FC Dallas head coach Colin Clarke is thrilled to be heading back home with an advantage.
A year ago, the Hoops played to a scoreless draw in Denver - but were then held to a 2-2 tie in Frisco before losing to the Colorado Rapids on penalty kicks in the conference semifinals. This year, FCD has a one-goal margin after a 2-1 first-leg victory Saturday against the Rapids in their Western Conference Semifinal Series at Invesco Field at Mile High.
"I thought our boys were absolutely magnificent. They showed a lot of character. We got the early goal and then they came at us and caused us some problems," Clarke said. "But we held in there and come out in the second half and did a great job. It's halftime and we are 2-1 up. There is still a long way to go. We will be focused next week."
After missing four games with a calf injury, Clarke decided earlier on Saturday to re-insert Dario Sala into the lineup in goal. Sala responded with six saves -- including three, one on Martins and two on Nicolas Hernandez, in a key stretch at the end of the first half.
"I thought [Sala] was brilliant and made some great saves," Clarke said. "He was unlucky with the goal but I think he made some big saves.
Said Sala: "It was a good comeback for me. I returned the confidence that the coaching staff had in me. I wanted to win this game for my team and all the people in Dallas who have supported me. Fortunately I had a couple of saves early that kept us in this game."
Sala's saves -- one against Hernandez just before the halftime break was a stunning kick save from close range -- set the stage for Abe Thompson's game-winning goal 10 minutes into the second half.
"Someone got the ball out wide to me and I tried to cut inside but slipped. When I slipped the defender stepped off of me a little. I looked up and Abe had about 10 yards of space on the back post," said Ronnie O'Brien. "I thought he was offside but I was able to get the ball to him. He had a great touch and a great finish so he gets all the accolades for the game-winning goal."
Said Thompson: "A couple of guys made runs inside so I drifted outside and nobody marked me. [Ronnie] O'Brien played a great ball. It's just up to me to keep my composure. The 'keeper came out and left the far post open. It's a simple finish really."
Although the statistics favored the Rapids, the scoreboard did not. The 2-1 loss at home puts the Rapids in a deep hole in the series heading to Pizza Hut Park for the return match.
"We just did not get any breaks out there tonight," said Rapids head coach Fernando Clavijo.
Indeed, for most of the first half the Rapids controlled the offensive flow of the game, and over the course of the contest fired 17 shots to six for FC Dallas. But excellent goalkeeping by Dario Sala, who made several key saves in the first half, kept the Rapids from taking a lead. And in the second half the Rapids seemed to run out of offensive ideas.
"There was a lack of creativity out there," said Rapids goal-scorer Terry Cooke. "After we evened things up, Dallas just seemed to sit back and we got a little desperate at times on offense. We just kept pounding the ball up there and did not try to possess the ball at all."
Both of Dallas' goals came against the run of play, sandwiched between several Rapids chances. But nothing the Rapids tried worked either off set pieces (where several headers and free kicks went just over the bar) or from the run of play (where Sala seemed to always be perfectly placed).
"I think it's kind of a microcosm of our whole season," said goalkeeper Joe Cannon. "It's an unlucky break from the referee and then we can't finish the ball and make some critical mistakes on defense. Dallas had a couple of chances tonight and I think we gave it to them."
So what needs to change for the Rapids to have success in the return leg?
"I'm not quite sure to be honest," said Cooke, who was named the Rapids' playmaker of the year at halftime. "We need more passion and more possession."
But with the late ejection of Thiago Martins, a major component of the Rapids attack will be missing.
"We still have one more game. It's like we are at halftime and are down a goal," said Cannon. "Instead of 45 minutes we have 90 minutes. We are going to take the next couple of days to regroup. At 1-1 we felt like we had them on the ropes."
Added Clavijo: "We have 90 more minutes in Dallas and hopefully we get the breaks in Dallas. There is nothing else we can do with this game. We need to win and that is exactly what we are going to try to do when we go to Dallas."
Geoffrey Urland is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
