and then from nearly an impossible angle beyond the right-hand post, somehow slipped through a defender's legs and inside the far side netting (24).
• But the Galaxy equalized four minutes before the break with a wonderful goal. A 12-pass sequence from their own half concluded with Cobi Jones in the left side of the area, and his angled shot beat FCD 'keeper Dario Sala. But Chris Gbandi had tracked back to clear the shot off the line -- but only as far as Robbie Findley, who knocked home the rebound from close range.
• FC Dallas regained the lead in the 54th minute. Galaxy defender Ty Harden tripped up Dominic Oduro in the area, and Abe Thompson converted from the spot for his second goal of the season. Drew Moor then finished off the match for FCD in the 73rd minute, when he got onto the end of a Dax McCarty free kick sent in from the right and dove to head home from inside the goal area for his second career goal as a professional.
• The game ended on a sour note when Galaxy center back Tyrone Marshall was sent off after a tackle on FCD striker Kenny Cooper. The incident left Cooper with a fractured right tibia; he is expected to miss as much as a couple of months.
• With few options, Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop still had to make two changes to the team that played to a scoreless draw against D.C. United the weekend before. Ian Russell was out injured and Landon Donovan away with the U.S. national team for the Gold Cup. Kyle Martino returned from suspension as Nathan Sturgis dropped back to right back, while Robbie Findley made his third start of the year.
• Here's Yallop's team (4-4-2): Joe Cannon - Nathan Sturgis, Tyrone Marshall, Kyle Veris, Ty Harden - Cobi Jones, Kyle Martino, Peter Vagenas, Santino Quaranta (Mike Randolph 82) - Robbie Findley, Nate Jaqua (Quavas Kirk 72). Substitutes Not Used: Steve Cronin, Troy Roberts, Josh Tudela
• "We're having a rough stretch right now. It seems like everyone has that attitude when someone scores first or we miss some good chances, it's like here we go again," said midfielder Kyle Martino. "We have some confidence issues and are doubting that we're a good team right now. Everyone is disappointed. We need to try and find some positives this week in training to bring that attitude and that bite that wasn't there tonight for everyone."
TEAM NEWS
• Findley's goal gave the Galaxy a boost heading into the locker room for the halftime interval, but the penalty kick shortly after the break sent momentum the other way.
• "It was a great response," said Martino. "It was the first time we got the ball down and started to move it. The mood after that was great. We were flying around and doing all the things we should have been doing from the start of the game." Said Santino Quaranta: "We were doing well for a while. I thought the crucial point was not getting a second goal after we took it to them a little bit. Once we didn't get that, it took the wind out of us and we let down a little bit."
• Then after the penalty, the Galaxy lost their way and the third goal finished off the match. "The momentum continued through until the PK and then it felt like everyone dropped down to where we were after that first goal," Martino said. "It's unfortunate to have two or three different teams out there when you're watching the game. We have to make sure that we have consistency and bring the right attitude."
• A year ago, the Galaxy failed to make the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in club history. They desperately wanted to get off to a good start this season, but the postseason could already be slipping away.
• "I think we have to look at ourselves and figure out what we need to do because this just isn't good enough," Quaranta said. "Hopefully, we can figure it out. We're in a tough predicament right now. Everybody needs to look in the mirror right now and figure out what we need to do."
• The first of the long-awaited reinforcements should begin to arrive this week, as Abel Xavier is expected to be available for the RSL match. The Portuguese international defender has been training the team and should be active now that the MLS international window has reopened.
• In addition, the Galaxy dealt Tyrone Marshall to Toronto FC for striker Edson Buddle. Marshall had been with the Galaxy since 2002, obtained in the dispersal/allocation draft after the closing of the Miami and Tampa Bay clubs. Buddle had yet to score for TFC this season, after being acquired from the New York Red Bulls in the offseason; Marshall did have a goal in eight appearances for the Galaxy.
• Buddle, 26, has played a total of 144 games with the Columbus Crew, New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC, scoring 48 goals. "Edson is a proven goalscorer as well as being a solid young player in this league," Yallop said. "We feel that he is a good fit for the club and look to get him back scoring goals regularly."
REAL SALT LAKE
Real Salt Lake were left still searching for their first victory of 2007, FC Dallas once again getting a dramatic late goal to snatch a 1-0 victory at Rice-Eccles Stadium on MLS Primetime Thursday. Real have six points from 10 matches on the season, level with the Los Angeles Galaxy at the foot of the Western Conference table, eight points behind fourth-place Chivas USA and 16 out of first place.
LAST MATCH
• FC Dallas had put an end to a brief two-game losing skid with a victory against Los Angeles the weekend before, while RSL was returning to league action after a weekend off, having drawn four of five matches with Jason Kreis in charge, though still looking for a first win on the campaign.
• Both goalkeepers were put to the test. Nick Rimando was called upon to make five of his 10 saves in the first half, including three on Arturo Alvarez in short order midway through the period. FCD 'keeper Dario Sala made a terrific reaction save on Alecko Eskandarian after the break, and defender Chris Gbandi made a last-ditch dive to head away a cross with Chris Klein all alone at the back post.
• The Hoops brought out a couple more saves by Rimando over the final minutes, but just when it seemed another scoreless draw was inevitable, Sala whacked a goal kick downfield and it was headed on by Marcelo Saragosa. Dominic Oduro held off a stumbling Jack Stewart, composed himself, waited for the right bounce in the area and lashed home a volley inside the far post for the winner in the third minute of stoppage time.
• It was the third time in the last four games in Salt Lake City that FCD has snatched a result in stoppage time. In the season opener this year, Carlos Ruiz scored the equalizer two minutes into added time for a 2-2 draw. Almost exactly a year ago, on July 22, Abe Thompson got behind the Real defense for the game's only goal three minutes after the full 90 had expired.
• RSL head coach Jason Kreis made just one personnel change to the team that played to a scoreless draw with the New England Revolution on June 2, but made a fundamental tactical shift. Jean-Martial Kipré returned to the lineup, coming back in for Nik Besagno in the back four.
• Here's Kreis' team (4-2-3-1): Nick Rimando - Jean-Martial Kipre (Chris Brown 69), Eddie Pope, Jack Stewart, Willis Forko - Atiba Harris, Chris Lancos (Andy Williams 46) - Chris Klein, Mehdi Ballouchy, Freddy Adu - Alecko Eskandarian. Substitutes Not Used: Nikolas Besagno, Kenny Cutler, Christian Jimenez, Chris Seitz, Daniel Torres
• "I was displeased with the first 45 minutes, to be honest. I thought that our team didn't come out with the right mentality and I felt that looking at the first 45 minutes I would have said that Dallas looked like the home team. So I was obviously very displeased with it, and I was quite clear about that at halftime," Kreis said.
TEAM NEWS
• While the names were the same, Kreis significantly adjusted his formation for the match. Freddy Adu and Chris Klein were pushed farther forward, still in wide positions off spearhead striker Alecko Eskandarian, with Mehdi Ballouchy playing underneath. Atiba Harris, nominally a striker, moved into a holding midfield role alongside Chris Lancos.
• After the break, Kreis began by readjusting his lines, bringing on Andy Williams for Lancos. "Then we shifted our formation at halftime and brought Andy Williams in. I think both things helped us out. In the second half I was fairly pleased with what we did. We created a few good chances that I thought we should have taken. And obviously I'm unsure about what happened at the end of the game," Kreis said.
• It was yet another heartbreaking result against Dallas - much like the Carlos Ruiz equalizer that took away a victory in the season opener. RSL is still looking for that first win, and felt after a victory against the Chinese national team in a friendly over their weekend away from league play that it was on the horizon.
• "Mentally, this is another tough situation for the team because we have felt like we've built so much going forward," Kreis said. "We have felt like we've put in a lot of good work over the past month to avoid situations like this."
• It was another quality performance for goalkeeper Nick Rimando, who followed a club record 13-save performance in the scoreless draw with New England two weeks earlier with 10 saves against FCD. "It was outstanding again. Nick Rimando, by my count, probably made four incredible saves for us and really kept us in that game. So obviously for him I'm the most disappointed because I think he had another special game and deserved better," Kreis said.
• Kreis will be watching the Galaxy match from the stands, after being sent off late in the match, following a challenge by Clarence Goodson on Harris right on the edge of the area after he seemed to be clear through on goal in the final minutes of regulation play. "Obviously, it was something that I felt very vehemently about, I felt very strongly about, and I think my actions showed that," Kreis said.
• The 10 games without a victory is the longest such run to start a season in league history, now two more than the eight-game skid the Galaxy endured in 2003 - all on the road while The Home Depot Center was being completed.
• "It's frustrating. We come out and we want three points and we're at home and we're pushing the game. We need to get more opportunities and get some better chances and definitely not give so many chances up," Rimando said. "[FC Dallas] had a lot of shots on goal and defensively, we can't do that. The result speaks for itself; we didn't get the result we wanted. We didn't get one point at home and we have to do that."
