With a weekend off looming and over a week before their next game, FC Dallas wanted to end the month of April in winning fashion and maintain their unbeaten record in MLS. But it was the New England Revolution who prevailed 1-0 thanks to a 72nd-minute goal by Khano Smith.
"We've got to pick ourselves up again," FCD head coach Steve Morrow said after the game. "We've had a good start and we're disappointed to give up our unbeaten run here at home. But we're playing well now and gaining confidence. So, we'll pick ourselves up and move on to the next one."
FCD had entered the evening as the only unbeaten side in MLS with a 2-0-2 record. And they hadn't allowed a goal in 252 minutes before Smith's strike in the second half. But Thursday's game came down to finishing. The Revs finished one of them while the Hoops failed to convert.
"We needed to get the ball in quicker at times, especially in the first half," Morrow said. "We got into a lot of good spots in the last third of the field and should have had a goal on a cross into the box. We talked about it at halftime and I think we did better in the second half. We dominated the game and we're very disappointed to lose it."
In Sunday's victory against Chivas USA, Morrow played a 3-4-3 with Ricardinho starting up top alongside Arturo Alvarez and Kenny Cooper. However, against New England, Morrow had 2007 all-star midfielder Juan Toja available and went back to a 3-5-2 with the Colombian international playing at the attacking spot just behind Alvarez and Cooper.
For the most part, the New England back line did a great shot of limiting Alvarez's and Cooper's chances as each finished with just one shot on the night.
"I thought New England defended very well," Morrow said. "They came in and had a gameplan to sit back and defend and a lot of credit to them for keeping a clean sheet. They defended superbly."
FCD's best chance of the opening half came in the 53rd minute when Toja got on the end of a Dax McCarty corner kick and hit a rocket toward the far side of the Revs goal but New England goalkeeper Matt Reis dove to keep the match scoreless.
The Hoops also had their share of late chances. Pablo Ricchetti, who didn't start for the second consecutive week but came on as a substitute in the 64th minute, nearly converted a long-range volley from about 35 yards out in the 90th minute but it went wide left.
And just before the final whistle, McCarty took a free kick to the left of the New England goal. With all 11 players forward seeking the equalizer, FCD defender Duilio Davino got his head onto the end of it but the ball went to the right of the goal.
"I thought we played well but it doesn't really matter," FCD defender Drew Moor said. "At the end of the night, you've got to get the result. We gave up a soft goal. We had most of the possession, created most of the chances but at the end of the day, it wasn't good enough. It's a tough one going into the off weekend."
The FCD locker room was a gloomy place after the defeat.
"It's bad enough losing here at home," said a disappointed Alvarez. "We should have shown a lot more. New England really didn't come out and play soccer. They didn't get a lot of scoring chances and took advantage of one."
But with more than a week until the Hoops next play again on Saturday at San Jose, they have time to regroup. However, the result will sting a bit, especially with the off weekend looming.
"We've just got to keep moving forward and keep our heads high," Alvarez said. "Soccer is that kind of game, with ups and downs. As long as we keep playing the way we've been playing prior to this game, we're going to be good."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
