Fifteen Goats Draw FC Dallas
April 1st, 2008 . By: John Carlton
FC Dallas began its quest for the 2008 MLS Cup in muggy conditions at Pizza Hut Park on Sunday against CD Chivas USA. Missing several key players due to injuries and suspensions, Dallas was counting on strong debuts from Mexican international defender Duilio Davino and Brazilian midfielder Andre Rocha. For most of the match, the two newcomers delivered solid performances, but it was Davino’s blunder at the top of the penalty area in the final minutes that gave Chivas USA the equalizer and a crucial point on the road. The opening twenty minutes of the match saw both teams trying to settle into a rhythm. Chivas explored the flanks, trying to get Panchito Mendoza and Sacha Kljestan isolated on Dallas wingbacks Blake Wagner and Bobby Rhine. Meanwhile, FC Dallas punted long balls over the midfield hoping to catch the Chivas backline napping. This strategy nearly worked in the 6th minute when Abe Thompson latched onto a long ball and carried Chivas defender Shavar Thomas on his back into the box. Unfortunately, Thompson only managed a toe-poke attempt that rolled harmlessly into the waiting arms of Goats keeper Brad Guzan. In the 21st minute Dallas began a sequence that Hoops fans are hoping to see more of as the season progresses. Blake Wagner sent a long cross from the left corner completely over the penalty area where Bobby Rhine one-timed the ball back into the box. Abe Thompson collected the ball with his back to goal, turned and slipped a pass between two defenders to the dangerous left foot of Juan Toja. At point blank range, Toja blasted his shot past a helpless Brad Guzan to put FC Dallas up 1-0. As the humidity climbed, the pace of the game ebbed and flowed. Dallas allowed the Chivas midfielders a lot of space during certain stretches of the game, being careful not to over commit or tire too quickly. This allowed dangerous situations to develop, such as Ante Razov’s shot at the start of the second half, which was parried away by a well-positioned Dario Sala. The Dallas “sweeper-keeper” was forced to make seven saves throughout the match, taking at least two goals off the board in the process. “We cannot force Dario to be the star of the game,” said Duilio Davino afterwards. “We have to help him a lot more.” Unfortunately, the one save Sala could not make was decidedly the fault of Davino, whose poor, tired clearance at the top of the box fell right to the feet of opportunistic Cuban forward Maykel Galindo, who wasted no time in slotting the ball past Sala for the equalizer. Dallas coach Steve Morrow seemed to suggest that fatigue may have been a factor in Davino’s lousy giveaway, saying, “He’ll get better. He missed a couple of weeks of training. He needs some match fitness. He’ll get over it and continue to get better in the next few weeks.” For the Hoops to be successful they will need for Davino to find his form soon. Errors like the one that led to the late Chivas goal must be aberrant occurrences, or Sala may be forced to play more “sweeper” than “keeper”. On Sunday afternoon, Chivas USA used all of it substitutions. But it took more than 14 Goats to draw against FC Dallas – it took a 15th, in red-and-white hoops. GAME 1 – March 30, 2008FC DALLAS 1, CHIVAS USA 1 Pizza Hut Park – Frisco, Texas Scoring: FC DALLAS (3-4-1-2): Dario Sala, Adrian Serioux, Duilio Davino, Aaron Pitchkolan, Blake Wagner, Marcelo Saragosa (Pablo Ricchetti 62), Andre Rocha, Bobby Rhine, Juan Toja (Dax McCarty 73), Abe Thompson (Dominic Oduro 80), Kenny Cooper. Subs Not Used: Josh Lambo (GK), Brek Shea, Anthony Wallace, Andrew Daniels. Shots – 8; Shots on Goal – 4; Total Saves – 7; Fouls – 10; Offsides – 4; Corner Kicks – 2 CHIVAS USA: Brad Guzan, Jim Curtin, Shavar Thomas, Paulo Nagamura, Francisco Mendoza, Jonathan Bornstein, Jesse Marsch, Sacha Kljestan, Lawson Vaughn (Raphael Wicky 71).Atiba Harris (Maykel Galindo 55), Ante Razov (Justin Braun 73) Subs Not Used: Lance Parker (GK), Bobby Burling, Keith Savage, Eric Ebert. Shots – 22; Shots on Goal – 8; Total Saves – 3; Fouls – 20; Offsides – 1; Corner Kicks – 6 Misconduct Summary: NOTES: - FC Dallas is now 6-3-4 all time on season openers, and remains undefeated over the last six openers with a record of 2-0-4. On home season openers, the team is now 7-3-2. - FCD’s record versus Chivas USA is now 5-3-4, and 3-1-3 against them at Pizza Hut Park. - Juan Toja’s goal was his seventh career regular season goal. - For Bobby Rhine, it was his 34th career assist, putting him one away from second all-time in team history (Ronnie O’Brien - 35). - Duilio Davino, making his MLS debut, was named the team captain for the year. Another making his MLS debut was Andre Rocha. - Dario Sala made seven saves today, two off his all-time high. - For Dallas, only Rhine, Toja, Aaron Pitchkolan, and Kenny Cooper started both today’s opener and last years. Dax McCarty, Abe Thompson, and Dominic Oduro were the others that appeared in each of the last two season openers. - Marcelo Saragosa left the game with a right groin strain…Defender Alex Yi missed the game with a left hamstring injury…David Wagenfuhr was out with a concussion…Ricardinho was out with a right ankle sprain. - Defender Drew Moor and midfielder Arturo Alvarez served a one-game suspension for having received red cards in the team’s final game of 2007. - Following the game, the FC Dallas Reserves played the Chivas USA Reserves to a 1-1 draw. FCD’s goal was scored by Drew Moor in the 25th minute, while Chivas’ goal was scored by Jorge Flores in the 47th. FC Dallas was goalkeeper Josh Lambo, who collided with a Chivas player in the 5th minute and had to leave the game shortly thereafter. He was diagnosed with a concussion and was taken to a nearby hospital for further evaluation. - FC Dallas will travel south next weekend to face the Houston Dynamo on Sunday, April 6 (2 pm CT) at Robertson Stadium. 4 Comments Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment |
btw, davino was BAD in this one. Is he now the slowest player on the team? These chivas player went by so fast the wind messed up his hair. As someone said w/o Sala this one is 5-1 because the backline can’t run and the midfield doesn’t mark and track players.
This is the start of a very lone season. Hopefully Yi and Moor play and add some pace in the bacl and Alvarez sparks the attack.
personally, i didn’t think davino did badly besides giving up the game winner. he made some nice, accurate long passes and blocked some dangerous shots. also, you have to consider 2 guys that weren’t used to playing the position besides him. it’ll take time for them to mesh since he was out a while…but, hopefully not too long.
So if he hadn’t played in 2 weeks and looked fatigued to Morrow, why was in the game 90 minutes?
What a difference one kick makes. Go back and watch Davino again, for most of the match he was rock solid and his service out of the back was excellent. One horrendous error, to be sure, but compare the overall effort to the avg. D FCD displayed last season, a big improvement through one fixture in 2008.
Obviously Moor’s spot is safe!!
Dax, Arturo, and a 90 minute Toja will make a world of difference in the attack, maybe even Ricardhino as well. I really think Alvarez is the key attacking component for FCD, that will allow KC to stay in the box (if he’ll commit to doing so) and let Alvarez, Toja, and Dax bring the ball forward.
Overall a solid effort for the first game, not as good as it could have or should have been. But for want of ONE TOUCH of the ball by Davino everyone is probably talking about what a fantastic gritty effort it was by FCD.
I still expect FCD to make the playoffs. What they will do with that, if anything, can’t say.