Monterrey, Mexico - FC Dallas dropped the first leg of the Rio Grande Plate on Saturday evening, falling 2-0 to partner club Tigres UANL at Estadio Universitario in Monterrey, Mexico. Tigres' Jesus Chaves broke the scoreless tie in the 80th minute with a header off a corner kick, and then Walter Gaitan sealed the game with a stoppage-time penalty kick to give Tigres the two goal advantage in the aggregate-goal friendly series. The teams will meet again in Frisco on Wednesday, July 11 at Pizza Hut Park (7:30 pm CT) in a game web-streamed live on www.fcdallas.net.
"I thought we performed well," said FCD head coach Steve Morrow. "I thought we were unlucky to lose the game two-nil. It was a good, tough, competitive game. We had a lot of young players out there so it was a good test for them as well. But we lost the game on a corner kick and a very late penalty kick, so we're disappointed."
In the middle of playing six games in 14 days, FC Dallas used a mixed lineup which featured seven starters making their 2007 FCD debut with the first team.
"Beginning the game obviously was a struggle for me," said Adrian Serioux, who saw his first action since returning from off-season knee surgery. "Sometimes you forget the pace of the game, but after 10-15 minutes you start to get into the flow, you get your second wind. It's still pretty early, but I felt alright. I thought I played the ball quickly, made some moves, and will just work my way from here."
Tigres had the early momentum, keeping possession for large stretches but rarely threatening the Dallas defense. FC Dallas, on the other hand, used its speed to keep Tigres honest, with speedsters Dominic Oduro and Ricardinho getting on the end of long balls off counter attacks. Both players took turns testing the Tigres backline, who defended well but surrendered seven Dallas corner kicks in the first 45 minutes.
The home-side had their own chances late in the first half, but FCD goalkeeper Ray Burse kept the score even by denying Tigres forward Javier Saavedra from the right side and then Juan Pablo Garcia on the left in the final minutes of the half.
While it was Dallas who dominated possession for long parts of the second half, it was Tigres who had the first clear chance at goal. In 74th, Jonathan de León attacked down the left side and lifted a ball over the on-rushing Shaka Hislop at the corner of the box. However, the ball hit the top part of the crossbar and Dallas recovered to clear the danger.
Tigres would finally break the deadlock only five minutes later. Joel Perez took a corner from the right side, sending a line-drive cross that was met at the near corner of the six yard box by Chavez, who from an improbable angle redirected a quick header backwards and into the back of the net.
Tigres widened their lead in stoppage time, when FCD rookie center back Andrew Daniels was whistled for grabbing Tigres' Edgar García in the penalty box. Veteran Walter Gaitan stepped up to take the penalty, blasting an unstoppable ball past Hislop.
"We didn't deserve the loss today," added Serioux, who wore the captain's armband to start the game. "I felt we played fairly well. The first goal was obviously a great goal, and the second one just an unfortunate call for us. But we'll go back to Dallas and work from there, hopefully get a win, and take this trophy."
In 2006, the inaugural year of the Rio Grande Plate, each team won their respective home-leg 2-0, with FCD winning the Plate 5-3 on penalty kicks in Monterrey.
Tigres will arrive into Dallas on Tuesday, July 10 ahead of game two on Wednesday. FCD will first play the Atlanta Silverbacks of the United Soccer League on Monday, July 9 in the 3rd Round of the U.S. Open Cup at Pizza Hut Park (7:30 pm CT). Both of these FC Dallas games will be web-streamed live on www.fcdallas.net.
FC Dallas 0, Tigres UANL 2
Estadio Universitario, Monterrey, Mexico
Rio Grande Plate - 1st Leg; July 7, 2007
SCORING:
TIG - Jesús Chaves (Joel Perez) 80'
TIG - Gaitan (pk) 93+
FC DALLAS LINEUP: 30-Ray Burse (1-Shaka Hislop 46), 23-Blake Wagner, 21-Alex Yi, 27-Andrew Daniels, 22-Michael Dello-Russo, 16-David Wagenfuhr (29-Scott Jones 83), 15-Adrian Serioux (17-Aaron Pitchkolan 60), 28-Chase Wileman (4-Chris Gbandi), 25-Dominic Oduro (10-Ramon Nunez 68), 7-Abe Thompson (20-Carlos Ruiz 68), 34-Ricardinho (31-Sandy Gbandi).
TIGRES LINEUP: 1-Cirilo Saucedo, 3-Jesús Chaves, 5-Fabian Cubero, 6-Antonio Sancho (18-Lucas Ayala 46), 8-Alejandro Villalobos, 10-Walter Gaitan, 17-Jesus Palacios (Manuel Viniegra 58), 19- Jonathan de Leon (35-Joel Perez 75), 20-Juan Pablo Garcia, 23-Javier Saavedra (27-Adrian Gallegos 58), 30-Jesus Molina (Rene Ruvalcaba 60).
Attendance: 19,000 (estimate from Tigres officials)
