.
A shot that sent the assembled crowd of 14, 601 into a happy state of delirium. You can now start to entertain the idea of FC Dallas heading to the playoffs with a win at Vancouver in ten days.
After the game Coach Pareja had nothing but praise for his players and for David Teixeira.
“David has had three great weeks. He’s been participating with the way we want to do things much more and has been growing with the group,” said head coach Oscar Pareja. “His intensity and the rhythm that we want from him is there and tonight we decided to bring him in and join him with Blas.”
Someone asked Coach Pareja if he had a hunch about playing Teixeira.
“Sometimes we have those feelings, but the boys are the ones who make it happen and make it look good,” said Pareja. “To me it’s an honor to coach this group and an honor to coach David. Today he made me look smart.”
And how did David feel about having a two goal performance at this juncture of the season?
“I was feeling confident during the week and looking forward to this game,” said Texeira. “We’re playing at home so it’s important for us and we know every player has to be ready to play so I was trying to be ready to help the team. I’m so happy now because we won at home and we deserve it.”
FC Dallas now gets to enjoy a ten day break before going to Vancouver for a 6pm game CST. A win and FC Dallas pretty much locks up fourth place in the West and can vie for claiming third.
What a difference five months makes in a soccer season huh, David?
“Forwards have good moments and bad moments in their career but the most important thing is to always be [ready] and always expecting more and wanting more,” said Texeira. “I wanted more so as I said before I just wanted to help the team and be ready and I think I did a good job.”
Good crowd, good rivalry, good game, and a good vibe about a return to the playoffs for the kids from Frisco who answer to Coach Pareja.
Next home game will be on October 12 with the L.A. Galaxy at Toyota Stadium. Hope to see you there!
Upcoming Schedule
10/4 @Vancouver Whitecaps 6:00 pm
