After a lackluster first half at Crew Stadium on Saturday, FC Dallas rallied to score three goals in the second half and left Columbus victorious by a 3-1 scoreline against the Crew.
The win qualified FC Dallas for the MLS Cup Playoffs, putting an end to a four-game winless streak, and deprived Columbus of some much needed points as they fight to stay alive in the race for the 2007 postseason.
"We've been through a tough stretch recently so I think the guys showed a lot of character tonight, being able to come from behind to get the victory which, I think, was very deserved," said FCD coach Steve Morrow.
The first half of the game clearly belonged to the Crew, who outshot the visitors 13-5, putting eight of those attempts on target.
Backup goalkeeper Ray Burse handled the pressure fantastically, after giving up the only Crew goal in the 31st minute on a long-range strike from Eddie Gaven. After the Crew goal, however, the home side would not put another shot on target until the 76th minute as Dallas tightened the screws across the back line.
"The whole team needed to be picked up a little bit, and sometimes like that you hope you play out of it," said Burse of the team's first have performance. "We were hoping for a clean sheet but after letting in one goal we definitely did not want to concede any more than that."
For Burse, it was more than a bit of a homecoming. Just two years ago he was playing for Ohio State University, in Columbus, and earlier this year got his degree from the school. He made his league debut earlier this year, starting three games in a row in August, but had not started a game since Aug. 19, a 1-0 loss to Houston.
"We'd conceded some goals recently, and [Burse] has been working very hard in practice, and looking very sharp," said Morrow. "He deserved his chance tonight and took it very well."
It was obvious after the first 31 minutes of the game, though, that if Dallas was to win they would have to make some changes.
"I told them at half that we weren't getting close enough on our shots and we weren't defending well enough in 1-on-1 situations," said Morrow. "I challenged them in the locker room at the half and I think our defending was much better in the second half.
Dallas did manage to control the damage very effectively, and that was likely the turning point that allowed them to take three points away from the game.
"It was pretty much just about keeping my team in the game," said Burse. "It was terrible to give up one [goal] but I wasn't going to let it get past that, and in the second half we got the goals we needed."
Nathan Linton is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
