KANSAS CITY, Kansas (Wednesday, July 1) – FC Dallas lost a 6-2 match to Sporting Kansas City tonight at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas. The loss eliminates FC Dallas from the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament.
Sporting took a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute on a corner kick taken by Benny Feilhaber. The California native sent a bending cross to the back corner of the six-yard box for Dom Dwyer, where the forward was able to direct a header off the bottom of the crossbar and into the back of the net.
The home team should have taken a two-goal lead in the 18th minute when Krisztian Nemeth stole the ball in Dallas’ defensive third of the pitch and set the table for Jacob Peterson to finish. Peterson beat his man to the cross but was robbed by FC Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz, who worked post-to-post to make a sliding save on the forward.
FC Dallas’ best chance of the half came six minutes later, when Rolando Escobar curled a right-footed cross to the front post. Ryan Hollingshead was there to win the ball, heading a line-drive shot that just missed catching the crossbar.
Kansas City went ahead, 2-0, in the 30th minute on another connection between Feilhaber and Dwyer. Off a set piece opportunity from the left flank, Feilhaber lofted a ball to the far post, where Dwyer somehow got on the end of the pass in a pack of FC Dallas defenders.
Dwyer completed his first-half hat trick in the 41st minute, when referee Robert Sibiga awarded a penalty kick to the home side after Dwyer and FC Dallas defender Moises Hernandez came together in the area. Dwyer quickly went to ground after feeling the contact from Hernandez and Sibiga instantly pointed to the spot. Dwyer stepped to the free kick and knocked a hard shot into the lower left corner of the goal to make it 3-0.
The lead grew to four goals just before halftime. Peterson gained control of the ball on the right flank and charged to the end line before delivering a perfect drop pass into the path of Nemeth. The Hungarian finished with a first-touch strike to the far post to bring the score to 4-0.
Nemeth netted his second goal of the match to make it 5-0 in the 59th minute, just before FC Dallas broke up Sporting’s shutout with solid combination play down the left side. Michael Barrios finished off the string of passes with a give-and-go between himself and David Texeira. Upon receiving the return pass, Barrios was in alone against Kansas City goalkeeper Tim Melia. The Colombian beat Melia low to his left side.
Dwyer tacked on his fourth goal of the match in the 69th minute. The Englishman sent a set piece chance into the back of the net with a curling shot from just outside the area. The shot tucked just under crossbar to make it 6-1.
Second-half substitute Kellyn Acosta scored his first FC Dallas goal in the 73rd minute. The Homegrown midfielder received a pass in the center of the pitch, picked his head up and let a shot go from 30 yards out. The first sighting of good luck for FC Dallas on the night, the ball took a strange deflection off the back of Kansas City defender Matt Besler and caught the inside of the left post behind Melia to make it a 6-2 final.
Scoring Summary:
SKC – Dom Dwyer (Benny Feilhaber) 5
SKC – Dom Dwyer (Benny Feilhaber) 30
SKC – Dom Dwyer (PK) 41
SKC – Krisztian Nemeth (Jacob Peterson, Benny Feilhaber) 46+
SKC – Krisztian Nemeth (Saad Abdul-Salaam) 59
DAL – Michael Barrios (David Texeira) 62
SKC – Dom Dwyer 69
DAL – Kellyn Acosta 73
FC Dallas – Chris Seitz, Moises Hernandez (Victor Ulloa 46), Matt Hedges (Kellyn Acosta 60), Walker Zimmerman, Atiba Harris, Michel, Je-Vaughn Watson, Michael Barrios, Rolando Escobar, Ryan Hollingshead (Alejandro Zendejas 68), David Texeira.
Substitutes Not Used: Jesse Gonzalez, Coy Craft, Danny Garcia, Zach Loyd.
Total Shots: 9 (Je-Vaughn Watson, Michael Barrios 2) Shots on Goal: 5 (Michael Barrios 2); Fouls: 12 (Five players with 2); Offsides: 0; Corners: 3 (Michel 2) Saves: 4 (Chris Seitz 4).
Sporting Kansas City – Tim Melia, Jalil Anibaba, Kevin Ellis, Matt Besler, Amadou Dia, Benny Feilhaber (Paulo Nagamura 62), Soni Mustivar, Roger Espinoza, Jacob Peterson (Saad Abdul-Salaam 50), Dom Dwyer, Krisztian Nemeth (Connor Hallisey 75).
Substitutes Not Used: Alex Riggs, Servando Carraasco, Jimmy Medranda, Erik Palmer-Brown.
Total Shots: 11 (Dom Dwyer 6) Shots on Goal: 10 (Dom Dwyer 6); Fouls: 10 (Krisztian Nemeth 2); Offsides: 3 (Dom Dwyer 2); Corners: 7 (Benny Feilhaber 5); Saves: 3 (Tyler Deric 3).
Misconduct Summary:
DAL – Michel (caution) 15
DAL – Walker Zimmerman (caution) 68
Referee: Robert Sibiga
Referee’s Assistants: George Ganser, Brian Dunn
Fourth Official: Jon Freemon
Weather: Partly Cloudy and 82 degrees
Attendance: 19,113
FC Dallas manager Oscar Pareja
General thoughts on the match…
As a head coach I have to take the full responsibility for what happened tonight. With a team that allowed that many goals, especially four of them on set pieces, it cost us a lot because that is something we can control as coaches. We’ve got to move on. We have to leave it there and learn from that. Kansas City did a great job today. They were four goals better than us, especially on concentration and the moments that were key. On set pieces, they were very sharp. That’s really the result —not really the game, but conceding four goals from set plays cost us a lot.
On the challenge of playing Sporting KC away from home…
Kansas City is a very good team and I have to congratulate them. It’s something we have to accept when you get beat that way. Now we have to take care of our problems and difficulties defensively and the concentration [lapses] that we had.
On FC Dallas improving with two goals in the second half…
I thought it was a reaction, to be honest. I thought the boys tried to get out of the hole that we put ourselves in the first half. We tried to get the game more even, and then [Kansas City] scored. We had some good reactions but we kept giving goals on set pieces. As I said, that hurts a lot.
On the performance of Sporting KC striker Dom Dwyer…
He is a top forward. I really do think Kansas City has a top forward. We have to respect that and give him the credit. The intensity he had tonight was overwhelming for us.
On the message to his team following the loss…
This is a tough league. This is a tough competition. I don’t like to think of excuses or think of problems but we have to move on. We have to solve it. We don’t have much time to stay [down]. We try to correct it and bounce back. We’re going to have a game Saturday, and it’s a league game where we can put ourselves in a good spot [with a win]. So the message for us is to continue with the work. There is nothing you can do other than work. That can get you through moments like this.
On playing three games in eight days…
It’s a tough stretch that we’ve had. I don’t want it to sound like an excuse for us, but I thought the result today obviously was poor, especially the way we concentrated on the set plays. Giving up four or five goals from set plays is tough, as is conceding that there are things you can control. It has been tough, but that’s the way it is. We will prepare for New England now.
