Facing a third game in eight days -- the first of those at home -- on Sunday evening at Pizza Hut Park, FC Dallas was looking to extend their winning streak. After 2-1 victories in Kansas City and Chicago, the Hoops just followed the trend when back home, defeating Real Salt Lake 2-1.
FCD got a pair of terrific goals, from Arturo Alvarez in the 26th minute and Chris Gbandi in the 82nd. RSL's lone goal came in the 69th minute when Freddy Adu converted a penalty kick for his first goal with his new side.
With Carlos Ruiz returning to the starting 11 for the first time in three games, Hoops head coach Steve Morrow employed a three-forward system for the first time this season. Along each side of Ruiz, he put Alvarez and speedy Dominic Oduro.
"I thought it worked well in the first half," Morrow said. "We've played more games than any other team in the league. It's been another three games in a week and two games in four days and I wanted to be able to freshen things up, give it that bit of life and that bit of energy by making a few changes and getting some fresh legs out there.
"We're a very deep team, very deep roster and we're going to need everyone throughout the season. I think it's important that, as much as possible, to try and keep everyone fit and sharp," Morrow continued. "I looked at Salt Lake and what they had to offer and playing Carlos up top and Dominic on one side of him and Arturo on the other side, I thought it worked very, very well in the first half and we were able to create a lot of chances."
Alvarez's goal came in just his third start of 2007 and first as a striker. He set up his first goal of 2007 by beating RSL's Mehdi Ballouchy and Jack Stewart, then dribbled his way into the box before taking a shot from about 16 yards out.
The other FCD goal was a long time coming for Gbandi. The veteran left back got a nice ball from Hoops midfielder Pablo Ricchetti and sent a blast from just outside the edge of the area that hit the upper corner of the frame and caromed into the back of the net. It was Gbandi's first goal since July 2, 2005, when he netted the last Dallas goal at the Cotton Bowl.
"It's been a while," he said. "To hit one like that and to get a win is big for this group. We struggled there at the end. With three games in eight days, you could tell that guys were a little tired. Guys were working hard to get that win. To get that win was big."
Besides Adu's goal in the 69th, another downer for FCD was when Ruiz was booked in the 73rd minute, giving him five yellow cards on the season. That means the Guatemalan international will miss next Saturday's game at Chivas USA.
"I was disappointed with it but I would like to look at the tape before I comment on it further," Morrow said. "It looked like a harsh yellow card. Unfortunately, he's going to miss our next game."
After Alvarez's goal, FCD controlled the run of play for the rest of the second half. But after the break, RSL took control and momentum shifted their way.
"We still didn't play our best for 90 minutes," said FCD right back Drew Moor. "We were very good in the first half and are giving away too many set pieces and too many opportunities."
FCD conceded 10 corner kicks to RSL after giving up 14 in a 2-1 win at Chicago on Thursday. That was clearly a concern.
"We have to cut back on that because goals come from the kinds of opportunities that we're giving up now," Moor said. "You can't have shutouts if you're giving up 14 corner kicks a game. I think that's probably where we're at for the last three games. It's another good result in our third game this week and we'll take the three points."
Gbandi admitted that FCD did get down a bit after Adu's equalizer but they quickly righted the ship.
"You get a little down because you dominate the game and then they get a play like that. But once the ball is kicked off, you can get two down and be losing the game," Gbandi said. "We knew we would get some opportunities and that it was a matter of just putting it away. But never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be the one to score. It was a good goal and is a big win for us."
Even though it has now been 16 games since FCD kept their last clean sheet, Morrow was quick to commend his back line.
"I think we have looked solid defensively, especially in the last two games," he said. "If you win two straight on the road, there can't be too much wrong defensively."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
