CARSON, Calif. - FC Dallas mixed in some consistency with evolution on Thursday and it worked to perfection. Carlos Ruiz and Kenny Cooper scored first-half goals to lead FC Dallas to a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center.
Although the club is used to seeing strong performances from its talented forward tandem, FC Dallas coach Steve Morrow pointed to equally strong performances from an evolving squad as factors in the victory.
"We played a slightly different way against Salt Lake on Saturday and made a couple of little adjustments," Morrow said. "For me the adjustments were for the positive side and for the good of this team and how we can get out of other teams."
From the starting lineup that Morrow sent out against RSL, one player - Bobby Rhine - came off the bench and two - David Wagenfuhr and Arturo Alvarez - did not play at all.
Instead, Morrow went with Dax McCarty in the midfield as well as Alex Yi and Chris Gbandi in the back. Yi played in the center and Drew Moor played wide right as Morrow continued searching for the right combination and a continuation of the aftereffects of the preseason.
"It's something that we talked about all preseason," Morrow said. "We tried a couple of slightly different styles of play in terms of our formation. I clearly wanted to identify the strengths of all the players and identify the strengths of all the talent that I've got and get people in their right positions and get the most out of them."
Having one of the league's best forward duos at his disposal helps. Ruiz and Cooper scored in the same game for the sixth time - and twice in two games this year. Ruiz converted a 35th-minute penalty kick, which was the first penalty kick FC Dallas has taken since September 2005.
Juan Toja helped draw the spot kick when he slammed a ball off Galaxy defender Ty Harden's hand.
For Ruiz, a former Galaxy star, the goal was special. Though it was his third goal against his former club, it was the first time he's scored at The Home Depot Center as a visitor.
"Scoring against them is not like scoring against other teams," Ruiz said. "This is the team that I had success with and won a championship with and won an MVP. The Galaxy is a great franchise but I defend FC Dallas' colors now."
Ruiz was dealt to FC Dallas at the eve of the 2005 season in a trade that helped pave the way for Landon Donovan's arrival to the Galaxy. Although he led the Galaxy to an MLS Cup win in 2002, Ruiz said his time in Southern California was a thing of the past.
"That's over. At that time, I was a bit confused but every change is for the best. I'm happy in Dallas," Ruiz said. "We have a good team and we have the squad to fight for each of the championships we're in. We have a total of three and I think we'll be contenders in each of them."
Ruiz's goal helped open the game and helped the Hoops settle down.
"It opened the score for us and from there we played well," Ruiz said. "That gave us confidence going forward and we were able to get into a rhythm that eventually produced the second goal."
On the eventual match-winning play, Ramon Nunez sent a free kick to the front of the goal. Cooper pounced on the ball and slammed a first-time volley past a helpless Joe Cannon.
Nunez was another player Morrow singled out. The shifty midfielder pitched in a strong performance and nearly scored a goal late in the match but his long-range attempt sailed past the right post.
"Ramon's another guy who played well tonight and fitting nicely with what we're trying to do," Morrow said. "He's been very good on the ball. He's been in the league a few years now and I don't see him as a young player anymore. I told him that he needs to be mature and needs to be the guy getting on the ball for us in the middle of the field. So far, he's responded very well."
Still, the win was tempered somewhat by the loss of Marcelo Saragosa. The midfielder went down in the 25th minute when his knee buckled near the right sideline on a seemingly innocent challenge. Saragosa was replaced by Aaron Pitchkolan and later diagnosed with possible damage in his medial collateral ligament.
"It looks like it could be a bad injury," Morrow said. "It puts a bit of a damper and a bit of a negative on the whole game tonight. It's good to get the win but at the back of our mind it's bad to lose Marcelo."
FC Dallas has little time to celebrate the victory. The club will travel on Friday to New York for a Sunday match against the Red Bulls.
"It would be the same if we had a good amount of recovery time. We had the game in Salt Lake City, went to Dallas, came out here and now we're going to New York. That's practically three games in one week. It's going to be difficult and draining on us," Ruiz said. "We're looking at it as four points out of nine so anything we get from New York to take back to Dallas would be a bonus."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
