FRISCO, Texas — Ramón Núñez only played 16 minutes in FC Dallas’ thrilling 2-2 tie against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night, but he was the spark that ignited the late comeback, according to head coach Schellas Hyndman.
“I thought one guy who really made a difference ... was Ramón Núñez," said Hyndman. "I thought he put a foot on the ball, I thought he gave many more openings and opportunities for David Ferreira to get free. You could see some very, very good bits and pieces of Ramón that’s helping our team."
OPTA Chalkboard: Núñez comes off the bench and delivers for FC Dallas
Núñez assisted on the opening goal for Dallas, which was scored by Andrew Jacobson in the 88th minute. The Honduran delivered a ball in from the left and it needed only the slightest of touches from Jacobson to find the back of the net against a Sporting KC side that had been reduced to 10 men after C.J. Sapong was ejected earlier in the half.
“Ramón did all the work and I just tried to get in a good spot," Jacobson told reporters after the match. "He put it right on my head and I just tried to redirect it and it went in."
Even though there were only minutes left on the clock before he scored, Jacobson said that he and his teammates felt a comeback was in the works.
“Not much time left, down two goals, we still believed,” said Jacobson, who was whistled for a first-half penalty kick that Kei Kamara converted to put Sporting KC up 1-0. “We weren’t just out there going through the motions, we really felt like we could come back in this game. We just needed one and you could see it in our eyes that we were coming for the second one.”
Núñez told reporters that his well-documented injury woes are a thing of the past and that he’s ready to contribute to the team. He also deflected praise on the cross that led to Jacobson’s goal.
“It wasn't anything too special," said Núñez. "I knew there were a lot of bodies in the box and someone had to get on the end of it. A.J. was winning everything all night long, and luckily, he got the goal to help us push on.”
