Abe Thompson did it again. With a somewhat tenuous 1-0 against Chivas USA on Sunday at The Home Depot Center, FC Dallas head coach Steve Morrow sent Thompson on as a 71st-minute substitute. Not even 10 minutes later, the move paid dividends.
After Arturo Alvarez punched a ball into the Chivas' attacking third in the 80th minute, Thompson ran for it from the midfield and got possession. After cutting back to avoid a pair of backtracking defenders, Thompson then slotted it past goalkeeper Brad Guzan to give FCD a 2-0 edge.
It was the latest bit of greatness from Thompson, who hasn't been a full-time starter during his first three years of MLS but has developed a reputation of someone who makes good things happen every time he hits the field.
He started up top alongside Kenny Cooper in FCD's season opener with Chivas USA on March 30 and assisted on the Hoops' only goal of the day in the 1-1 draw but hadn't played again before Sunday. Thompson now has one goal and one assist in his two games this season.
"Whenever I go in, I tend to get a chance or two," Thompson said. "I figured that would be the case in that game. I was looking for a goal and we needed one to close it out. I thought to myself that I would have one or two chances whether it's a clear one for me or helping someone else get one, I knew that I had to make the most of it."
Before he entered the fray, Thompson took note of a few things that Chivas were doing that he could exploit once he came on as a sub.
"They were starting to chase the game a little bit," he said. "They were only a goal down and were chasing the equalizer. I knew there was going to be an opportunity for us to counterattack and we shifted into that mode at the end trying to preserve our lead. I knew that as the game wore on, they were going to push even more bodies forward. That's exactly what happened and I was able to exploit that."
For Morrow, it was another in a long line of great performances he has seen from Thompson since FCD took him in the 2005 supplemental draft.
"You know what you're going to get from Abe," Morrow said. "You know if he gets a chance that he's going to hit the target. We've said before that he's a very good finisher. At that point in the game, we wanted someone who was going to hold the ball for us because some of the forwards were getting tired. He gave those guys great help up top and held the ball well. He's come on, done it before and scored important goals for us. We've said many times how important he is to the team and he showed it yet again."
Before Sunday's match, Morrow entertained the thought of employing a three-man front line featuring Alvarez, Cooper and Thompson, but instead plugged Ricardinho into the third forward role so that the Hoops would have more pace to start the day.
"That (playing Alvarez, Cooper and Thompson together) is definitely an option," Morrow said. "That was an option going into the game with Chivas but we wanted to go for a little more speed up top earlier in the game. That worked well in our favor. Bringing someone like Abe on late in the game helped us defend well from the front but also helped us keep possession."
Such an arrangement would definitely be fine with Thompson.
"Now that we're playing the way we play, we don't have guys confined to just one area," Thompson said. "We interchange and move their defenders in and out of position to create havoc for them and get them confused. We have a good understanding of one another and I would be comfortable in that."
Such continued performances off the bench could show it's time for Thompson to step forward and assume a starting role. It's a sentiment with which he agrees.
"I've been here for three years now and have played a supportive role coming off the bench while starting here and there. Here's my fourth year. I'm fairly experienced and it's definitely time for me to assume more responsibility, start making more consistent starts and produce more consistently on the field," Thompson said.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
