Honest Abe Celebrates the 4th
July 5th, 2008 . By: John Carlton
Abe Thompson only scores goals in stoppage time. At least that’s what the FC Dallas striker would have you believe. In the last two games, Thompson has played the role of Euro 2008’s Turkish “fireman” Semih Şentürk, scoring stoppage time goals in three of four halves. Thompson’s 91st minute equalizer against the Kansas City Wizards gave FC Dallas a crucial draw on Independence Day at Pizza Hut Park. Having played several games over the last two weeks, the Hoops were always going to be a tired team. Couple that fact with the 100-degree field temperature at game time and FCD were going to need to find a magic reserve of energy. The Wizards had also played three games in six days, promising a slower, more plodding game in the heat. What transpired was anything but. Midfielder Juan Toja gave Dallas their first scoring chance in the 12th minute when he sent a low cross through the penalty are from the right side, but three Dallas players were a step slow in arriving to meet it and KC goalkeeper Kevin Hartman collected it at the far post. Marcelo Saragosa, in one of the few positive moments in his performance, stole the ball in City’s half and raced toward goal, but Hartman was quick off his line and stopped Saragosa cold at the top of the box. The Wizards first good chance was Kurt Morsink’s drive from 30 yards in the 31st minute that forced a save from Sala. City’s Claudio “El Piojo” Lopez got into the action in the 39th minute, taking a pass at the top of the box and laying the ball off for forward Scott Sealy. Sealy with his back to goal and defended by Drew Moor, took a quick turn and fired the ball low to the right corner of the net for the Wizards’ only score. In the second half, FCD rookie midfielder Eric Avila came on for a tired Andre Rocha and provided a spark for the team. The Hoops missed a golden chance in the 52nd minute when Blake Wagner sent a low, curling pass right across the goalmouth from the left side, but once again the attackers were a step slow in getting there to knock it in. Forward Kenny Cooper, with top brass from Norwegian outfit Rosenborg looking on, tried an audacious bicycle kick in the 64th minute that looped comically into the air before bouncing on top of the Wizards’ net. Kansas City had the better of the play for the next ten minutes, when Lopez and Victorine both had good chances. Victorine’s shot came after an unbelievably careless giveaway by Marcelo Saragosa at the top of the Dallas penalty area. Fortunately for Saragosa and the ‘96ers, Victorine couldn’t put the shot on frame. Controversy came in the 76th minute when it appeared Kenny Cooper had scored the Dallas equalizer, but he was ruled offside by the assistant referee. The play started on the left flank when Wagner notched the ball forward for Toja who broke into the area and fired a shot that deflected off Hartman. Cooper stepped up and powered the rebound into the net, but he was adjudged to be in an offside position when Toja took his shot. Replays showed it to be a very close call. In the first minute of stoppage time, Eric Avila hit an in-swinging 45-yard cross from the left sideline that found the slashing run of Abe Thompson. Thompson timed his run and his jump perfectly and headed the ball past a helpless Kevin Hartman into the back of the net. After working hard since coming on, but having very few looks or touches to show for it, the honest Thompson delivered FC Dallas from distress for the second game in three days. Kansas City Wizards (4-5-5) vs. FC Dallas (4-6-6)July 04, 2008 — Pizza Hut Park Scoring Summary: Kansas City Wizards — Kevin Hartman, Jack Jewsbury, Jimmy Conrad, Aaron Hohlbein, Michael Harrington, Davy Arnaud, Kurt Morsink (Ryan Pore 59), Sasha Victorine, Claudio Lopez (Jonathan Leathers 82), Scott Sealy, Ivan Trujillo (Roger Espinoza 59), Substitutes Not Used: Eric Kronberg, Chance Myers, Tyson Wahl, Kerry Zavagnin FC Dallas — Dario Sala, Drew Moor, Duilio Davino, Adrian Serioux (Dax McCarty 72), Andre Rocha (Eric Avila 46), Pablo Ricchetti, Marcelo Saragosa, Juan Toja, Blake Wagner, Kenny Cooper, Dominic Oduro (Abe Thompson 46), Substitutes Not Used: Ray Burse, Michael Dello-Russo, Aaron Pitchkolan, Brek Shea
Misconduct Summary: referee: Baldomero Toledo 10 Comments Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
That’s the life of a striker, I guess. I thought Thompson was absolutely terrible up until he scored the goal. His touch was terrible (he had one pass bounce 5 off his foot at midfield to start a KC counter) and his passes were almost always intercepted. If I had to rate him in regular time, I’d have given him a 2 out of 10. But then he makes a nice run and gives a really excellent finish to a nice cross and steals a point for us. So all is forgiven! That finish was a lot more difficult than he made it look — to take a ball coming at you at full speed and deflect it down and behind you is a very nice piece of skill.
Dax’s last 20 minutes reminded me how much we’ve missed him and I liked the way Avila played. I think the new coach has decided to play guys who do what he asks.
Dear Schellas Hyndman:
Please bench Saragosa.
Thank you.
Shellas said after the game that he wants people to deliver. Period. It hurts to watch Abe struggle through the 45 minutes and then luck into another goal. If this is what we have to look forward to as fans for the rest of the season, I’m not sure I really want to watch the games anymore. Can we find a happy medium?
sotg, I agree with you that really hurts to see Abe playing. He is a mediocre player, slow and got no skills. He has been luck by scoring those goals and I predict he will be in the starting line-up on tuesday.
As far as benching Saragosa? who do you want Schellas to put in his place? Come on, Saragosa is a def-mid that know how to defend very well, he is not suppost to be an attacker. HE is not the greatest but he does his role and thats what matters. I would bench Wagner for sure……Always tired
if you don’t like schellas as coach, you have to like him after the KC game. from his post-game presser, he is determined to get the best out of this team. he demands a lot and holds them accountable. that right there is a true definition of a coach that cares. he has a purpose, and he’s not shy to let everyone know about it. i give him much props
Phil - there are a lot of options at dmid - Serioux is the closest to a pure destroyer type that Saragosa is but offers more offense. With Wagner playing se good at left center back that frees Adrian to challenge for a spot in midfield. If SH wants more two way play then a pairing of Toja/Rocha/Ricchetti would work and maybe Dax or Avila if they aren’t playing the attacking mid spot (which in my opinion one of them should be).
Alot of people seem to notice that Abe played terribly, but methinks that there was something else cooking in that pot. Kenny Cooper took 10 of the teams 17 shots and most of them were straight at Hartman or wide. he sure seemed selfish yesterday…..or maybe someone told him that 1 million Norwegian dollars is on the near horizon and he decided to try and score 14 goals yesterday. Can you blame him?
Ive read rumors of Toja going to Romania or Romanian team Steaua wanting him in november since they have 3 national team colombians on their team; I think theyve play arsenal in champions league. Is there any truth to these rumors.
No way Cooper was selfish yesterday. To me he is doing what any quality forward would want to do. SCORE GOALS, WOULD’NT YOU THINK. It seems to me we have a lot of people jealous or envious of what is happening right now. its a miracle he has scored 8 goals in this team. Can you imagine if he played with Beckham and Landon.
Point of information for everyone. LA and Houston tried to trade for him and FC Dallas said no. What is happening in this situation sickens me no end. I believe FC Dallas will not realize what they are about to lose until they lose him. It is obvious to everyone, FC Dallas are under estimating Cooper’S dad who manages and advises Jr.