Florianopolis, Brazil - FC Dallas ended its preseason series of games in Brazil with a 3-1 loss to Serie-B side Avai FC in a game played at Estadio da Ressacada in Florianopolis, Brazil on Saturday afternoon. Avai opened the scoring with a 30-yard blast and then scored again off a questionable penalty kick to start the second half. FCD's Kenny Cooper cut the lead in half with a header 20 minutes from the end. However, following several missed chances by FCD to tie the game, Avai took advantage of being up a man and closed the scoring with five minutes to play.
"It was a frustrating way to end the trip, but I don't think the result is too important today," said FC Dallas head coach Steve Morrow following the game. "The referee was suspect to say the least, so much so that we almost took the team off the field toward the end of the game, that's how bad it was. But we took a lot of positives and we'll try to ignore the result."
FC Dallas began the game with a slightly different formation than it used for the last game against Atletico Paranaense. Ray Burse began in goal behind a three-man backline of Blake Wagner on the left, Alex Yi in the middle, and Andrew Daniels on the right. The midfield saw Michael Dello-Russo on the right, Eric Avila and Anthony Wallace in the middle, and Brek Shea on the left. Instead of a withdrawn forward, FCD started with three forwards, with Abe Thompson in the center and Dominic Oduro and Ibee Ibrahim on either side.
The referee made his presence felt from the onset, whistling FCD for six fouls in the first five minutes of the game. Though Avai kept possession on their offensive end for the first quarter hour, it was FCD that created the first two dangerous chances.
Ten minutes in, Abe Thompson took a hard shot from a tight angle on the right, seeing his shot sail inches above the crossbar. Three minutes later, Thompson sprung Dominic Oduro alone at goal on the right side. Again from a tight angle, Oduro tried to beat the keeper low to the far side, only to see his shot go wide by less than a foot.
In the 29th minute, after another questionable call against FCD, Avai took advantage to open the scoring. Taking a quick re-start 40 yards from goal, Avai's Hegon took two touches towards goal and unleashed a shot from 30 yards out that simultaneously nicked the underside of the crossbar and right post before hitting the back of the net.
FCD came out strong to start the second half, Anthony Wallace setting the tone by ripping a long-range shot off the cross bar. His shot was followed by attempts from Thompson and Blake Wagner, both causing diving saves by the Avai keeper.
Despite the strong start, Avai made it 2-0 on another questionable call. Michael Dello-Russo stepped in front of an Avai forward inside the Dallas area and touched the ball back to keeper Dan Kennedy. The referee apparently saw something else, and whistled a penalty kick, to the surprise of both teams. Avai's Nicolas converted by slowly chipping the ball down the center of the goal as Kennedy dove to his right.
"It was frustrating to lose the game" added Morrow. "But I was very pleased with a lot from the game, especially the young boys, who played very, very mature. We had a lot of good performances from the young kids, so we take a lot of positives from the game."
Nine of the 10 field players were changed following 60 minutes. Less then two minutes after entering, Kenny Cooper headed home a David Wagenfuhr cross to cut the lead in half.
FCD continued the pressure, creating three scoring chances over the next 10 minutes. Bobby Rhine sent a cross from the right side to the far post, where Aaron Pitchkolan's diving header from five yards out hit the side net. A few minutes later, Ricardinho's open header from six yards out also sailed wide left.
On the next sequence, Ricardinho went in towards goal on the left side, but his close-range shot was saved by the keeper. The ball bounced to the top of the six, but Chase Wileman's shot was cleared off the line by an out-stretched defender.
The whistles continued, and in the 83rd minute, Pablo Ricchetti was shown a red card. Within a minute, Avai found space down the left side and the cross to the far post was met by Ildemar for the easy touch in.
FCD will fly back to Dallas on Monday afternoon, arriving at DFW Airport on Tuesday morning. Up next for the team is a scrimmage against the University of Tulsa on March 13 (2 pm CT) on the adidas Field at Pizza Hut Park, followed by the FC Dallas Foundation Charity Game against the LA Galaxy on March 15 inside the stadium (7:30 p.m.).
SCORING SUMMARY:
AVA - Hegon 29'
AVA - Nicolas (PK) 49'
FCD - Cooper (Wagenfuhr) 72'
AVA - Ildemar 84'
FC DALLAS (3-4-3): 30-Ray Burse (42-Dan Kennedy 46'), 27-Andrew Daniels (14-Drew Moor 75'), 21-Alex Yi, 23-Blake Wagner (Aaron Pitchkolan 75'), 2-Michael Dello-Russo (19-Bobby Rhine 65'), 24-Eric Avila (6-Pablo Ricchetti 66'), 26-Anthony Wallace (5-Marcelo Saragosa 70'), 20-Brek Shea (16-David Wagenfuhr 65'), 18-Abdus Ibrahim (28-Chase Wileman 55'), 7-Abe Thompson (33-Kenny Cooper 70'), 25-Dominic Oduro (10-Ricardinho 70')
AVAI FC (3-5-2): 1-André (22-Diogo 85'), 2-Douglas (16-Ildemar 60'), 3-Cleyton, 4-Luiz Ricardo') (13-Jhonny 86, 5-Marcos Eliseu, 6-Jeff Silva, 7-Alexsander (14-Tarcisio 80'), 8-Cleberson (15-Felipe 80'), 9-Nicolas (18-Laercio 85'), 10-Hegon, 11-Everton
