Fabian Castillo avoids a challenge from Jimmy Medranda. Photo credit: Dylan Nadwondy
For the third home game in a row, FC Dallas gave up the first goal and managed to come back to tie the game. This time, however, they went on to win the game after another super-substitute performance from Mauro Rosales.
Despite both teams playing their third game in eight days, both teams started the match brightly. Chris Seitz was forced to make his first save in the 6th minute after a Matt Besler long throw found its way to the head of Dom Dwyer. FC Dallas returned the favor a few minutes later with Kelly Acosta forcing a good save from Tim Meila with his curling shot from about 20 yards out.
The team continued trading blows, but Kansas City would scored first from a corner in the 22nd minute. Benny Feilhaber curled the ball in and both Maximiliano Urruti and Chris Seitz failed to get a touch onto the ball and Lawrence Olum was there to head in the ball from only a yard out.
Michael Barrios got Dallas right back into the match in the 35th minute. Kelly Acosta played a long ball out of the defensive half toward Urruti who got the slightest touch on the ball to push it past Amadou Dia. Barrios drove his shot at Meila, who could only get one hand to the ball as it squeezed past him and into the net.
At this point, Dallas were intensely pushing for an equalizer and had several opportunities over the next three minutes. Kansas City held firm and could have been up another goal if Dwyer had not put his shot wide in the 43rd minute after beating the offside trap.
A lot of attacks from Kansas City were going down Hollingshead’s side of the field in the first half, and Oscar Pareja made the change at the half to bring on the more defensive minded Atiba Harris.
Both teams were looking a little tired at the beginning of the second half. In the 60th minute, after some good work by Kansas City, Jimmy Medranda was through on goal but Seitz came out and saved the shot with his feet. FC Dallas countered down the field and Castillo then forced a save from Meila on his shot from just outside the penalty box.
All of this excitement was simply building to the most important substitution in the game, Mauro Rosales.
After Urruti was fouled in the 66th minute, Rosales put the ensuing free kick over the wall and into the back of the net. In truth, after seeing the replay several times there are definitely some questions about the wall Kansas City constructed, and Peter Vermes indicated there may have been some issues with the wall in his comments after the game. Questions about the wall should not take away from this excellent goal.
At this point Kansas City turned on the jets and it was a wild end to the game. Atiba Harris fouled Diego Rubio in the 90th minute leading to a free kick in the exact same spot that Rosales scored from just 20 minutes earlier. The FC Dallas wall also did not do its job, but Seitz was there again to keep his team in the game.
Finally, a disclaimer about the crowd: FC Dallas sold out Frisco Stadium for their clash with Sporting Kansas City tonight, but severe thunderstorms battered Frisco earlier in the afternoon. The forecast earlier in the day had called for more rain and thunderstorms starting at kickoff, but those storms never arrived. Sadly, because of the forecasts, neither did the fans, and there were a lot of empty seats at the stadium this evening.
