the winner of the MLS Golden Boot a season ago -- opened his 2007 season in fine fashion, scoring on either side of halftime to nose the home side back into the lead. First, in the 29th minute, Chris Klein swung in a big cross from the right touchline. Cunningham's touch put two defenders out of the play, and he slotted home past Shaka Hislop to level the score.
• Then in the 51st minute, Hislop saved a Jason Kreis shot from the top of the restraining arc, from a pass from a short corner. But the rebound slid to Cunningham just beyond the right-hand post, and he knocked it in from a tight angle for his second on the night.
• In stoppage time, FCD defender Clarence Goodson drove a long restart into the heart of the penalty area. But it sailed over Rimando, and as RSL defender Nik Besagno and Hoops striker Carlos Ruiz went up to battle for the bouncing ball, it caromed into the goal for the leveler.
• Here's John Ellinger's team (4-2-3-1): Nick Rimando - Jack Stewart, Eddie Pope (Nikolas Besagno 61), Daniel Torres, Willis Forko - Jason Kreis (Luis Tejada 88), Carey Talley - Chris Klein, Mehdi Ballouchy (Kenny Cutler 79), Freddy Adu - Jeff Cunningham. Substitutes Not Used: Chris Brown, Atiba Harris, Chris Seitz, Andy Williams
• Here's Morrow's team (4-2-3-1): Shaka Hislop - Bobby Rhine, Clarence Goodson, Drew Moor, David Wagenfuhr (Abe Thompson 84) - Juan Toja (Dax McCarty 66), Marcelo Saragosa - Kenny Cooper, Ramon Nunez, Arturo Alvarez (Dominic Oduro 71) - Carlos Ruiz. Substitutes Not Used: Ray Burse, Aaron Pitchkolan, Blake Wagner, Alex Yi
FC DALLAS
FC Dallas won for the second match in a row on the road, going to Toyota Park and getting a leg up on the Brimstone Cup yet again with a 2-1 victory against the Chicago Fire on MLS Primetime Thursday. FCD is now atop the Western Conference with 13 points from eight matches, two ahead of the Colorado Rapids (who have played a game less), and a point behind the New England Revolution in the race for the league's best overall record.
LAST MATCH
• FC Dallas went to Chicago after defeating the Kansas City Wizards at Arrowhead Stadium, that win coming after back-to-back home 1-0 defeats. The Fire came into the game off of back-to-back 3-1 losses to New England and Toronto FC.
• The Hoops took the lead midway through the first half when Kenny Cooper converted his own penalty. Running onto a long ball all alone in the Fire penalty area, he tried to push it past Chicago goalkeeper Matt Pickens, only to be collided with in the attempt, and referee Brian Hall pointed to the spot. Cooper sent Pickens the wrong way from the spot for his fourth goal of the season.
• FCD doubled the lead on the hour. Juan Toja played the ball for Abe Thompson in the left side of the Fire penalty area, and laid back a perfect pass for Toja just outside the edge of the area, and his first-time blast took a slight deflection before beating Pickens inside his right-hand post.
• The Fire pulled a goal in the 73rd minute when Thiago slipped Chad Barrett in behind the FCD defense on the left, and he hit a sharp centering pass into the goal area where Calen Carr came in to sweep it into the back of the net for his first goal on the year.
• FC Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala wasn't credited with a save on the night, but had the woodwork to thank on three occasions. Dasan Robinson's overhead kick from a corner came back off the crossbar in the first half, and in the second, Carr also put a close-range shot off the bar before a Thiago header in the 83rd minute crashed off the face of the left post. Cooper also saw a long-range blast crack off the bar in the second half, just seconds before the FCD second goal.
• FC Dallas head coach Steve Morrow made no changes to the team that defeated the Wizards 2-1 at Arrowhead Stadium the previous Saturday. Carlos Ruiz was held out after suffering a slight hamstring injury during the week, and so Abe Thompson made his second consecutive start in attack.
• Here's Morrow's team (4-3-1-2): Dario Sala - Drew Moor, Clarence Goodson, Alex Yi, Chris Gbandi - Dax McCarty (Marcelo Saragosa 80), Pablo Ricchetti, Juan Toja - Ramon Nunez (Bobby Rhine 85) - Abe Thompson (Dominic Oduro 68), Kenny Cooper. Substitutes Not Used: Arturo Alvarez, Shaka Hislop, Aaron Pitchkolan, Blake Wagner
TEAM NEWS
• While the Fire weren't credited with a shot on goal until the Carr goal, Morrow felt his team did well in not allowing Chicago any early chances - then got the opening goal at a vital time.
• "I think you expect that away from home on the road, especially against a team who just had two defeats and were looking to start the game well. I thought we soaked up the early pressure well and defended it well," he said.
• The game was the first Brimstone Cup meeting of the 2007 season, the trophy awarded to the winner of the season series between the clubs by the supporters' groups of both sides, and once again the Hoops already have the upper hand. FC Dallas has defeated Chicago in three consecutive meetings, nine of the last 11 league games, and has been in control of the Brimstone Cup since the 2002 season.
• "I know it's important to our fans," Cooper said. "We have a great fan base in the Inferno. They show us great support. It's great that we're a leg up now."
• The late Carr goal meant that, once again, FC Dallas failed to close out a shutout. The Hoops haven't posted a clean sheet in 15 league games, dating back to a 1-0 win against Houston Dynamo on Sept. 2 of last year.
• "We had a few little problems defensively that we talked about at halftime; I thought we were a little stretched and left too many gaps in midfield, which we tried to correct at halftime a little bit," Morrow said. "We got the goal I thought we deserved and we possessed the ball well at times considering we were away from home."
• Cooper has scored three goals in three career games against Chicago - and the first-half penalty was his third game-winner in the Brimstone Cup.
• "I was fortunate to get a couple goals against them so it was a big win for us coming off those three home losses," Cooper said. "We've responded really well and had two big wins on the road. Hopefully, we can go into the next home game and continue doing what we did here on the road."
• It was a second game with Pablo Ricchetti in the central holding role in the midfield - and for the second consecutive game, Juan Toja found the back of the net, now playing a slightly more advanced position.
• "We had a few new people this season and it has taken some time for us to get to know how we play together," Toja said. "We're working hard and we're starting to play well as a team."
• Carlos Ruiz was held out of the match with a tight left hamstring. He was not even among the available substitutes, after not starting against Kansas City as punishment for missing two practices unexcused the week before.
• "He has a hamstring strain and we've been pushing them pretty hard in practice," Morrow said. "He's a valuable part of this team and we didn't want to risk any more injuries. He should be ready Sunday (against Real Salt Lake)."
REAL SALT LAKE
Real Salt Lake return to league play following a layoff of 10 days, after a bizarre 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids last Thursday at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Real are still searching for a first win for Jason Kreis, but are tied for fifth place in the Western Conference with four points from six matches, level with the Los Angeles Galaxy now nine points in arrears of division-leading FC Dallas.
LAST MATCH
• The Rapids were looking to win for the first time at home since the 2-1 opening day victory against D.C. United, while Real were looking for their first league victory on the campaign. The teams were meeting for the second time in 10 days, after the Rapids claimed a 2-0 victory in Salt Lake on April 30.
• The game got off to a strange start, as four minutes in, Herculez Gomez got free down the right flank. He whipped in a low cross and Nick Rimando dove out to get a hand onto it, only to see it bounce off the thigh of a retreating Jack Stewart and into the RSL goal.
• But the Rapids returned the favor 11 minutes later. Freddy Adu - very active and dangerous all night long on the left flank, drove in a rolling cross from the left side of the penalty area that Pablo Mastroeni stuck out his foot to stop, only to see slip inside the near post as Rapids 'keeper Bouna Coundoul went the other way.
• It was the ninth time in MLS history there had been two own goals in the same game, and the sixth that each team had scored from an own goal in a game. But it was the first time that all the scoring in a 1-1 game came from own goals.
• Gomez had two apparent goals - one in each half - flagged for offside. He got on the end of a rebound and sent it off Rimando and home in the 13th minute, but was offside on the initial shot. In the 67th minute he again looked to have scored off a pass from substitute Jose Cancela, but again the assistant referee's flag went up.
• Kreis made one change to the team that came back to earn a 3-3 draw with the New York Red Bulls the Saturday before in Salt Lake City. Nick Rimando grabbed his starting place back, coming in for Chris Seitz.
• Here Kreis' team (4-1-3-2): Nick Rimando - Jack Stewart (Jean-Martial Kipre 61), Eddie Pope, Daniel Torres, Willis Forko - Carey Talley - Chris Klein, Mehdi Ballouchy, Freddy Adu - Jeff Cunningham, Atiba Harris (Chris Brown 67). Substitutes Not Used: Nikolas Besagno, Duke Hashimoto, Chris Lancos, Chris Seitz, Jamie Watson
• "It's a transition and it's going to take time, but we are moving in the right direction. Once again we came out and had a disappointing first goal scored on us, but we reacted extremely well and I'm quite pleased with that," Kreis said.
TEAM NEWS
• While RSL might not have built on the three-goal outing of the previous match - with two of those goals coming after the 89th minute, and the lone goal against Colorado coming through an own goal - there was still room for optimism.
• "I think if we can concentrate a little bit more on being simple as we go into those attacking movements, moving the ball to the next guy who's open quickly that will help us, and we need a little luck," said Kreis. "If we put that kind of effort in week in and week out we're going to walk away from the season with a lot of points."
• In the second game in a 4-4-2 scheme, Kreis said he told wide midfielder Freddy Adu and Chris Klein to try and be the focal points for leading the attack.
• We set that out as an objective for them in training last week and it happened for us tonight. We switched the ball to Freddy (Adu) and got him in good spots, and I think we saw from him tonight that he can do well in those spots," Kreis said. Said Adu: "I like big fields like this because I'm able to get the ball and have some space to go at people. We just wanted to take advantage of that tonight and I think we did."
• It was also the second time RSL fought back from a deficit to at least get a point out of the game. In the season opener, they led FC Dallas 2-1 only to see that club score a stoppage-time equalizer.
• "This is the new Real, really. But when we get on the field we keep playing and playing and don't worry about it," Adu said. "This is the second game in a row where we have come back, and that's good for the team. We just need to eliminate the mistakes and not give up those goals."
• Said Kreis: "We are all eager and anxious for our first three points and we are eager and anxious for our first win. But we have to temper that for a short time and realize that we are talking steps in the right direction and soon it will come."
• Goalkeeper Nick Rimando returned to his starting role after Chris Seitz had played two games in a row. After the 3-3 draw with the Red Bulls, he made five saves against Colorado, allowing only the own goal - after he had deflected a cross away, only to see it hit defender Jack Stewart.
• "I really feel glad he's come out and made a couple of really good saves for us," said Kreis. "I think that's exactly what we need. He's got a little bit of confidence under him and hopefully he gets better and better."
