FC Dallas, looking to turn around its nine-match winless streak, instead extended it — and put their playoff chances in jeopardy — losing to Minnesota United FC 4-1 at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday night.
Dallas opened the scoring the 14th minute when Tesho Akindele hammered home a Michael Barrios assist for the match's first goal. But Minnesota would take the halftime lead on two excellent efforts: the first coming from Christian Ramirez (for his team-leading 13th goal) in the 24th minute, and the second on a Miguel Ibarra volley assisted by Ramirez.
In a wild second half, Mauro Diaz won a penalty kick shortly after subbing into the match, but his 68th-minute effort from the spot was saved by Bobby Shuttleworth, and two minutes later, Ethan Finlay scored what would emerge as the insurance goal. Abu Danladi, atoning for an 80th-minute miss on a one-on-one situation, converted a near-carbon-copy play in the 88th minute to round out the scoring.
Goals
- 14' – DAL – Tesho Akindele Watch
- 24' – MIN – Christian Ramirez Watch
- 35' – MIN – Miguel Ibarra Watch
- 70' – MIN – Ethan Finlay Watch
- 88' – MIN – Abu Danladi Watch
Three Things
MAXI-MUM FRUSTRATION BUILT EARLY:
While the match certainly hinged on Mauro Diaz failing to convert his penalty kick, FC Dallas was denied an early goal that could have set the match on a much diffferent narrative course. It looked as if
Maximiliano Urruti
scored an 8th minute screamer on a Barrios assist, but due to an interference call, it was wiped off the board. That, paired with the Akindele goal six minutes later, might have propelled FC Dallas back into the win column.
They Said It
"In the second half, I think we were very disorganized defensively and I have to take full responsibility not just for that, but from the way we managed and just controlled the game. We lost our heads. We lost control of the game."
—FC Dallas coach Oscar Pareja