Jeff Cunningham scored the lone goal of the game, his league-leading 16th of the year, to give FC Dallas the victory against the New England Revolution in the first MLS game played at the Cotton Bowl since 2005.
Cunningham's 71st-minute goal came after some great possession between Atiba Harris and Jair Benitez. Harris fed the ball to an overlapping Benitez on the left flank and the Colombian defender sent a great cross into the New England box. Cunningham dove forward and sent a header inside the near post from about eight yards out for the 35th game-winning goal of his career.
FCD now has 33 points, just four points out of the final playoff spot, and remains squarely in contention for the MLS Cup Playoffs.
FCD's first chance came four minutes in when Cunningham and Harris looked to put the home side ahead early. Cunningham slotted a nice pass to Harris who hit a rocket from the left flank. His shot was saved by Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis, who got his right hand on the ball.
Three minutes later, FCD midfielder Dave van den Bergh injured his right ankle and fell to the ground. After being helped to the sidelines by the club's medical staff, he remained there for several minutes before returning to action. In the 26th minute, van den Bergh left the field, substituted by Honduran international Marvin Chavez.
New England head coach Steve Nicol also had to call on his bench a bit earlier than expected. In the 11th minute, an injury to veteran defender Jay Heaps saw Amaechi Igwe enter the match.
The visitors' first real scoring opportunity didn't come until the 20th minute when the Revolution's Jeff Larentowicz took a shot from long range. However, FCD goalkeeper Dario Sala was there for the easy stop. Larentowicz took a free kick about 25 yards from goal in the 22nd minute but his effort was cleared away from danger by FCD.
Reis answered the call again in the 28th minute with a high save on a header by FCD's Dax McCarty. The versatile midfielder received a great cross that traveled across the goalmouth and attempted to head it over the Revs' goalkeeper, but the cagey veteran was on point to deny McCarty's chance.
A second free kick by Larentowicz in the 35th was struck a bit too hard and sailed harmlessly over the endline for an FCD goal kick.
Chavez made his presence felt in the 38th when after a nice advance up the left flank, he sent a well-placed cross into the New England area. But Cunningham was a step slow in arriving as was Ferreira, who was streaking toward the far post.
In stoppage time just before the end of the first half, Sala went up for possession on a throw-in but was caught in the face by teammate Ugo Ihemelu's heading attempt. The FCD 'keeper got the short end of the battle, falling hard to the playing surface and had to be attended to by his club's medical staff.
At the break, FCD held a 4-3 advantage in shots, with two of those efforts on target compared to just one by the visitors. The home side's two top offensive threats, Cunningham and Ferreira, accounted for just one of their club's attempts, a shot by Ferreira in the 24th minute that sailed wide left.
Seven minutes into the second half, FCD had a free kick from about 20 yards out. The opportunity came after McCarty was fouled hard just outside the top of the arc by New England's Emmanuel Osei, who was shown a yellow card for his indiscretion. Ferreira took the free kick, but sailed it high over the Revs goal.
Larentowicz took another free kick in the 55th, this one about 40 yards from the FCD goal. He struck the ball well and after it bounced around near the far post, Igwe got a shot off only to see it deflected.
Chavez and McCarty nearly connected two minutes later. Once again, the crafty Honduran playmaker delivered a well-placed service. McCarty got on the end of Chavez's ball alongside Cunningham, but his header was a bit off line and went wide right.
FCD continued to pressure the Revolution as the game progressed. In the 65th, a blast from distance from Harris was easily corralled by Reis. One minute later, Cunningham struck a great ball into the box that Harris looked to punch into the back of the net. However, he and Reis arrived at the same time and collided but the New England 'keeper showed great awareness to quickly reach over and cover the ball.
McCarty figured into three additional chances beginning in the 69th minute. His first opportunity was off a free kick about 25 yards out and to the right of the Revs' goal. That attempt was cleared away by the Revolution.
Then, his first of two corner kicks was headed over the touch line by New England. On the final chance of the sequence, FCD defender Ugo Ihemelu got on the end of McCarty's corner but Reis stepped in to keep things scoreless.
FC Dallas had the better of the play, especially in the second half when New England logged just two shots compared to seven attempts by FCD. But it wasn't until Cunningham's acrobatic winner that they had anything to show for their advantage.
In stoppage time, New England's Thompson and FCD's Andre Rocha, who had come on for Chavez in the second half, were both sent off after tangling to the right of the Revolution goal.
New England will have to recover quickly as the Revs head directly to Colorado for a Saturday match with the Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. FCD will enjoy a weekend off before returning to the field on Saturday, Oct. 7 at San Jose.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com
