Sixteen-year-old forward Abdus Ibrahim scored the game's only goal to give the FC Dallas Reserves a 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo Reserves on the adidas Field at Pizza Hut Park on Sunday afternoon.
Ibrahim put FCD on the board in the sixteenth minute after midfielder Scott Jones took the ball up the right flank. Jones was uncontested down the sideline before sending a cross into the box that floated over the head of Houston defender Craig Waibel and found Ibrahim, who had made a run into the open space. The teenager met the ball about eight yards from net and struck a half-volley shot over the head of goalkeeper Zach Wells.
Houston threatened to even the score late in the first half, but FCD 'keeper Ray Burse turned Paul Dalglish's attempt away in the 41st minute.
Dallas countered in the 43rd as Kenny Cooper ran onto a long ball sent up field by Anthony Wallace. Cooper beat a Houston defender to the ball, but his shot from 20 yards sailed over the crossbar. It was Cooper's first competitive action since suffering a broken right tibia on June 9 versus the LA Galaxy in regular season MLS play.
Ricardinho nearly doubled the Dallas lead in the 75th, when the forward struck hard right-footed shot from the top corner of the box, forcing 'keeper Zach Wells to make a diving save.
Dalglish had two more solid chances to put his team on the board in the second half, but could not find the back of the net. The Houston forward's left-footed shot from near the top of the box was denied by a diving Burse in the 51st minute. Then, in the 78th, after collecting a misplayed clearance by the FCD defense, Dalglish's shot from just outside the penalty area missed high.
FCD, in its final Reserve match of the season, improved its record to 4-4-4 with 16 points, and finished the season unbeaten in its final six games. Houston (2-6-2) next meets Los Angeles on Sunday, October 7 at home.
Scoring Summary:
DAL - Abdus Ibrahim 1 (Scott Jones 2) 16
FC Dallas Reserves (4-4-4): Ray Burse, Michael Dello-Russo, Aaron Pitchkolan (Alex Yi 54), Andrew Daniels, Chris Gbandi (David Wagenfuhr 54), Scott Jones (Sandy Gbandi 72), Sebastian Botero, Anthony Wallace, Chase Wileman (Bobby Rhine 63), Abdus Ibrahim (Abe Thompson 54), Kenny Cooper (Ricardinho 61)
Substitutes not used: Matt Wideman, Dominic Oduro
Houston Dynamo Reserves (2-6-2): Zach Wells, Craig Waibel, Eric Ebert (S. Wondolowski 68), Patrick Ianni, Mike Chabala, John Michael Hayden (Erik Ustruck 41), Stuart Holden, Nick Hatzke, Brad Davis (B. Farber 46), Chris Wondolowski, Paul Dalglish
Substitutes not used: Jordan James, Kenneth Hoerner, C. Smith
Referee: Kevin Terry
Assistant Referees: Brenda Manning, Harold Zavalney
4th Official: Jorge Luna
