Even without their starting goalkeeper, FC Dallas went toe-to-toe with Chivas de Guadalajara in the opening match of SuperLiga 2007 on Tuesday night at Pizza Hut Park. The Hoops even had the Mexican side on the ropes after Arturo Alvarez netted a goal in the 56th minute.
But just 11 minutes later, Chivas hit for the equalizer after Antonio Olvera scored just seconds after apparently committing a handball that went unnoticed by the officials. Then, in the 72nd minute, FCD right back Drew Moor was sent off for retaliating following a hard elbow by Chivas captain Hector Reynoso and FCD played the last 18 minutes a man down. In the end, the sides finished in a 1-1 draw.
FCD head coach Steve Morrow was clearly disappointed with the final result.
"I thought it was a good, competitive game but I was disappointed that we didn't take all three points," he said. "I thought that there was a lot of good soccer played throughout the game. To lose two points on what I think was a bad call from the referee is very disappointing. I thought that we played well enough to win and to lose a goal in that manner was disappointing."
Morrow was also pleased with how well his team did playing a man down for the final 18 minutes.
"To be down to 10 men and to try as hard as we did to stay in the game, a lot of credit goes to the boys for that," he said. "I'm pleased overall with the performance but am disappointed that we didn't take the three points."
The story of the match might well have been second-year goalkeeper Ray Burse, who filled in admirably after normal starter Dario Sala was unable to play. The Ohio State University product made five saves, with the only goal he allowed the controversial equalizer off Olvera's foot in the 67th. Several of his stops were spectacular, diving saves that kept the Hoops in the match.
"I thought he was great," Morrow said. "He didn't know until an hour and half before kickoff that he would be starting. Dario (Sala) had a fitness test at the last moment and I had told Ray earlier in the day to be prepared."
The FCD boss added that Burse's opportunity with the first team was definitely a well-earned chance for the young 'keeper.
"He deserved the chance from the outset," Morrow said. "He has done very well for us in the last few weeks, has worked very hard in training and deserved his opportunity tonight. I thought he put on a very mature display tonight for a young kid in a pressurized situation in his first game. I felt that he made some great saves and played with a lot of maturity."
After the match, Burse recounted how he heard that he would be starting between the posts for the Hoops against a Mexican powerhouse.
"Steve (Morrow) actually called me earlier in the day and I was in class at the University of Texas at Dallas," Burse said. "I noticed it was a different number and wondered 'what could this be?' I left in the middle of a lecture to check my messages and was pretty excited.
"I called my family. As far as the game itself, it's something that I have always been wanting," Burse continued. "Practicing for a year and a half and not playing just built up the climax."
Morrow also felt that Tuesday's match was a great opening argument for the bright future that SuperLiga has.
"I think that the first game was a great ad for SuperLiga in general," he said. "We felt it was an important game. Before we came in tonight, we wanted to put on a good show not only for FC Dallas, but for American soccer in general. For the most part, I thought that we did that tonight. It's the first year of the competition and based on tonight's showing, I think it's got a very good future."
The FCD boss also admitted that he was disappointed with Moor's red card.
"I was disappointed that the officials missed an elbow first," he said. "I felt that the linesman saw a push from Drew (Moor), which was very innocuous for me and I didn't think it was a red card. I'm disappointed that the officials missed the elbow leading up to it."
Even though his side went a man down, Morrow was impressed with the fight his team showed in the final 18 minutes a man down.
"We were under a lot of pressure in the last 10-15 minutes but we gathered ourselves, got a good shape to the team defensively and had to dig deep at times and show a lot of fight and resolve," Morrow said. "I felt like we worked very hard in the last 10 minutes to not concede any more goals."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
