FC Dallas entered Wednesday night's contest with Chivas USA looking to become the second side in Major League Soccer to clinch a 2006 playoff spot. But things didn't exactly turn out according to plan for the Hoops as they fell 1-0 to Chivas at Pizza Hut Park in a game that saw the visitors take the lead in the 13th minute, go a man down in the second half and leave Frisco with three very important points.
FCD head coach Colin Clarke was clearly dismayed with his team's performance, attributing their poor showing to bad ball movement.
"I have never seen so many players have such bad nights passing the ball," Clarke said. "The second half, we were better. In the first half, we couldn't connect passes and our decisions were slow. We weren't good all around. In the second half, we played a lot better, got a lot of pressure, but just couldn't get the goal."
Chivas' goal came on their first shot of the evening in the 13th minute. Rookie midfielder Jonathan Bornstein, a top candidate for league rookie of the year honors this year, dribbled into the center of the FCD box, where he was met by Hoops goalkeeper Dario Sala.
As he spun away, Bornstein saw the ball taken over by Juan Pablo Garcia, who pushed it into an empty net for what turned out to be the game's only goal.
Clarke was disappointed with his team giving up the goal but acknowledged that it was one of only a few opportunities that Chivas had to score on the evening.
"I was disappointed with the goal but I thought they (our center backs) did pretty well (throughout the game)," Clarke said. "They (Chivas) didn't have a whole lot of threat against us once they scored."
Clarke's players were equally disappointed.
"First and foremost, playing at home with the kind of opportunity that we had, it is a letdown to come away without any points," said defender Alex Yi. "They're a good team and we were a bit lethargic, which came from their goal. That's where it all started."
FCD finished the first half with five shots to three for Chivas, but none of the Hoops' shots were on frame.
"In the first half, we gave up a pretty poor goal and couldn't seem to click for whatever reason," fullback Chris Gbandi said. "We didn't have or create too many opportunities or help the forwards out by getting too many crosses in. Overall, it was a poor performance, especially coming back home after getting a decent tie on the road."
In the second 45 minutes, FCD played a bit more inspired, taking 10 shots to the visitors' four but couldn't convert any of those into goals.
FCD got a break in the 76th minute when Morales, who had already been booked in the 72nd minute for delaying a restart, got his second yellow for a reckless foul on Rhine. After Morales was sent off, the Hoops had a man advantage for the final 15 minutes of play.
They were only able to generate three shots. An 89th-minute header by Ruiz, who hasn't scored for FCD since June 11 in a 2-1 win against Chivas in Frisco, was clearly their best chance but Chivas 'keeper Brad Guzan was perfectly positioned for the save.
"Carlos (Ruiz) is going through a tough time at the minute," said Clarke. "We've got to work at both sides of it. We've got to get him in better position and need to get him the ball in better positions."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
