FC Dallas head coach Colin Clarke thought his team was unfortunate to miss out on at least a point as they fell 1-0 to the New England Revolution on Wednesday night.
"I think we deserved something from the game," Clarke said.
Clarke said the teams looked "a little sluggish" to start proceedings and the sluggishness cost the visitors the only goal of the game in the 22nd minute as Clint Dempsey ran free from midfield into the penalty area and crossed to Taylor Twellman, who made no mistake from six yards with the goal gaping in front of him.
"We didn't do well," Clarke said about the goal. "We didn't get ourselves back in front of Dempsey and we didn't deal with the cross."
Said midfielder Ronnie O'Brien: "I think for 20-25 minutes, we were bad."
The Hoops tried to make amends for the lull in play as they poured players forward in search of the equalizing goal. While FC Dallas was thwarted multiple times by Revolution 'keeper Matt Reis, the tangible results included two chances that ended up hitting the bar: O'Brien (44th minute) and Drew Moor (81st minute).
"We had a lot of chances, but we didn't capitalize," Clarke said. "Tonight the chances just wouldn't go. Reis made a couple good saves, we hit the crossbar twice ... we had a couple we could have done better with. We're getting the chances (and) playing well."
O'Brien felt that his side "controlled the game" and should have earned a point.
FC Dallas center back Greg Vanney, who saw Dempsey's pass slide between he and Moor, also thought his team should not have fallen to just its third defeat on the campaign.
"We had the chances to win the game. A couple little comedy of errors led to their goal," Vanney said. "That's not to say that's the only chance they had, but I think we had the majority of chances. Anytime the opposing team's goalkeeper is the player of the game, you know you probably deserved more out of the game than a loss."
Midfielder Richard Mulrooney said that although his side didn't get a point from this game, FC Dallas can use the momentum of the second half to build towards a crucial stretch that sees the team play three games in eight days.
"If we finished in the beginning, middle and end -- if one of those goes in -- we get a tie out of it and maybe push for a win. But it just wasn't meant to be," he said. "We have a long flight tomorrow to think about what we need to do better for Saturday."
The team is scheduled to board a flight for Los Angeles in preparation for Saturday's match in Carson, Calif., against Chivas USA. The team is expected to jog tomorrow before holding a training session sometime Friday.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
