Separation Anxiety
August 24th, 2008 . 3:20 pm . By: John CarltonLast week’s match at Columbus set a precedent for FC Dallas, giving up a lead and then going on to lose. This Saturday’s match at Kansas City continued a worrying trend of losing leads, although the circumstances were quite different. Wizards’ defender Jimmy Conrad scored a tap-in goal in stoppage time to share the points with Dallas and keep both teams alive in the race for the MLS playoffs. FC Dallas welcomed Olympic midfielder Dax McCarty back into the starting lineup and sent the outstanding rookie Eric Avila back to the bench. McCarty took over in the attacking midfield position, while Dutchman Victor Sikora made his second straight start on the left wing. Forward Jeff Cunningham made his second start alongside Kenny Cooper. In defense, Aaron Pitchkolan was called upon again to fill the shoes of the injured Duilio Davino in the back. On the small pitch of Community America Ballpark in Kansas City, games have a way of taking a strange shape and this one proved no different. Despite Kansas City’s controlling the mood and the tempo of the opening minutes, Dallas drew first blood in the 7th minute when midfielder Andre Rocha dropped a hydrogen bomb from 40 yards out. Wizards’ goalkeeper Kevin Hartman was late to react to Rocha’s audacious effort and Dallas had stolen an early lead against the run of play. The goal was Rocha’s first in league play. Kansas City enjoyed spates of good attacking football. Like most teams who have faced Dallas this season, they decided on a formula heavy on attacking from the wings, launching as many crosses as possible in front of Dallas net minder Dario Sala. Sala was forced to make five saves on the night, all of them quality. In the 34th minute he blocked a good effort from range by Davy Arnaud. Claudio Lopez and Sasha Victorine also tested Sala, but the Argentine ‘keeper made good decisions virtually the entire match. But before the first half ended, Dallas had piled up the better chances with Kenny Cooper and Victor Sikora in particular keeping Hartman on his toes. In the second half, the pendulum swung towards the home side. First, there was a free kick at the edge of the box taken by Arnaud that everyone – the public address announcer, the home team commentators, and all the fans – thought was a goal, but which only hit side netting. Then early in the second frame Victor Sikora had to come off due to injury. Next, Cooper had a goal-bound shot saved by the fingertips of a diving Hartman. Finally, in the 62nd minute defensive midfielder Pablo Richetti was sent off following a late challenge against Davy Arnaud and the Hoops were forced to play with ten men. In the tiny confines of Community America Ballpark, ten men almost seemed like an unexpected blessing with Dallas quickly adapting to the need for better spacing. The holes did appear, however, and Claudio Lopez and Roger Espinoza both had open looks at goal that they could not convert. It would take the Wizards’ leading scorer, central defender Jimmy Conrad, to get the crucial equalizer and save a point at home for KC. In stoppage time, Josh Wolff sprung forward to the by-line right of goal and squared the ball into the path of Conrad who beat Sala at the goal line. The goal-scoring sequence looked identical to last week’s score by Jeff Cunningham against Columbus, and was a disappointing lapse at the end of a scrappy, hard-fought effort by Dallas. For KC’s Conrad, it was his team-leading fifth goal of the season, and an absolutely clutch play for the U.S. international to make for his team’s dwindling chances at the playoffs. For FC Dallas, this was another night where a draw felt like a loss, but from a neutral standpoint, the result was perhaps a fair one. The infusion of youth into the game, particularly in the second half, with young midfielders Bruno Guarda, Eric Avila, Michael Dello-Russo and Dax McCarty all on the pitch together, demonstrated coach Schellas Hyndman’s belief in his young players’ abilities. There will be little time to dwell on the tie, as the Hoops have a must-win match at home on Saturday against the formidable Columbus Crew. After the passage of the summer transfer window, the question is whether FC Dallas 2.0 can separate themselves from the huddled masses in the benign MLS Western Conference. FC Dallas (6-7-8) vs. Kansas City Wizards (6-7-8)August 23, 2008 — CommunityAmerica Ballpark Scoring Summary: FC Dallas — Dario Sala, Adrian Serioux, Drew Moor, Aaron Pitchkolan, Blake Wagner, Andre Rocha (Bruno Guarda 66), Dax McCarty, Pablo Ricchetti, Victor Sikora (Eric Avila 50), Kenny Cooper, Jeff Cunningham (Michael Dello-Russo 73), Substitutes Not Used: Ray Burse, Dominic Oduro, Abe Thompson, Jamie Watson Kansas City Wizards — Kevin Hartman, Jack Jewsbury, Jimmy Conrad, Aaron Hohlbein, Matt Marquess (Roger Espinoza 66), Michael Harrington (Carlos Marinelli 54), Sasha Victorine (Ivan Trujillo 75), Kerry Zavagnin, Claudio Lopez, Davy Arnaud, Josh Wolff. Substitutes Not Used: Eric Kronberg, Kurt Morsink, Chance Myers, Tyson Wahl
Misconduct Summary: referee: Mauricio Navarro 9 Comments Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What is the deal on Rocha storming off the field after being replaced? Any reprucussions next weedend?
Though I never endorse public displays of displeasure by a player I think Rocha justified. He was playing a great game i thought and putting Gaurda in for him was a gamble at best. To me Rocha was not showing any reason to be replaced, he was not thinking attack-only and was constantly found scrambleing for loose balls in the FCD defensive third while they were a man down.
I was wandering about Rocha. Did he storm off the field or did he come off and they sent him back to the locker room? I did not see anything that showed an argument with the coach and have not heard anything more about it until now.
This one stings a little less (I guess) because of the losses ahead of us this weekend, so we actually ended up gaining ground.
If I were Hyndman I would have subbed Rocha out – the game was super chippy and Rocha’s emotions had gotten the better of him on the field. He did have a good game, though, and it’s easy to read what he’s thinking – that even with that crazy goal Hyndman won’t let him play more than 60 minutes.
Beating Columbus this weekend without Ricchetti will be quite a chore. Last year the guy sitting next to me kept screaming
“HEY…S**T-A-LETTO!!!” Schelotto got so pissed I thought he was gonna punch him in the mouth (I was sitting in row 1, he could have done it). He did ask the lineman to remove the guy but our flag wavers barely call the game much less throw someone out.
No offense Moose, but I find your story hard to believe. First of all, Barras-Schelotto heard worse things going to the grocery store in La Plata (where he’s from.) Secondly, in Argentina he’s ALWAYS referred to as Barras-Schelotto, which is pronounced Bar-es Es-kay-low-toe, not at all like the “American” version of his name. If you want to heckle him, simply call him Guillermo, or Guille, but I don’t know what good that would do because the guy barely speaks a word of English. To really insult him, hold your nose, like he smells. It’s what any good River Fan does to anyone associated with Boca. If he clucks back like a chicken, you know you got him.
One thing we do agree on, this weekend against Columbus will be impossible without Ricchetti. I hope our “young guys” are ready for soccer 101 by professor Guillermo.
I promise you the story is true. There isn’t anyone in 108 that didn’t hear him.
that guy in section 108 must’ve been a regular Crew fan heckling the wrong team. They are pretty good are screaming profanities from the front row.
BTW, I’m not counting or anything, but thats at least the 4th game this season we’ve dropped points within the final 4 minutes or injury time. Thats an extra 8 points that we’d have and be challenging for the top of the league table. Maybe SM would still have a job right now also.
Sorry, but I agree with Frank. There’s no way any taunting from 108 — idiots that they are — would even make Guille flinch let alone prompt him to ask for a fan’s ejection. MLS announcers and fans butcher his name so badly, there’s no way he could understand the lame pun the even lamer 108 dwellers could try.
But if it makes them feel cooler to believe their taunting upset a soccer legend, then go for it.
If anyone has reason to get upset about pronounciation it’s Pablo Ricchetti.. That guy on HDNet keeps calling him Rigeti. I can understand someone mispronouncing Schelotto.. it’s not incredibly intuitive… But where the heck is he getting the “g” from for Ricchetti?