FC Dallas Loses At Real Salt Lake
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SANDY, Utah (Saturday, May 26) – Matt Hedges and Blas Perez each erased one-goal deficits, only to have Real Salt Lake defender Nat Borchers net a game-winning goal in the 93rd minute of play as FC Dallas fell 3-2 tonight at Rio Tinto Stadium.
FC Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman started off the match in top form, stopping a Ned Grabavoy shot from close range in just the 12th minute of play. The opportunity came from Real Salt Lake’s Will Johnson, who collected a pass on the left flank, went around his defender and picked out Grabavoy in the center of the area. Grabavoy looked to bend a shot into the right side-netting, but Hartman punched away the chance with a diving save high to his right side.
The best first-half opportunity FC Dallas had came in the 39th minute, when Real Salt Lake’s Yordany Alvarez was shown a yellow card for his challenge on FC Dallas left back Jair Benitez. Dallas Homegrown player Bryan Leyva stepped to the free kick on the left flank, lofting a ball to the back post intended for Perez. With a strong wind at its back, Leyva’s cross carried high to the post. Perez attempted to volley the cross into the top of the net with his first touch, but his jumping right-footed shot just missed the crossbar on its way over the end line.
Led by the strong play of center backs George John and Matt Hedges, Dallas limited Salt Lake’s chances in the first half and went into the locker room with a 45-minute shutout for the 11th time this season.
The clean sheet lasted just 14 minutes into the second half , when
Salt Lake’s Terakazu Tanaka joined the attack from his position at right back and hit a line-drive cross into the six-yard box. There, Alvaro Saborio timed his jump perfectly and redirected a short header past Hartman to give Salt Lake a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute.
Dallas fired back, earning a great chance to equalize six minutes later. The play began with a good cross in from the left flank by Benitez. Perez won the service into the area and left a bouncing ball for Andrew Jacobson to hit with his first touch. Unfortunately for Dallas, Jacobson’s strike went directly at goalkeeper Kyle Reynish, who made the initial save before smothering the rebound.
A strong run up the left flank by Jackson earned Dallas another opportunity in the 74th minute. The resulting play saw FC Dallas battle for the ball in its attacking third long enough for Hedges to get on the end of his second goal in his last two matches. The rookie defender was in perfect position when a loose ball rebounded to him at the top of the six-yard box. Hedges hit a rising shot towards the center of the goal, where Reynish came back to make a diving save. But referee Abiodun Okulaja immediately blew his whistle to award a goal, having judged the ball to have crossed the goal line.
The momentum from Hedges’ goal did not last long. FC Dallas conceded a second goal just one minute later, when an odd-man rush for Salt Lake found Saborio open at the top right corner of the area. Saborio looked to pick out the far post, only to have his shot deflect off an FC Dallas defender and skip to the near post. The change of direction crossed up Hartman, giving Real Salt Lake a 2-1 lead in the 76th minute.
Dallas clawed its way level again in the 85th minute, when Jackson received the ball on the right flank, drew the attention of two Salt Lake defenders and sent a waist-high ball into the area for Homegrown player Jonathan Top. Near the top of the box, the 19-year-old forward cleverly flicked the ball past a defender with the outside of his boot. The redirection fell to the feet of Perez, who was 15 yards from goal. The Panamanian took a touch around his defender, spun and hit a shot directly at Reynish, who attempted to punch the shot away only to have it deflect off his fists and into the back of the net.
The late goal appeared to give Dallas a 2-2 draw in hostile Rio Tinto Stadium, but Borchers clinched it for Real Salt Lake in the 93rd minute. The play began with a free kick from the left flank that was lobbed to the back post. There, Jamison Olave rose above the pack to head a pass back into the center of the area. FC Dallas defender Zach Loyd was there to clear the ball away, but before he could, he was chopped down by a hard kick from Salt Lake striker Fabian Espindola. The loose ball fell to a wide-open Borchers, who finished high into the top corner of the net to give Salt Lake the 3-2 victory.
FC Dallas is back in action at FC Dallas Stadium this Tuesday, May 29, when it faces USL PRO side Charlotte Eagles in the Third Round of U.S. Open Cup competition. That match is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. CT.
