How FC Dallas found itself stuck in a dangerous trend

Whoever coined the phrase “better late than never” has obviously never been on the wrong end of a late goal, especially one that determines the result of a game.

FC Dallas has been in that unfortunate position a lot as of late, conceding six goals in the last 25 minutes of four recent matches. In letting those leads slip, Dallas dropped six points in the standings and fell into a mid-table melee.

“All the goals that we’re giving up in that area of the game are really frustrating because a lot of them seemed like they were very preventable, things that we had worked on all year, breakdowns that shouldn’t be happening,” said center back Matt Hedges. “At the beginning of the year, we had a great run of games, we were all focused and we weren’t giving up very many goals at all.”

Hedges and Dallas were indeed doing much better earlier in the year. In the first 15 matches, Dallas conceded four goals in the last 25 minutes of matches, losing five points because of it while also scoring 10 late goals to rescue eight points.

However, that began to change with a stretch of four matches in 15 days. Dallas drew 2-2 at Austin FC on June 25, lost 3-1 at Los Angeles FC on June 29, drew 1-1 at home against Inter Miami CF on July 4 and drew 2-2 at archrival Houston Dynamo FC on July 9, conceding at least one late goal in each match.

Hedges can’t pinpoint a particular reason those goals kept happening. He agreed it’s a combination of factors, including exhaustion from a busy schedule, difficult environments, lapses of concentration, trying to endure pressure for too long, and sometimes, the opposing team simply being better.

“A lot of them, we have the lead and we start dropping too deep to try to push out and keep playing,” Hedges said. “Sometimes, it seems like we stop playing and start trying to just sit and defend, and against teams in this league that have great attackers, you can’t just try to sit in defense the whole time when you have the lead.”

In all three matches where late goals meant Dallas was stuck with a draw, it was on the back foot in the latter stages until its lead was gone, and sometimes even after as it just tried to hold onto the draw. Dallas would find some opportunities on counterattacks to add an insurance goal, but with just one or two players getting forward and not finishing their chances, it hasn’t worked out.

Making this trend even more frustrating for the team and its fans is that Dallas dropped some of those points in Copa Tejas, the competition to determine the best MLS team in Texas based on head-to-head results. Dallas would have one hand on Copa Tejas if not for the late goals, particularly the two that Austin scored to erase Dallas’ 2-0 lead.

“You give up a two-goal lead on the road, it’s going to feel like a loss,” Hedges said. “We’re trying to win Copa Tejas, we’re trying to beat our rivals and we were up [at Austin and Houston], and we really needed to get those points.”

Despite allowing late goals recently, Hedges said Dallas still feels good coming into this weekend’s home match against Austin, which will determine the fate of Copa Tejas for the year. Dallas needs to win to retain the trophy and bragging rights.

“Obviously, we’re in a rough patch right now, but every team in the league during the season has a patch when things don’t go their way, so a win against a big rival at home would help jump-start us out of it,” Hedges said.

Technically, the run of matches where Dallas conceded late goals ended Wednesday. Dallas found itself on the opposite side of the equation, though, as it needed a goal to equalize against New York City FC to salvage a draw at home, but it never came.

NYCFC was able to defend its lead 1-0 edge, not getting forward much as the match wore on, but there will be other times Dallas takes a lead and has to try holding on again. During the run of conceding late goals, Hedges said the coaching staff tried different formations, tactics and other changes, yet it kept happening.

“We’ve tried all the things that we need to try, and I think it’s now down to us to figure it out,” Hedges said. “We need to be mentally stronger at the end of games. That’s basically it. Not really much else that the coaching staff can change, now it’s up to us.”

The Dallas Morning News partners with The Striker Texas to bring coverage of FC Dallas and other notable Texas soccer stories to dallasnews.com. Find more soccer coverage at thestrikertexas.com.

Find more FC Dallas coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.