(photo credit: Graham Green).
FC Dallas was coming into last night’s match against Colorado Rapids with a chance to lock up a playoff berth, put a little more distance between the rest of the league in the race for the Supporters Shield, and stretch their home unbeaten streak to 20 games. Unfortunately, FC Dallas also came into last night’s match with the knowledge that they needed a full strength team for their US Open Cup Final on Tuesday, September 13.
Several regular starters were on the bench including Mauro Diaz, Michael Barrios, Carlos Gruezo, and Maynor Figueroa. Head Coach Oscar Pareja admitted that the plan was to rest several players so they could be fresh for the game on Tuesday.
In typical FC Dallas fashion, the game started brightly and Tesho Akindele could have put his team in front in the 5th minute. Kellyn Acosta collected a loose ball and passed to Akindele, who was unmarked at the top of the 18 yard box. Akindele took the shot quickly but it went tamely straight at Colorado goalkeeper, Tim Howard.
The first half continued on with FC Dallas dominating possession and getting the better scoring chances. Maximiliano Urruti had a great chance in the 39th minute when he was played in by Akindele. Urruti skied his shot from a tight angle high over the bar as Howard came out to challenge.
Pareja made brought on Michael Barrios for Getterson to bring some spark into the attack. Things were looking okay for FC Dallas, but a major lapse in concentration kin the 5oth minute gave Colorado a golden opportunity.
It started with a sloppy play from Atiba Harris whose first touch sent the ball out of bounds. Colorado took the throw in quickly to Dominique Badji who ran past Walker Zimmerman into the middle of the pitch and fired a low shot from just outside the 18 yard box. Chris Seitz got down well but the ball went past him as he dove to his right.
Getting scored on first is not a new thing for FC Dallas at home. Earlier in the season they had several home games where they were able to fight back to earn a draw or win, and FC Dallas definitely tried. Pareja immediately brought on Mauro Diaaz and FC Dallas out shot the Rapids 11-1 for the remainder of the half. There were to be no heroics this time.
Colorado had not won a match since August 6th, and Pablo Mastroeni was very clear about how important the match was for his team tonight:
“We lost two games [in a row]for the first time and a lot of people thought the sky was falling. We traveled with 16 players. We got a bunch of injuries back home…I’m talking about a bunch of guys in that locker room that don’t make excuses: that turn up and put forth a performance that is driven by the soul. Driven by that belief in one another that they will overcome regardless of what obstacle lies in their path. And so for me it’s greater than football. And I think that is a powerful performance and one that will definitely give us legs moving towards the end of the season.”
Colorado moved to second place in the Western Conference with the victory, only five points behind FC Dallas with two games in hand.
While the result is disappointing for FC Dallas, all attention now turns to the US Open Cup Final and the chance for a trophy in front of their supporters at home – potentially the first of what could be multiple trophies this season.
Lineups
FC Dallas (4-4-2, left to right): Chris Seitz – Aubrey David, Matt Hedges (C), Walker Zimmerman, Atiba Harris (Mauro Rosales 68′) – Ryan Hollingshead (Mauro Diaz 55′), Victor Ulloa, Kellyn Acosta, Tesho Akindele – Getterson (Michael Barrios 45′), Maximiliano Urruti
Colorado Rapids (4-2-3-1, left to right): Tim Howard – Marc Busch, Axel Sjoberg, Jared Watts, Eric Miller – Micheal Azira, Sam Cronin (C) – Sebastien Le Toux (Kevin Doyle 80′ (Mekeil Williams 90′)), Dillon Powers, Marlon Hairston (Caleb Calvert 86′) – Dominique Badji
