If FC Dallas is playing the Colorado Rapids, then it must mean Ramon Nunez will be the centerpiece of the FCD attack. And so it was again Sunday afternoon at Pizza Hut Park as Nunez scored twice in leading his team to a 3-1 victory against the Rapids.
Nunez, who was voted Man of the Match and led the Hoops with five shots on the afternoon, scored in the 29th and 78th minutes, giving the Dallas native five goals in his last three regular season games against the Rapids.
It was a great way for Nunez to cap off an interesting week. Following last Sunday's 3-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls, he flew to Houston from New York. Then, on Monday morning, he flew to his native Honduras to begin the process of receiving his green card.
Nunez returned to Frisco on Friday and trained with the team on Saturday morning. While FCD head coach Steve Morrow earlier in the week admitted that he might be a bit hesitant to play his young midfielder, a quick meeting with Nunez changed his outlook.
"I had a talk with him the first thing on Saturday morning and he was desperate to play," Morrow said. "That's all I had to hear from him. He kept himself fit during the week while he was down there and kept active. That was a good thing. He really wanted to play and I had no hesitation.
"I told him when he came back on Friday night that it was questionable if I was going to start him. He'd been away all week and it was a great effort for him to come back and play that well with having not trained all week," Morrow continued. "I think he played well throughout the game. He got in good positions and was hard for the Colorado midfielders to pick up."
Although he can't explain it, Nunez admits that he has a knack for scoring against the Rapids.
"I don't know what it is," he said. "I just seem to like scoring against Colorado. It was a very busy week for me. I was down in Honduras trying to get my green card and was able to do that and get that out of the way. I came back on Friday and trained on Saturday. I felt good and sharp. We decided then that I was ready to start."
Nunez's first goal came after he ran onto a pass from Dax McCarty just outside the penalty area. He juked past Brandon Prideaux and knocked a shot past Colorado goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul to make it 1-0. He was quick to credit McCarty and the rest of his fellow midfielders for the goal.
"I felt like the midfield - Juan (Toja), Dax (McCarty) and I - worked well together," Nunez said. "We moved the ball very well and I think that's what opened Colorado up a bit and allowed us to get our spaces."
Nunez admitted that as the game reached its final moments, he did start to feel a bit tired from spending most of the week in Honduras and traveling back on Friday.
"Towards the end of the game, I started to feel it a little bit," he said. "I just had to fight through it. I was able to get two goals to help the team, which is the most important thing, to get the win."
The second Nunez goal came on a free kick in the 78th minute, with the score tied 1-1 after Jovan Kirovski pulled the Rapids level just five minutes after Nunez opened the scoring. He hooked his effort around the wall and though Coundoul was able to get a hand to it, he wasn't able to push the ball outside of the far post.
"I saw on the previous free kicks that he (Condoul) was cheating a little bit to his right," Nunez said. "So, I decided that if I placed it hard and low that it had a chance of going in. I was lucky that it went in."
Morrow was also quick to commend McCarty for his play on Sunday.
"I thought he played very well," Morrow said. "He is getting more comfortable on the ball. At times, he can move it a bit quicker. He is playing maturely for a young kid. He is very composed on the ball and I think he's going to get better."
For McCarty, it all boils down to one thing -- getting more comfortable on the field. "I talked with Steve and (assistant coach) Oscar (Pareja) before the game and maybe my first couple of games, I was sitting in, doing the simple things right and playing a bit defensive," McCarty said.
"I talked to them before this game and told them that I could really help the team more by going forward. I really feel more comfortable being that two-way midfielder that I know I can be. They gave me free rein to do my thing tonight. I really felt comfortable out there. It just feels great to play well for the team and to get three points, which is the most important thing."
Even though he got his first career MLS assist on Nunez's first goal, McCarty was quick to diminish the magnitude of that helper.
"It's a great feeling," McCarty said. "It's something you don't want to dwell on too much as a midfielder when you're going to get that first goal or assist. The play opened up for me and I had two options, to my right and to my left and ultimately, it opened up where Ramon (Nunez) was wide open.
"I could have taken my shot but made the right decision to play it to Ramon because he's a great finisher. Luckily, he took care of the rest and put it in the back of the net for us."
Interestingly enough, star striker Carlos Ruiz did not feature much in the game, with just one shot in all. Morrow brought on the speedy Dominic Oduro for Ruiz in the 68th minute and just 15 minutes later, Oduro scored his second career MLS goal.
"Carlos had a little bit of a tight hamstring in training all week and was a bit questionable going into the game," Morrow said. "I was a little concerned about it to be honest and I think it showed in his performance. I don't think he was himself today.
"So, I was protecting his injury and he wasn't playing great either. It was a simple decision for me," Morrow continued. "I felt that Dominic Oduro coming on would give us fresh legs on top. He is someone that would run behind their defense, which worked out well."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
