Both FC Dallas and CF Pachuca came into Saturday night's SuperLiga match at Pizza Hut Park looking to set things right after both sides experienced disappointing results in their opening matches. But in the end, the sides finished in a 1-1 draw as they traded goals over the final quarter-hour, FCD getting a 75th-minute goal from Carlos Ruiz while the Tuzos scored the equalizer from a penalty kick by Christian Gimenez in the 87th.
Both teams came into the game feeling they had to win to advance to the next phase, and almost from the opening whistle, the host side launched an offensive. After a long throw-in by Adrian Serioux, FCD center back Clarence Goodson got his head on the ball to the right of the Pachuca goal but Pachuca goalkeeper Miguel Calero got a hand on his effort at the far post to deny his bid.
The visitors proved especially dangerous in the 37th minute. Pachuca defender Marvin Cabrera sent a ball toward the right post and it deflected off Serioux and into the arms of Sala. Just seconds later, Pachuca got another chance when Carlos Rodriguez found some space on the left side. However, his shot was off just a bit and hit the left post.
FCD then closed out the first half with a flurry. In the 42nd, Ruiz took a direct free kick from about 20 yards out that would have put the Hoops ahead had Calero not come over to the left post at the last moment to make a diving save and send it over the endline for a corner.
Then in first-half stoppage time, midfielder Juan Toja found Goodson near the left post. The FCD center back headed the ball into the goal but his jubilation was short-lived as he looked over to his right and saw the linesman's flag up for offside.
After the halftime break, Pachuca had all the momentum and pinned the Hoops into their own end. But while Damian Alvarez, Rafael Marquez Lugo and Luis Gabriel Rey all had good looks at goal, none of them greatly troubled Dario Sala in the FCD goal.
FCD's first serious opportunity of the second half came in the 55th when Arturo Alvarez made a great run up the left flank and then cut the ball back inside. The Hoops midfielder then found Ruiz, who shot from near the arc, but Calero was there for a great stop in the heart of the box.
One minute later, Goodson was booked after delivering an elbow to the back of Lugo's head. The Tuzos took the ensuing free kick from about 22 yards out but Gimenez's attempt was deflected and then cleared away from danger.
The Hoops gave Pachuca another great chance in the 62nd when Bobby Rhine was shown yellow after a hard tackle on Alvarez. Gimenez took the free kick that was some 22 yards from goal and sent in a great ball around the wall that bent toward the far post, but Sala was there for a diving save.
FCD head coach Steve Morrow made his first change of the evening when in the 71st minute he brought on speedy Dominic Oduro for Ricardinho, a move designed to add some pace to the FCD front line. His first chance came in the 74th when Alvarez found him on a great cross into the middle of the box but Oduro's header went wide left.
FC Dallas then pulled ahead with 15 minutes to go. Rhine pushed up the right flank and hit a cross into the middle of the box. Oduro missed the cross, which Calero got a hand to, but Ruiz was waiting in the middle of the six and punched the rebound into the back of the net to give the Hoops a 1-0 advantage.
But the Hoops nearly surrendered the lead when, in the 76th minute, Lugo found some room near the right post. Fortunately for the FCD faithful, any aspirations he had of drawing the match level were dashed when his shot went wide left.
Then, in the 87th, Serioux was whistled by referee Samir Osman for a hard tackle on Alvarez inside the FCD box and the Tuzos were awarded a penalty kick. Gimenez stepped up to the spot and with Sala going left, banged it the other way to draw the match level.
The equalizer set up a wild final few minutes, with tremendous chances at both ends for the game-winner. In the 89th minute, Oduro got in behind a high Pachuca back line and ran onto a ball over top to head in one-on-one with Calero. But the second-year striker opted to send a ball toward the far post looking to find Ruiz instead of taking a shot, and missed the connection.
Just after the regulation 90 minutes rolled over, Pachuca's Andres Chitiva, who came on in the 69th minute, skipped around a couple of defenders and had a great look at the FCD net, but his effort from the middle of the box was saved by a perfectly positioned Sala. From the ensuing corner the ball fell at Chitiva's feet near the right post, but his shot was deflected into Sala's arms.
About three minutes later, Oduro once again got free behind the defense and again came in alone on Calero. But this time, with Ruiz yelling for the ball at the far post, Oduro toe-poked it toward goal and Calero was able to react quickly and deflect it wide left.
With the final whistle just moments later, both teams were left sharing a disappointing draw, after each had great chances to find a winner. FC Dallas now have two points heading in their SuperLiga finale against the LA Galaxy Tuesday (7 p.m. CT), while Pachuca have just one point and are in desperate straits if they are to advance to the semifinals, needing a victory against CD Guadalajara in their Group A finale, also on Tuesday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. (8 p.m. MT).
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
