FC Dallas maintained their pace above the Western Conference playoff line with a strong debut showing over FC Cincinnati, defeating the 2019 MLS expansion side 3-1 on Saturday at Toyota Stadium.
The loss, meanwhile, ended Cincinnati's Audi 2019 MLS Cup Playoff hopes, as they were officially eliminated from contention.
The home side scored early, with Ryan Hollingshead finishing the shot inside the first 15 minutes from the top of the semi-circle atop Cincinnati's box, after a quick give-and-go with Zdenek Ondrasek and Jesus Ferreira.
Cincinnati seemed to play their way back into the match for the first of the first half, but the second half was much more in Dallas' favor, with Michael Barrios doubling Dallas' lead in the 49th minute, Ferreira setting up another goal for the hosts. FCD quickly added another, with Ondrasek forcing a quick save from Cincinnati goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton, before slamming home the rebound himself to continue his recent hot spell.
FC Cincinati got a consolation goal shortly after the hour mark, as Emmanuel Ledesma scored from the penalty spot after Roland Lamah earned the spot kick, Reggie Cannon clipping his former teammate.
FC Cincy's Kekuta Manneh was shown a straight red card following Video Review in the 75th minute, as he pushed Bryan Acosta in the face with play dead.
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Goals
- 12' – DAL – Ryan Hollingshead | WATCH
- 49' – DAL – Michael Barrios | WATCH
- 51' – DAL – Zdenek Ondrasek | WATCH
- 64' – CIN – Emmanuel Ledesma | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Dallas sit in 7th place in the West, just above the playoff line, and with their closest challenger Portland having games in hand, they need to keep pace to reach the postseason. They defeated Cincinnati handily, but Ron Jans can be heartened by stretches of play where the visitors looked pretty good. Now, it's a matter of cutting out mistakes and putting it together for 90 minutes.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: It was ultimately the goal to ice the result, but Ondrasek's persistence and force on his goal encapsulated his night and the potent Dallas attack in this game.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: There were quite a few candidates from Dallas, including Ferreira and Barrios, but the edge goes to Ondrasek, for a goal, an assist and a combination of energetic and good hold-up play in the FCD attack.
Next Up
- DAL: Saturday, Sept. 14 at Chicago Fire (3:30 pm ET | Univision, Twitter in US; MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)
- CIN: Saturday, Sept. 7 vs. Toronto FC (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US; TSN4 in Canada)
