FC Dallas was waiting quite a long time to celebrate a victory again.
After 10 games and over two months of play, Oscar Pareja’s men finally captured three points against the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night at Toyota Stadium.
The victory combined with a draw by the Houston Dynamo and a San Jose Earthquakes loss boosted FC Dallas back over the red line into sixth place in the Western Conference with 41 points.
“I think we felt good tonight because it’s been a long time waiting for the three points,” FC Dallas midfielder Roland Lamah said. “I think tonight is a very good win and we have to keep going.”
FC Dallas got off to a nice start, scoring in the sixth and ninth minutes by way of Maynor Figueroa and Lamah.
Pareja credited veteran midfielder Javier Morales with getting the attack going from the first whistle.
“Today we needed a pain killer. That was Javi Morales tonight,” Pareja said. “He glued us together. He put his personality on behalf of the team.
“I feel like the team played much better today, especially in the beginning of the game,” Morales said. “The first 20 minutes I think was really good. And everyone was on the same page, touching the ball, moving everywhere we find space. But that is not because of me, it’s because of the team being on the same page.”
As important as ending the winless run was, FC Dallas can’t rest on their laurels now with a difficult test ahead on Saturday at Orlando City Stadium.
“It’s the MLS. We know our schedule and the next game is Saturday,” Lamah said. “We are ready to keep going. We have to work hard and we’ll be ready for Saturday. Every team you play at their home is difficult. Orlando is a big team with big players so we have to be ready.”