FRISCO, Texas – As if FC Dallas midfielder Danny Garcia didn’t have enough on his plate already, the Homegrown product was forced to run just a 10-man show against the New York Red Bulls in his first MLS match after an FCD player was sent off for the second straight week.
This time it was a straight red shown to Je-Vaughn Watson in the ninth minute for a high boot to Tim Cahill’s shorts.
But despite the red card and eventual 1-0 loss Sunday at Toyota Stadium, Dallas stayed active in possession and kept attacking throughout the match in large part due to the energy and effort of Garcia, the most recent Homegrown to suit up for an extremely shorthanded FCD.
“The team was given to Danny today, and he took that responsibility,” FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja said. “But he proved today, in those hard circumstances, that he can play the game.”
Garcia was given the keys to the FC Dallas offense when Mauro Diaz was unavailable due to injury. It was a testy match from the beginning, with hard fouls by both teams in the first 10 minutes setting the tone. All told, the teams shared 18 fouls in the first half alone and 27 for the match.
“The disappointment comes with playing 80 minutes with 10 men,” Pareja said. “It’s hard, but despite of that, I have to give credit to this group of players who came out and showed a lot a heart.”
And FCD nearly pulled out a lead when, with the game still scoreless, Garcia earned a penalty in the 58th minute when he was chopped down in the box by Cahill. But New York goalkeeper Luis Robles saved Blas Perez’s spot kick, preserving the clean sheet.
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“As soon as Fabian played it to me I took off, and I knew Cahill was there and I was waiting right there because I knew it was coming,” Garcia said of the play that led to the penalty.
And eventually, the quality of Red Bulls star Theirry Henry was too much, when in the 71st minute he found red-hot Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips in the penalty area for a simple finish for the game winner.
