Dominic Oduro came off the bench and scored two goals in a nine-minute span to lead FC Dallas to a come-from-behind 2-1 win against Real Salt Lake and give Marco Ferruzzi a victory in his first game as head coach, in a game where both teams were reduced to 10 men.
After Fabian Espindola put RSL ahead in the 69th minute, Oduro headed home a cross in the 83rd minute to bring FCD level. Then a minute into stoppage time Oduro slipped past RSL defender Nat Borchers and slotted the ball home for the game-winner.
The visitors were the first side to go a man down after left back Ian Joy was sent off in the 38th minute after receiving his second yellow in a span of 10 minutes. With Tony Beltran away with the U.S. under-23 team at a tournament in France, Joy got the nod at left back, his first action since April 26 at D.C. United.
Joy's first yellow came in the 18th minute after FCD forward Kenny Cooper stepped around him and Joy tackled him hard after he was past. He then brought Cooper hard down yet again, this time just outside the Hoops box, and he was summarily ejected.
However, any advantage that FCD had didn't last long as during first half stoppage time, midfielder Bobby Rhine was sent off for violent conduct after delivering a blow near the throat of RSL midfielder Javier Morales.
FCD was playing their first game after head coach Steve Morrow was relieved of his duties on Tuesday following a 5-1 loss to the L.A. Galaxy on Sunday at Pizza Hut Park. Interim head coach Ferruzzi made several changes to the lineup, sitting midfielder Juan Toja and forward Arturo Alvarez.
Ferruzzi went with Marcelo Saragosa in the central midfield for Toja. Anthony Wallace got his second starting nod in a row on the left side while Rhine started on the right side after playing the second half against the Galaxy. The Hoops also made one change in the back, an alternation necessitated when center back Adrian Serioux received a red card against L.A. His replacement was Aaron Pitchkolan, who made his first start of the year at that spot.
RSL head coach Jason Kreis also made several changes, bringing Robbie Findley in up top for Espindola, as well as Joy. Playmaking midfielder Morales, who leads the team with four assists this season, recovered from a groin injury enough to start.
The home side nearly drew first blood in the opening minute of play. Cooper found himself the beneficiary of a turnover inside the RSL box. The Dallas native got a shot off but it was right at Rimando.
Cooper got another chance in the 13th minute when Rhine spotted him streaking toward the far post. Unfortunately for the home crowd, his header went wide left and into the side of the goal netting.
The 25th minute saw a flurry of activity for both sides. A header by Findley went wide right to start the sequence. Then, a shot by Cooper sailed to the right of the opposing goal and a 27th-minute volley by RSL striker Kenny Deuchar went high. Another shot by Deuchar in the 34th was right at Sala, who made the easy save.
Kreis made one change to start the second half, bringing on Kenny Cutler for Findley, a defensive move clearly made to help preserve the draw and to leave Frisco with at least a point. The RSL coach made another change in the 54th, bringing on Espindola for Deuchar.
Abe Thompson was especially active for the Hoops early on in the second half. In the 56th minute, he hit a nice header but it was directly at Rimando. In the 58th, he received a nice cross and headed the ball toward the middle of the box but Rocha's timing was off by mere seconds and the two weren't able to hook up.
RSL took the lead on Espindola's third goal of the year on the visitors' first shot of the second half. Espindola, who came on in the 54th minute, flicked the ball to Morales and dashed up the left flank for the return pass. He then drove an angled shot from left past FCD goalkeeper Dario Sala inside the far post.
FCD outshot RSL by a 10-2 margin in the second half, but it took until the 83rd minute for the Hoops to break through. Moor's long ball was met by the leaping Oduro in the area, and the Ghanaian's second goal of the year made it 1-1.
Then in stoppage time, FCD midfielder Andre Rocha hit a well-placed ball into the box and Oduro beat RSL's Nat Borchers to the ball before cutting to his right. With Rimando at his mercy, he placed it perfectly inside the right post for the match-winner.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
