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MLS FC Dallas

FC Dallas Drops 4-2 Match to Columbus Crew

September 30, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Dallas News Release


FRISCO, Texas (Sunday, Sept. 29) - FC Dallas (10-10-10, 40 points) got a goal-and-assist effort out of Argentine midfielder Maruo Diaz, but was unable to stop the Columbus Crew attack, falling 4-2, to the Eastern Conference opponent tonight at Toyota Stadium.

FC Dallas had a promising attack in the eighth minute after goalkeeper Raul Fernandez lobbed a goal kick forward to Blas Perez, who won a header on the Columbus Crew's side of midfield. Perez's header fell to the feet of Diaz. The midfielder ran at a defender and got off a hard shot, but it was directly at Crew goalkeeper Matt Lampson.

Lampson got the ball out of his hands quickly to defender Chad Barson, starting a counter attack for Columbus. The right back waited for Federico Higuain to make his run and timed his pass over the top of the FC Dallas defense perfectly. Higuain caught up to the ball and dribbled around Fernandez before shooting towards the back post. FC Dallas defender George John was there to knock the ball off the goal line, but Higuain followed his shot and blocked the clearance attempt over the end line to give the Crew a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute.

Columbus went ahead 2-0 in the 17th minute when Dominic Oduro got the ball on the right flank and sped past his defender into space. Roughly 15 yards from the end line, Oduro crossed the ball to a wide open Jairo Arrieta in the center of the area. Arrieta collected the pass before blasting a shot off the bottom of the crossbar and into the back of the net.

FC Dallas pulled a goal back in the 21st minute when Diaz accepted a pass in the center circle, turned with the ball and was clipped by a Crew defender. Diaz got the call from referee Drew Fischer but stopped only for a second before finding Perez with a quick restart. Diaz's pass put Perez in on goal and the Panamanian scored his 11th goal of the season with a hard strike low to the far post.

Columbus took a 3-1 lead in the 44th minute as Oduro beat center back Matt Hedges to a loose ball to create a three-on-one opportunity. Center back George John took away Oduro's passing options but the Ghanaian beat Fernandez high to the near post to give the Crew a two-goal edge heading into the half.

FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman waited only eight minutes before he brought on attacking-minded David Ferreira for defensive midfielder Erick in the second half. Although Ferreira was not involved, the offensive approach paid off less than a minute later when Zach Loyd fed a ball inside to a streaking Diaz. Diaz cut through a trio of Columbus defenders, side-stepped Lampson and dribbled the ball over the line to bring Dallas within a goal in the 54th minute.

Ferreira was involved in Dallas' best opportunity to equalize in the 86th minute. The Colombian played a cutting through ball to Perez but Lampson came off his line to make an outstanding save and preserve the one-goal advantage.

Seconds later Columbus took a 4-2 lead after Ethan Finlay lobbed a cross to the back of the six-yard box. Bernardo rose above a pair of defenders to win the ball before blasting a shot into the top of the net in the 86th minute.

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