Port of Spain, Trinidad - FC Dallas defeated the Trinidad and Tobago Pro League Foreign All-Stars on penalty kicks in the opening game of the Shaka Hislop Tribute Cup on Friday evening at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad. FCD surrendered two goals in the first 10 minutes of the game, but came back to tie the game with goals from Kenny Cooper in the first half and Scott Jones in second half stoppage time. The game went straight to penalty kicks, where Alex Yi's shot gave FCD the 7-6 penalty kick win.
FC Dallas and Brazilian-partner Clube Atletico Paranaense have joined two All-Star teams from the TT Pro League in honoring retired FCD goalkeeper and Trinidad National team legend Shaka Hislop in these friendly exhibition games. The two all-star teams are formed from the players currently playing in the TT Pro League: the TT Pro League Local All-Stars, chosen from the best local players in the league; and the TT Pro League Foreign All-Stars, chosen from the best foreign players playing in the league.
In the opening game of Friday's doubleheader, he TT Foreign All-Stars took the early lead over FCD in the 8th minute, when Ray Burse attempted to punch away a corner kick, only to see the ball fall in front of the goal to TT's Jonathan Frias who quickly lunged forward to knock the ball in.
Frias extended the lead two minutes later, when he took a shot from 25 yards that saw Burse dive to his left. However, the ball bounced in front of Burse, hitting the uneven ground and bouncing in the opposite direction of Burse's dive for Frias' second goal of the game.
FCD then began to take control of the game, with Ricardinho and Blake Wagner each coming close to finishing Denilson passes. Dallas pulled one back in the 38th minute, when Denilson dribbled through three defenders in the area before laying off the ball to Kenny Cooper. Cooper cut back once with his right and calmly slotted the ball in the back of the net.
Both teams made numerous changes in the second half, with FCD starting inserting five substitutes. Ricardinho had an early chance, ripping a hard left-footed blast from 25 yards out. The keeper jumped and narrowly got his fingertips to the ball, redirecting the ball to bounce off the crossbar.
With FCD pushing forward, TT nearly extended their lead again with less then 10 minutes to play. TT's Nigel Codrington got in behind the FCD defense, going one on one with FCD guest goalkeeper Dan Kennedy. Kennedy raced forward to cut off the angel, taking a shot off his chest which eventually went out for a goalkick.
Two minutes into stoppage time, Juan Toja leaped high to keep a ball from going over the endline, sending the ball back into the front of the goalmouth. With players from both teams reacting to the scramble, FCD's Scott Jones kept the ball alive before finishing tying the score.
In penaly kicks, the TT keeper saved shots from Marcelo Saragosa, Juan Toja, and Jones, while the TT players twice his the crossbar, had one stopped by Kennedy, and missing wide right on their final shot. Alex Yi scored the seventh and final penalty to give FCD the win.
In the second game of Friday's doubleheader, Atletico Paranaense defeated the Local All-Stars 10-9 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 game. Atletico Paranaense will open Sunday's doubleheader with 4 p.m. match versus the TT Pro League Foreign All-Stars, followed by FCD versus the TT Pro League Local All-Stars at 6 p.m. local time.
SCORING:
TT - Jonathan Frias (unassisted) 8'
TT - Jonathan Frias (unassisted) 10'
FCD - Kenny Cooper (Denilson) 38'
FCD - Scott Jones (unassisted) 92+
Penalty Kicks:
TT - Goal
FCD - Wagenfuhr (Goal)
TT - Goal
FCD - Pitchkolan (Goal)
TT - crossbar
FCD - Toja (Saved)
TT - Saved
FCD - Saragosa (Saved)
TT - Goal
FCD - Thompson (Goal)
TT - Goal
FCD - Watson (Goal)
TT - Goal
FCD - Oduro (Goal)
TT - Crossbar
FCD - Jones (Saved)
TT - Goal
FCD - Daniels (Goal)
TT - Wide right
FCD - Alex Yi (Goal)
FC DALLAS (3-4-1-2): Ray Burse (Dan Kennedy), Andrew Daniels, Drew Moor (Aaron Pitchkolan 46), Michael Dello-Russo (Alex Yi 46), Blake Wagner (Scott Jones 46), Chase Wileman (David Wagenfuhr 60), Bobby Rhine (Marcelo Saragosa 60), Martin Pautasso (Jamie Watson 46), Denilson (Juan Toja 60), Kenny Cooper (Dominic Oduro 60), Ricardinho (Abe Thompson 60).
TT PRO LEAGUE FORIENG ALL-STARS: Richard Reynolds, Dwight Peters (Christian Okonkwu 46), Howard Love, Christian Vivaros (Collie Hercules 73), Elijah Joseph, Sheldon Emmanuel, Ronaldo Viana, Jose Luis Seabra (Douglas da Costa 81), Jonathan Frias (Nigel Codrington 60), Charles Pollard, Randolph Jerome (Walter Moore 67).
