Admittedly, FC Dallas' 2-0 win against Toronto FC on Saturday night at Pizza Hut Park was far from a thing of beauty. The Hoops, who were playing without Carlos Ruiz, were able to muster just 11 shots against TFC and got both of their goals off penalty kicks.
"I didn't think it was our best night," said FCD head coach Steve Morrow. "We're happy to get the win and I think we deserved to get three points. It's often the sign of a good team when you don't play your best, win 2-0 and keep a clean sheet."
Ruiz was held out of Saturday's match as a precaution by Morrow. The Guatemalan international played 120 minutes on Tuesday and scored a goal in a 2-1 win against Seattle in their Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal and although the Hoops attack suffered, the FCD boss felt that he needed a break.
"He came off a tough game on Tuesday where he had played over 100 minutes on turf," Morrow said. "He had a little niggling problem with his knee for the last couple of months and it felt particularly sore after that game. So, it was an easy decision for me to make to give him a little bit of a break."
Saturday's match marked the first MLS start for Denilson, the World Cup-winning midfielder from Brazil who also played on Tuesday in the Open Cup match. All night, he made things happen and when he put FC Dallas into the lead with his 36th-minute penalty kick, it was his first MLS goal.
"He nearly got on the end of a few things," Morrow said. "We just have to get used to the way Denilson plays. When he gets on the ball, we have to make runs. I think it will take a few games to adjust to that."
Morrow also heaped praise on Thompson, who scored on FCD's second penalty kick in the 87th minute.
"I thought he did a great job for the team tonight," he said. "He held the ball up very well. He's always an option for us in the front. He looked dangerous in front of the goal and always works tremendously hard. I thought he made a big contribution."
It was the second consecutive game that Thompson converted from the spot. He knocked home a penalty in the 119th minute against Seattle that proved to be the goal that sent the Hoops into the Open Cup final. Thompson agreed that while the game wasn't pretty, the team was still pleased with the end result.
"We're pleased," Thompson said. "I wouldn't say it was our best effort but we still came away with the win and the shutout as well is a bonus. Hopefully we will look to build on this the rest of the season and heading into the playoffs."
The win against Toronto FC was especially sweet for FCD center back Adrian Serioux, who was selected by the Reds in last fall's expansion draft before being traded to the Hoops.
"It was weird," Serioux said. "I saw some guys that I knew from national team and stuff like that. It was great to pull out the win. For me to come back after my surgery and to come out and get a win against them was good for me as well for the team."
One thing that didn't please Morrow about tonight's game was the fact that for much of the first half, the Reds were able to generate chances and put considerable pressure on the FCD backline.
"We certainly gave up a few more opportunities than I would have liked and at times, it was a bit uncomfortable," Morrow said. "They got the ball into the box a lot. I thought we needed to get a little more pressure on that first ball and stop the delivery in the first place. We could have done a better job in those situations of marking in the box. I thought we dealt well with their direct style for the most part."
TFC had come into the game without a goal in 642 minutes, and left back David Wagenfuhr agreed that TFC put them under considerable pressure in the opening half.
"They just lumped it forward and ran off," he said. "If they didn't win the first ball, they were going to win the second one. They didn't try to play pretty. They just tried to play in our half (of the field) and keep the pressure on us."
Serioux acknowledged that he hasn't seen too many games where the only goals came from the penalty spot.
"It is rare," he said. "Getting two PKs in a game is rare but on our side, we'll take it. If it gives us an advantage to win, by all means, we'll take it."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
