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Thursday, October 13, 2011
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (Wednesday, Oct. 12) - FC Dallas clinched its
second consecutive berth in the MLS Cup playoffs with a 2-1 win
over the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park Wednesday night.
Dallas' goals were scored by Jackson and Daniel Cruz, whose first
MLS goal became a game-winner when Chicago's Sebastian Grazzini
netted a goal in the 85th minute. With the win, FC
Dallas also retains the Brimstone Cup, an annual competition
between the Fire and FC Dallas, for the 10th consecutive
season.
FC Dallas threatened in just the third minute when a long ball over
top of the Fire defense from Jair Benitez sat up perfectly for
Marvin Chavez, who was making a late run down the right flank.
Fresh off of an appearance for the Honduran National Team in a 1-0
loss to the U.S. on Saturday, Chavez centered a pass for Jackson to
finish off at the top of the six-yard box, but the Brazilian's
first-touch attempt went just wide of the net.
Jackson returned the favor six minutes later when he slipped a
slick through ball between the center of the Fire defense. But this
time it was Chavez who sent his attempt high and wide of the
left post.
Dallas had another opportunity in the 25th minute when
Andrew Jacobson chipped a ball over the Fire defense for Jackson.
The forward took the ball out of the air in stride, holding off his
defender and knocking a hard shot to the left of Fire goalkeeper
Sean Johnson, but the 22-year-old goalkeeper made an outstanding
right-handed save to rob Jackson and keep the match
scoreless.
Dallas got on the board in the 41st minute when a long
throw taken by defender Ugo Ihemelu brushed the head of Ricardo
Villar before rolling into open space behind the Chicago defense.
Jackson ran down the loose ball, catching up with the pass just
inside the area before running at the near post. Bearing down on
the six-yard box, Jackson beat Johnson with a low shot to the far
post to give FC Dallas a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
Coming out of halftime, Dallas grabbed a two-goal lead in the
53rd minute when Villar sent a corner kick into the
center of the box for Zach Loyd. Rising high above his marker, Loyd
headed a ball to Cruz, who hit a falling overhead strike
high to the left of Johnson. The goal was Cruz's first in MLS
competition and it gave Dallas a 2-0 lead with 37 minutes
remaining.
Chicago was forced to finish the match with 10 men when Pavel Pardo
was shown a red card in the 79th minute for a slide
tackle from behind on Villar.
Despite the disadvantage Chicago continued to attack, getting a
goal from Grazzini in the 85th minute. The play began
with a free kick opportunity that was played into the area from the
left flank. The service into the area was won initially by FC
Dallas, but was not cleared away. Chicago's Orr Barouch collected
the loose ball and picked out Grazzini in the top left corner of
the area. Grazzini used and inside-out move to beat a
defender before blasting a shot high to the far post to make the
score 2-1.
Attendance: 10,362
Scoring Summary:
DAL - Jackson (Ugo Ihemelu) 41
DAL - Daniel Cruz (Zach Loyd, Ricardo Villar) 53
CHI - Sebastian Grazzini (Orr Barouch) 85
Misconduct Summary:
CHI - Gonzalo Segares (caution; reckless tackle) 18
DAL - Zach Loyd (caution; tactical foul) 29
CHI - Dan Gargan (caution; reckless foul) 39
DAL - Jackson (caution; reckless tackle) 43
DAL - Daniel Cruz (caution; reckless tackle) 58
CHI - Pavel Pardo (ejection; serious foul play) 78
CHI - Corey Gibbs (caution; reckless foul) 82
CHI - Josip Mikulic (caution; reckless foul) 90
FC Dallas -- Kevin Hartman, Jair Benitez, Ugo Ihemelu, George John,
Zach Loyd, Fabian Castillo (Brek Shea 63), Daniel Cruz (Bobby
Warshaw 85), Andrew Jacobson, Ricardo Villar (Maicon Santos 90),
Marvin Chavez, Jackson.
Substitutes Not Used: Chris Seitz, Jack Stewart, Jeremy Hall, Bruno Guarda.
TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Jackson 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Jackson 2);
FOULS: 18 (Jackson 5); OFFSIDES: 2 (Brek Shea, Fabian Castillo 1);
CORNER KICKS: 2 (Ricardo Villar, Fabian Castillo 1); SAVES: 2
(Kevin Hartman 2).
Chicago Fire - Sean Johnson, Dan Gargan (Josip Mikulic 77), Jalil
Anibaba, Cory Gibbs, Gonzalo Segares (Orr Barouch 77), Logan Pause
(Daniel Paladini 56), Pavel Pardo, Sebastian Grazzini, Patrick
Nyarko, Diego Chaves, Dominic Oduro.
Substitutes Not Used: Jon Conway, Baggio Husidic, Victor Pineda, Michael Videira.
TOTAL SHOTS: 6 (Sebastian Grazzini, Patrick Nyarko 2); SHOTS ON
GOAL: 3 (Sebastian Grazzini, Patrick Nyarko, Daniel Paladini 1);
FOULS: 13 (Corey Gibbs 3); OFFSIDES: 1 (Dan Gargan 1); CORNER
KICKS: 3 (Sebastian Grazzini 5); SAVES: 3 (Sean Johnson
3).
Referee: Michael Kennedy
Referee's Assistants: Corey Rockwell, Peter Balciunas
4th Official: Chris Penso
Time of Match: 1:56
Weather: Clear, 65 degrees
QUOTES
FC Dallas Manager Schellas Hyndman
On the team's performance against the Fire:
"I think they had some trouble dealing with our pure speed and it's not just them, a lot of teams have trouble dealing with that. I thought in the first half we really created some opportunities but gave too many balls away. It was frustrating. I thought the player we were most concerned about was Oduro because he knows us and he's been really hot and I thought that he had a quiet night tonight. But a great goal by the Fire and for us, we've had a really difficult month in September with all the traveling and CONCACAF games, and cards and injuries, so for us to get the win here was huge. Now we know we are in the playoffs and maybe start to focus a little more on that."
On the threat of the Fire getting another goal in the remaining minutes of the match:
"Of course, always. Always concerned. I thought some of the situations - we knew what the Fire were doing. They were trying to get it out wide and come back in the middle and hit shots and maybe get a second ball and then get the free kick. And those things were happening. We were very concerned. The funny thing about this team is we play better against eleven players than we do against ten. Sometimes people just let up a little bit. But again I give the Fire a lot of credit for fighting. It was a great goal and it was well earned."
FC Dallas Defender Zach Loyd
On being satisfied with the road win:
"Yes, I think September was a rough month for us. I think fatigue caught up with us last month. But with international break, I think a lot of guys got their legs back, got some time off and mentally got their heads right. Today we came in here with the energy we were bringing in a couple months ago and I think it showed in the result."
On having lots of shots on goal in the first half:
"It just shows the energy we brought. Earlier in the season, we had guys like Marvin [Chavez], Castillo, Jackson, Shea, all with their speed so we can just hit them and put the defenders on their heels. I think tonight it really showed with rest a lot of the guys have so much more energy."
On how the team is looking to finish the rest of the season:
"We're looking to get on a roll here. You always want to get on a little win streak before the playoffs, get your confidence up because anything can happen in the playoffs so hopefully we can go into this next week and qualify for Champions League and get a couple more wins in the league."
FC Dallas Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman
On the match:
"I thought you could really tell we got a little bit of a rest. We're a very athletic team and I think you can tell by the amount of speed that we have up top and the athleticism in the back. When you're fatigued that's really going to affect you quite a bit. Tonight, after a bit of a rest, and an international weekend, I thought that you could tell we were able to really win balls in more advantageous parts of the field. And when we did sit, I think that we could tell we were attacking with pace and certainly at halftime I felt that it could have been more than it was."
On the team's end of season focus:
"It wasn't just a physical rest we got, we got a mental break. We've been playing two games a week since July 1st, so it's been pretty fatiguing. We are not a group that really likes to make excuses and we get out there and do our best. I think you could tell as the games wore on and on, we were just not having as much success. We weren't able to put the pressure up top that we wanted to, we weren't able to win balls 30 yards from their goal; we were really kind of disjointed. I thought today we got back a little more to the FC Dallas that we are proud to be and get a victory. It's something we are extremely proud of."
Frank Klopas, Chicago Fire interim head coach
Thoughts on the match:
"We didn't have the start that we wanted. We came out a little bit flat and that was a concern of mine. I wanted to put the U.S. Open Cup match behind us right away. I talked to the guys and told them that they needed to stay focused, that we still have a lot to play for ahead of us. We were flat from the beginning, we weren't sharp. We were just one step behind everything. Give credit to Dallas. They made it difficult for us. But we pushed the game late and we got something going. In the end, we gave up two soft goals that hurt us. We're disappointed. Not only to lose but to lose at home. Now our chances are very slim for the playoffs."
On timing of his substitutions:
"We made a change during the game when I felt Dominic could help. We had a hard time keeping up with Dallas' wing plays. When we gave up the second goal, we had to make changes. Because when you lose 2-0, 3-0 it doesn't matter, you have to push the game and try to get a result."
Dominic Oduro, Chicago Fire forward
On the remainder of the season:
"We're not mathematically out of it right now, but I don't think we helped our chances of making the playoffs at this point either."
On the team's performance:
"I'm very disappointed. We started out flat and we gave them momentum starting off and it was hard for us to fight back after going down 2-0. We just need to keep our heads up. We fight every game and that's what we need to continue to do. We still have a small chance of making the playoffs and we have to give all that we've got in the two games left, then we'll see what happens."
On Dallas' defense:
"It was really difficult for me to get behind the defense. They just dropped back the whole time, so we had to change tactics in the second half. I had to go play on the right and I think I was able to get to a few more balls on the right. Technically, they did well the whole time by just sitting back to try and stop a run from behind and they did great with that."
Gonzalo Segares, Chicago Fire defender:
On how the team will approach the final two games:
"Like Frank [Klopas] said we need to regroup, go to D.C. and look for the win. We've been pushing pretty hard for the past couple of months and it got us pretty close to being in the position where we're fighting to make the playoffs. With the result today, it's really tough to swallow but we have two more games to play and we need to go out there and get wins."
Pavel Pardo, Chicago Fire midfielder:
On his red card ejection:
"It was a play that I came in a little bit late and I know it was a foul. But I think sometimes this is a foul you make 10 or 20 times in a game, but this is the referee's decision. That is no excuse, I got the red card and I apologize because when you have to play with 10 players it's difficult to try to win."
On his future with the Fire:
"Of course I'd like to come back. I was talking about this situation with the people from the Fire and they want me to here next year. And I want to be here also, but not for one year, I'd like to be here for more years. I've integrated with this team, the club and the fans. I'm very happy playing here with the Chicago Fire."
Sean Johnson, Chicago Fire goalkeeper
On the result:
"I tried my best to keep the team in it, but unfortunately these things happen. I try and limit my mistakes, I pride myself on being consistent day in and day out. But it's just one of those things, you do your best to try and save the ball. On this night they were the better team and deserved to win the game."