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(Image credit to the incredible FC Dallas social media team.)

When the whistle blew on Saturday evening, FC Dallas, their coaches, and fans had to breathe a big sigh of relief.

After two previous disappointments at home, Dallas got it done with a nervy 2-1 victory at home against Sporting Kansas City.

Lucho Acosta was clutch in the right moment, once again showing he is worth every penny (nice assist from Petar Musa too), and Leo Chu got his first goal in an FC Dallas kit. Both goals came in a span of a couple of minutes after Sporting Kansas City opened the scoring and made the collective FCD fanbase shift nervously in their seats. We had seen this script before.

With the win, this team can put the disappointment of letting fans down in the rearview mirror and focus on building more confidence and rhythm in the coming weeks.

Let’s be real - this was not a perfect game. There is much that FC Dallas still needs to work on, including a midfield that looks disconnected and a shape and effort that had few answers against SKC’s press. We’ve seen that script before too and it hints that Dallas will continue to have issues until they can figure out the right adjustments, the right personnel, or the right intensity.

That Dallas struggled at times against an SKC team that is one of the worst in the league also gives us pause.

But the big picture is - after disappointing fans at home in previous weeks, the train is back on the tracks.

Eric Quill and company can sleep a little easier tonight.

A few other thoughts on this interesting match:

• Nolan Norris got a start at left back. He was an easy target for SKC early on, but he was fine. Kudos to him for getting the start and putting in a decent shift.

• We got to see Kaick, our new midfielder, and just need to remember that this kid is going to take time to acclimate in this league. Patience, dear ones.

• FC Dallas desperately needs to restore a reputation as a cohesive defensive unit. It’s not there yet. Lots of scrambling, but Paes looked confident back in goal after a busy international break.

• With Anderson Julio not having enough practice time after securing his green card, the team missed him. Leo Chu’s goal makes a case for more minutes for sure, maybe opposite Julio in the coming weeks. But is he really the answer?

• Did this win drop another straw to lead to Peter Vermes’ departure as Sporting Kansas City head coach? Probably not. SKC did play better in this one, so maybe ownership will feel justified to give him a bit more time. But those poor fans…

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