COLUMBUS - The joy of last weekend's playoff-clinching victory by FC Dallas was crushed by the Columbus Crew on a dreary Saturday night at Crew Stadium.
Joseph Ngwenya put the Ohio outfit ahead with a timely volley midway through the first half. Down to the Crew by one goal at the break, FC Dallas were done in by lady luck early in the second half. A cross by Ramon Nunez that was looking for Carlos Ruiz was deflected by Crew defender Rusty Pierce. The ball struck the crossbar to keep FC Dallas behind by a goal.
Several minutes later, Carlos Ruiz went in alone and beat Crew netminder Bill Gaudette. However, a hustling Pierce cleared the ball off the line. Before FC Dallas realized what happened, Jacob Thomas doubled the Crew advantage with a booming free kick.
"In the second half, one-nil down, Carlos had a one-on-one," said FC Dallas coach Colin Clarke. "The momentum swung the other way and they go down and score."
Jason Garey would further extend the lead before Ruiz pulled one back late in the match.
The loss handed the Supporters' Shield to D.C. United, but more importantly, it kept FC Dallas from securing home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
To Clarke, the result was a letdown because of his squad's failure to put its chances away.
"I thought we played well in the first half and knocked it around. We created some other good stuff," said Clarke. "I was very disappointed to lose 3-1."
Due to stormy weather in Columbus, the match started about 40 minutes late and puddles of water were visible in the middle third of the field.
Although the Crew seemed much more at home on the wet field, the FC Dallas boss thought neither the weather nor the delay were involved in the loss.
"The delay had nothing to do with it (the loss)," said Clarke. "We had good chances and we didn't take them."
John Kuhn is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
