FRISCO, Texas -- After what seemed like an eternal run of poor results for FC Dallas, the home side used an impressive individual effort from winger Fabian Castillo in the 62nd minute to break an even match and secure a 3-2 win over the Colorado Rapids Saturday night at Toyota Stadium.
Colorado had taken the initial lead after some strong runs at goal in the early moments of the game, scoring in the 25th minute when Deshorn Brown used his own moment of creativity to chip FC Dallas netminder Raul Fernandez.
Dallas had responded with a free-kick goal from Jair Benitez that had some help from a deflection off of Andres Escobar to beat Colorado goalkeeper Clint Irwin in the 33rd minute. Dallas took the lead for the first time in first half stoppage time when Zach Loyd forcefully put a rebound back into the area and another deflection aided the Texas club again. The lead was short-lived, though, as early in the second half, the Rapids used a strong push to earn the temporary equalizer with Jose Mari scored off a corner in the 52nd.
That set the stage for Castillo’s brilliant run ten minutes later. The Colombian won the ball near the center circle, beat three Rapids defenders directly off the dribble and then took a quick shot from the left side of the penalty area for the match winner.
After the goal, FC Dallas was able to control much of the rest of the match to earn their first victory since a 2-1 win over Toronto FC on April 19.
It was a big win for the home side as they had been on an eight-game winless stretch, filled with a series of injuries, ejections and back-to-back road games complicating matters along the way.
The Rapids, on the other hand, came into the match on a good run of form. They also had some additional motivation in that Oscar Pareja, FC Dallas’ head coach, worked his way out of the head coaching position with Colorado late in the off-season.
FC Dallas next head to Portland to take on the Timbers Wednesday night. Colorado return to action after the World Cup hiatus, taking on the Vancouver Whitecaps at home on June 28.
MLSsoccer.com Men of the Match
Rank |
Player |
What We Saw |
1 |
Fabian Castillo |
A solid all-around match that was capped by a world-class display of footwork and precision shooting for the game-winner. |
2 |
Deshorn Brown |
The speedy player was the ultimate mismatch, scoring an impressive goal and putting Colorado in the driver's seat early. |
3 |
Jair Benitez |
Nice two-way performance by the Dallas defender. Had three shots and an assist to go with his bruising defense. |
