After a disappointing conclusion to their SuperLiga run, FC Dallas responded from a wild 6-5 defeat by the Los Angeles Galaxy to return to league play with a 1-0 defeat of the Colorado Rapids on Saturday evening at Pizza Hut Park.
"I'm very pleased with the 1-0 win tonight," said FCD head coach Steve Morrow. "A lot of credit to the boys -- we had a lot of tired legs out there. We have had three very tough games in SuperLiga and knew there would be a hangover from them because it was such a tough stretch for us.
"Colorado threw a lot at us and had a lot of offense on the field at the end. We did well in the first half but couldn't control the ball as well in the second half and that might have eased the pressure on us a little bit," Morrow continued. "It was a great effort from the boys. We did what we had to do and defended well. It was a big, important win for us."
FC Dallas last lost a league game on June 17. But after two wins and two draws heading into SuperLiga, the Hoops played to draws against a pair of Mexican clubs in Guadalajara and Pachuca before the loss to the Galaxy that eliminated them.
"Obviously, it's good to get three points at home after we haven't played a league game in a while," Hoops right back Drew Moor said. "We still feel like put together a more complete game for 90 minutes. There were times there in the second half where we didn't keep the ball well enough and fortunately, we were able to absorb the pressure."
FCD got the game's lone tally from Moor in the 31st minute. Dax McCarty drove a line-drive free kick from about 40 yards out on the left. McCarty's kick bounced near the six-yard box and flew over Colorado 'keeper Bouna Coundoul, where Moor came in all alone at the far post to head it home for his second goal of the season.
"It was very similar to my first goal of the season," Moor said. "Dax swung a ball in over the back post. We have a couple of different moves that we can do and a lot of them lead to me moving around the back post to clean up. Fortunately, I was in a good spot and had lost my man. In the end, it was an easy tap-in."
Hoops head coach had to make gameday decisions on three of his starters -- center back Clarence Goodson, forward Carlos Ruiz and goalkeeper Dario Sala. All but Sala were cleared to play -- but his replacement in goal, Ray Burse, performed well. Burse, who was making his MLS debut, made four saves and helped FCD keep a clean sheet.
"A lot of credit to him -- he made some great saves," Morrow said about Burse's performance. "I can think of three or four big saves he made that kept us in the game. He might have showed his inexperience as well, but I have nothing but praise for him."
Burse had played in a pair of friendlies against Tigres UANL in the Rio Grande Plate, and then made his full first-team debut in the SuperLiga opener against Chivas de Guadalajara, a 1-1 tie.
"A shutout is always good," Burse said. "I felt like I did well on some chances but there are other things that I still feel like I definitely need to work on. This is a great learning opportunity and I will just move on from this."
In addition, FCD was aided by the return of McCarty to the starting 11. The second-year midfielder made his first start since June 13 after spending late June and much of July with the U.S. team at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada.
"Dax played very well," Morrow said. "He tired a little bit toward the end. He hasn't had as much football lately as he would have liked, so he's probably a little short on match fitness. I thought he showed a lot of quality on the ball, especially in the first half."
Morrow was also quick to credit his young midfielder for his service on a couple of set pieces, including the one that led to FCD's only goal.
"We put in some good deliveries I thought and put them under pressure, especially in the first half," he said. "It was a great ball from Dax on the goal that we scored."
With the win, FCD is now 8-0-3 against the Rapids in their last 11 regular season games. In their last 12 league games in Dallas, the Hoops hold a 10-0-2 mark against the Rapids, with Colorado's last win on the road against Dallas coming on May 5, 2001, when they scored a 1-0 win against the then-Burn at the Cotton Bowl.
On Tuesday, FCD will face USL First Division side Charleston Battery in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C. (6:30 p.m. CT). The Hoops return to MLS action next Saturday when they play host to the Columbus Crew (7:30 p.m. CT; FSC/FSE).
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
