FC Dallas forward Jesus Ferreira scored the club’s first goal of the season against Inter Miami in a 1-0 victory at the Cotton Bowl on Monday as FC Dallas returned to its former home stadium for the first time since 2009.
Despite the dreary weather, more than 32,000 fans stuck it out to see the home team come away with the win. FC Dallas typically plays in Frisco but put on a show at the Cotton Bowl after a third-party promoter pushed the location.
Head coach Nico Estevez said that soccer culture in Dallas is “huge” and thanked the fans for coming out on a cold, wet Monday evening to cheer on FC Dallas.
“You can see tonight but you can also see how the fans are responding in the Toyota Stadium because they are there every single game, it’s full, it’s packed,” Estevez said.
The preseason friendly pitted a reworked FC Dallas roster against arguably the sport’s biggest star, Lionel Messi. Messi had three shots on goal before exiting in the second half.
FC Dallas showed no signs of offseason rust as the dynamic between Ferriera and Paul Arriola continues to develop.
Arriola fed a pass to Ferriera, who found the net just three minutes into the match. FC Dallas then held Inter Miami scoreless for the remainder of the match while working out several new additions to the team.
Starting goalkeeper Maarten Paes gave up the net for keeper Jimmy Maurer, who has served as a player development executive. Maurer played for 25 minutes before relinquishing the role to newly-acquired Antonio Carrera.
“It was a close game, and it was good to get everyone on our team going again,” Paes said following the match. “It is good to prepare for set pieces ahead of next season. We are ready to go.”
During the offseason, FC Dallas added nine players, including Carrera, who saw action on Monday. The bulk of the offseason moves saw FC Dallas bolster its back half, and the effort appeared to have paid off in the first action of 2024. All three draft selections this offseason saw time on the pitch.
Both teams had just eight shots, but only three from Inter Miami were on goal. FC Dallas got four shots, including the difference maker. Inter Miami dominated in terms of possession, holding the ball for nearly 70% of the game and accomplishing nearly twice as many passes, but could not break through the revamped Dallas defense.
FC Dallas finished 2023 qualifying for postseason play but was eliminated by the Seattle Sounders in Round One.
