With a solid defense and an overwhelming attack, FC Juarez qualified to the Knockout Stage of Leagues Cup by beating FC Dallas, 2-0, at Toyota Stadium — eliminating them from the tournament and securing a spot for St. Louis City SC to also move on to the next round out of West 3.
Dangerous plays kicked off early on each side when Petar Musa delivered a header for the home team and the ball went to where Sebastian Jurado was standing. For the Bravos, Aitor Garcia shot a laser that Maarten Paes saved, all in the first 12 minutes, but that was a sign that the Mexican team was going to knock on the door often.
That good display by FC Juarez paid off when, in the 23th minute, Ralph Orquin went all the way to the end line on the left side of the box and served a ball through the air to the other side for Angel Zaldivar to deliver a diving header to beat the goalkeeper and open the scoring for the visiting team.
While Dallas tried to regain ground on the pitch, it was Juarez who established their game plan and maintained the 1-0 lead as the whistle was blown and both teams went to their locker rooms to regroup at halftime.
In the second half, Juarez had to substitute three key players due to injuries, as Saldivar came out of the game at the 63th minute as well as José Abella only three minutes later and Dieter Villalpando at the 79th minute; Aviles Hurtado, Haret Ortega and Jesus Alejandro Venegas came into the game.
Hurtado dribbled inside the box and he was tackled by Nkosi Tafari creating a penalty that he took, delivering a rocket high through the middle of the net at the 83th minute to score the second goal to secure the win.
“Today we had a good performance and achieved a result against a very good Dallas team, who have very good players, but I think that how we studied the rival we were able to find the spaces, create the opportunities and not let them create much,” said Maurício Barbieri. “We are very pleased with the love we receive from the fans who have come and supported us, so this victory is also for them.”
Despite having international caliber players like Paul Arriola, Sebastian Lletget, and Omar Gonzalez, FC Dallas could not create danger on the opposing side of the field and failed to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament.
“Playing soccer is one thing but when we get into the last third, we need to create more,” FC Dallas coach Peter Luccin said after the game, visibly frustrated after the elimination. “Today is for criticism between us because criticism can also be constructive and to know everything (we did) and it starts with me.”
After this result, with both teams qualified for the next round of the Leagues Cup, FC Juarez will now face St. Louis City SC in a battle for first place in West 3 on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass.
