who was at the heart of all the dangerous moments for FCD on the night -- knocked the penalty off the inside of the post, across the line and in for his first MLS goal.
• Then in the 87th minute, Toronto defender Joey Melo wrapped up FCD striker Dominic Oduro as he tried to round him in the box, and Thompson converted this time to finish off the match.
• Toronto had, once again, done everything but score. In the 84th minute Collin Samuel leapt at a rebound in the area and sent it goalward, but somehow FCD 'keeper Dario Sala came flying across to push the ball away with his left palm, and ensure TFC's MLS-record goalless streak would be at 732 minutes by game's end.
• TFC head coach Mo Johnston made two changes to the team that lost 1-0 at home to D.C. United the previous Saturday. Andrew Boyens returned from injury into central defense and Andrea Lombardo came back into the attack, as Carl Robinson was away on international duty with Wales and Danny Dichio out to injury.
• Here's Johnston's team (4-4-2): Kenny Stamatopoulos - Adam Braz (Joey Melo 72), Andrew Boyens, Tyrone Marshall, Jim Brennan - Marvell Wynne, Maurice Edu, Chris Pozniak, Todd Dunivant - Andrea Lombardo (Miguel Canizalez 82), Collin Samuel. Substitutes Not Used: Nana Attakora-Gyan, Gabe Gala, Tyler Hemming, David Monsalve, Marco Reda
• "You always think you have a chance," Johnston said. "I felt we performed well, considering we are missing five or six starters from the team. It bodes well, but of course, we need to score goals. We were pushing hard but it was unfortunate that we just couldn't get them."
TEAM NEWS
• TFC's MLS-record scoreless streak was extended to 732 minutes, as for the eighth consecutive match, the Reds walked off the field without a goal.
• "The guys are gutted," Johnston said. "It's a shame because we should have had something from the game tonight, maybe a point. I don't think Dallas performed very well. We got behind them numerous times but we just couldn't score."
• "We had 11 chances today," said TFC defender Jim Brennan. "If we would have gotten one, that would have carried on and we would have gotten a few more. We had our share of chances and if we had put them away, we would have had the game."
• Toronto FC have now allowed six penalties on the season, most of any MLS club. In all, 41 penalties have been awarded in league games (through Sept. 10) this season.
• "We thought that the first one was offside and they got the penalty (kick) after that. The second goal, fair enough, it was a penalty. We had our share of chances and if we had put them away, we would have had the game," Brennan said. "We worked hard together as a unit but it's just one of those things. We're in a slump at the moment and things aren't going our way. We've got good character and spirit here and will come out of it."
• The game was nearly a repeat performance from their last outing, a 1-0 loss at home to D.C. United two weeks ago. On that occasion, TFC owned the run of the play over the entire 90 minutes, but United made their one chance -- a sixth-minute goal from Fred -- stand up.
• "If you look at our last three games, we have had the majority of play and chances," defender Tyrone Marshall said. "It happens where we get the majority of chances but can't score and that's how football is."
• Also, just before the match, it was announced Danny Dichio will miss 2-4 weeks with a foot injury suffered during training. TFC has been outscored 14-1 in matches the English forward has missed, and it was Dichio who snapped Toronto's season-opening 383 scoreless streak with the opening strike in TFC's 3-1 win against Chicago on May 12 -- also the first goal in club history, and the first of Dichio's team-leading five goals.
REAL SALT LAKE
Real Salt Lake once again took a first-place club to the limit before succumbing, falling 2-1 to D.C. United in a wild match on Wednesday evening at RFK Stadium. Real have 18 points from 23 matches, still in fifth place in the Western Conference, a point ahead of the Los Angeles Galaxy ahead of their MLS Primetime Thursday match and 11 points out of the final postseason spot.
LAST MATCH
• D.C. United came in riding an eight-game unbeaten streak as they raced away from the rest of the field in the chase for the Supporters' Shield, while Real Salt Lake had seen their modest two-game winning streak - a season-first - put to an end in a 4-3 loss to Western leaders Houston Dynamo the weekend before.
• Real created most of the early chances - many through Alecko Eskandarian, making his return to the club where he started his career - but United took the lead in the 16th minute. Christian Gomez chased down a loose ball on the right and hooked a lovely cross to beyond the far post, where Luciano Emilio rose to powerfully head home for his league-leading 19th goal on the season.
• RSL pulled level in the 32nd minute. Kyle Beckerman was given acres of space to charge forward from midfield and let fly from well outside the area, beating Troy Perkins inside his right-hand post for his first goal since coming over from Colorado.
• United had a glorious opportunity to pull ahead in the 50th minute when Josh Gros was adjudged to have pulled down in the corner of the area by referee Jorge Gonzalez. But Nick Rimando beat Christian Gomez, diving to his left to stop his well-placed penalty kick.
• Yet Gomez made amends 17 minutes from the end. Fred floated a cross from the right side of the box to the far post where Gomez had shaken his marker, and he easily nodded home for his seventh goal.
• Not to be outdone, Real won a penalty three minutes later when Devon McTavish was ruled to have pulled back Carey Talley as the two grappled in the area for a free kick service. But Perkins stoned Eskandarian, diving to his left to punch out his spot kick attempt, and United held on for the win to become the first team to clinch a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
• Real head coach Jason Kreis made two changes to the team that lost 4-3 to Houston. On a night when he was honored by D.C. United, Eddie Pope was held out of the team to illness, as Chris Wingert came in along the backline. Chris Brown started up top in place of Robbie Findley.
• Here's Kreis's team (4-2-3-1): Nick Rimando - Jean-Martial Kipre (Chris Lancos 61), Ritchie Kotschau, Matias Mantilla, Chris Wingert -Kyle Beckerman, Carey Talley - Alecko Eskandarian, Javier Morales, Fabian Espindola (Robbie Findley 72) - Chris Brown (Andy Williams 75). Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Brown, Eddie Pope, Chris Seitz, Jamie Watson
• "I thought it was a good match, a good game to watch. I thought both teams played well. It was really exciting. We have to look at our group and feel really, really good about what they put into that game," Kreis said. "I thought they played outstanding throughout the first half. So there's a lot of big things for us to draw on from this game.
TEAM NEWS
• Still, the loss made Real's challenge just a little tougher. With 18 points and seven games to play, the most points they can achieve is 39 - the lowest possible total of any of the league's 13 teams. With current eighth-place side Chicago at 29, that means currently that any combination of 11 points won by the Fire (over their last seven games) or lost by RSL means the Utah club will miss out on the playoffs for a third season.
• "They are going to be emotionally down after that. The group worked extremely hard and the group deserved a little more than they got to be honest," said Kreis. "All of us realize that this was extremely important; we needed three points to really feel like we've got a shot going into these last seven games."
• While the results might be modest, Real do feel as if they have turned a corner over the last six weeks. They have won three of their last seven games, beginning with a 1-0 win against Houston Dynamo, and fallen to tough one-goal losses to the top three teams in the league - D.C. United, Dynamo and Chivas USA.
• "We tell our team, well, we've been telling them for a long time, that they are improving. ... Here we are competing with the two best teams in the league right down to the last minute on their field, so I think there's a lot to take away from that. We shouldn't be hanging our heads at all," Kreis said. "Tommy Soehn might feel a little bit differently, but in our locker room we felt that we gave them a pretty good game."
• Still, said goalkeeper Nick Rimando: "It doesn't mean anything unless you get three points or a point. Today we showed we've been giving effort all year, but we seem always to lose it at the end or give up a silly goal. Today's the same thing. We give a [good] effort, you know good teams, good games. For some reason we give them away, and that's why we're at the bottom and they're at the top."
• A year ago, Kyle Beckerman led the Colorado Rapids with seven goals. This year, he had just one goal with the Rapids - scored on April 30 - before his trade, and his goal against United was his first with RSL.
• "I felt like Beckerman was grinding at their back four, and they were backing into their own box almost wanting him to shoot. It was very good for him to take that shot and obviously very excellent," Kreis said. "Again, a player that's worked extremely hard and has been very unfortunate not to score before tonight, so it was good to see that he got that tonight."
• It was the eighth time in MLS history two or more penalty kicks had been missed in a game. The last time came May 6, 2006, when both goalkeepers also saved penalties in a 1-1 draw between the Kansas City Wizards and Chicago Fire.
• "The credit goes to the goalkeepers on those because neither one of them missed the frame. They were just saved by the goalkeepers," Kreis said. "Obviously, Alecko [Eskandarian], it was a very emotional moment for him because I think this is his first time he's been back in D.C. United's stadium, and I know how badly he wanted to score. That can haunt you a little bit, you want it too bad. ... He wasn't rewarded for all the hard work he put into the game."
• Pope was honored by D.C. United in brief pregame ceremony, and after the match - his final on the RFK Stadium field - the Barra Brava paid their homage to the one-time United hero, who scored two cup-winning goals in his seven seasons in Black-and-Red, including the winner in the inaugural MLS Cup Final. As he walked off the field, they chanted "Eddie Pope! Eddie Pope!"
• "It's an exciting day to be back in this stadium. It was very, very nice. I felt so at home. I really enjoyed it. D.C. is first class," said Pope, who one of no fewer than four former United players in the Real team for the match. "They are more emotionally excited to play in a match like this. It's a fantastic crowd and they know it and they receive former United players pretty well," said Kreis.
