CURITIBA, Brazil - FC Dallas dropped the first-leg of the USA-Brazil Challenge by a score of 3-1 to Atletico Paranaense on Wednesday night at Kyocera Arena in Curitiba, Brazil. CAP scored twice in the first half and once in the second, with Ramon Nunez tallying the lone goal for FCD in the second half. The second-leg of the friendly competition between the two partner clubs will be played at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas on March 31.
"I thought for the most part it was a great experience for us," said FCD head coach Steve Morrow. "It's been a great trip and it was a good game to round off our trip. Having said that, I was slightly disappointed with our performance in the first half; just in the fact that we didn't perform as well as I know that we can. Like I said, it was a great experience and a great learning experience for our team to come in to a situation like this. We had a severe test in the first 30 minutes of the game and didn't really deal with it as well as we would have liked. But I think after we recovered from the initial 30 minutes there were a lot of positive things for the rest of the game."
"It's still early in our preseason - we're only halfway through our training program," added Morrow. "I think we've made a lot of new progress and at this stage, it's a great game for us and we take a lot out of it. I'd much rather play in big games like that and for the team to be challenged and tested than to play against lesser opposition. So from that point of view we take a lot out of it. We move forward and take the positives out of it, that we played a lot of good stuff and created a lot of good chances. I think the score line could have been different in the end."
"This gives us a lot of motivation. I said to the guys before the game that this is the first trophy of the season in many ways and a competition over two games, and we want to win that competition. I think this gives us a lot of motivation to go out in the second game and show more of what we can do and what we're capable of."
Atletico Paranaense took control of the game almost from the onset, keeping the ball on the Dallas defensive end for the first 25 minutes. Nine minutes in, CAP forward Denis Marques showed the first signs of having a good night, when he entered the Dallas area and ripped a shot that forced FCD keeper Dario Sala to leap high and to his left for the save.
CAP took seven corner kicks during the early minutes, and finally broke through with their first goal at the 11 minute mark. Forward Alex Mineiro took a shot that force Sala down for the save, however the shot was deflected by Dallas defender Chris Gbandi and fell right Denis Marques who was alone for the easy header and the 1-0 lead.
Dallas struggled to put consecutive passes together, as the CAP defense and midfield did well to keep the ball moving after recovering it. FCD entered the CAP area in the 18th minute, but a hard tackle on Gbandi near the endline disrupted the play. Gbandi would end up leaving the game a few minutes later with a severe left ankle sprain. He was taken to the hospital for ex-rays, which revealed he did not fracture a bone. He will be re-evaluated in Frisco on Friday when the team returns. No timeline has been established for his return.
CAP made the score 2-0 in the 21st minute. Denis Marques found himself past the Dallas defense on a one-on-one with Sala, who did well to save the point-blank shot. However, Marques and Dallas' Drew Moor battled for the rebound, and Moor was called for the foul inside the area. Alex Mineiro stepped up to take the penalty kick, hitting it hard past Sala's left.
Dallas began to look more comfortable after this point. Within a minute of the re-start, Carlos Ruiz, who wore the captain's armband, sent a ball back from the right endline across the top of the box to Arturo Alvarez, who one-timed a pass to the far right post. Kenny Cooper lunged forward but could not connect from four yards out. While FCD was able to move the ball around better for the final third of the half, the team could not find the final pass for dangerous opportunities.
Both teams came out strong in the second half, and it was CAP who created the first threatening chances. A few minutes in, Denis Marques nearly scored again but his bicycle attempt inside the area went just over the crossbar.
Dallas was able to build on the ball movement they had for the final third of the first half. At the 50th minute mark, Ramon Nunez had cut the lead in half with a finish inside the penalty box. Ruiz held a ball at the top of the CAP area and fed Juan Carlos Toja on the left side. Toja beat one man to take the ball close to the endline, and sent a pass across the goalmouth past the keeper where Nunez was able to reach forward unmarked to make the score 2-1.
In the 58th minute, FCD's Clarence Goodson was called for a foul inside the Dallas area, on the far right edge. Despite the protest from the FCD side, the penalty kick stood. Alex Mineiro once again stepped up to take the set piece, however his soft dribbling shot down the middle was stopped by Sala who had dived to his right but was able to stop the ball with his feet.
Still, CAP did not let up and a minute later, Sala was called to make a diving save to his left again. On the ensuing corner kick, Danilo Marcoa was unmarked at the far post and easily headed home the third CAP goal.
The end-to-end action continued, and Ruiz nearly scored off the re-start, however his shot hit the left post and bounced out.
Both team made numerous substitutions for the next 20 minutes, and though Dallas kept the ball on the offensive end, it could not get past the CAP defense to cut the lead any further.
The return-leg of the combined-goal series will be played at Pizza Hut Park on March 31. Should the series be tied after the second leg on total goals, the winner of the USA-Brazil Challenge will be determined by penalty kicks.
FCD will depart for Dallas on Thursday night. Up next for FCD is the Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup game against the Columbus Crew on Sunday, March 11 at Pizza Hut Park (5 p.m. LIVE on Fox Soccer Channel).
SCORING:
CAP - Denis Marques (Unassisted) 11'
CAP - Alex Mineiro (PK) 21'
FCD - Ramon Nunez (Juan Carlos Toja) 50'
CAP - Danilo Marcao 59'
FC DALLAS: Dario Sala (Ray Burse 66'), Chris Gbandi (David Wagenfuhr 22'), Clarence Goodson, Drew Moor, Alex Yi (Bobby Rhine 66'), Richard Mulrooney (Aaron Pitchkolan 82'), Juan Carlos Toja (Dax McCarty, Roberto Mina (Marcelo Saragos 66), Arturo Alvarez (Dominic Oduro 75'), Kenny Cooper (Ramon Nunez 46'), Carlos Ruiz (Abe Thompson 82').
CLUB ATLETICO PARANAENSE: Cleber (Vinicius 82'), Jancarlos (Eidmar 58'), Danilo Marcao (Lucas 82'), Michel (Stanley 82'), Alan Bahia, Erandir, Evandro (Dagoberto 70'), Ferreira (Valber 70'), Alex Mineiro (Paulo Rink 66'), Denis Marques (Dayro Moreno 66').
