FRISCO – FC Dallas closes out 2017 season with 5-1 win against LA Galaxy. Dallas started the day needing to pick up a win in its match against LA Galaxy and get help from Minnesota United, who was facing the San Jose Earthquakes, in order to qualify for its fourth consecutive postseason.
FCD dispatched its opponent, winning 5-1 at Toyota Stadium but Minnesota fell 3-2 on a stoppage-time goal by San Jose’s Marco Ureña to eliminate FC Dallas from postseason contention.
First Half Notes:
2’ – LA Galaxy took a 1-0 lead in the second minute of the match via a corner kick. Michael Ciani got on the end of the corner, which was taken by Romain Alessandrini and swung into the middle of the six-yard box. Ciani rose above his marker and headed a shot just inside the back post.
8’ – FC Dallas earned its first corner of the match in the eighth minute and continued to pressure LA in search of an equalizing goal by producing seven shots in the next seven minutes.
14’ – The best chance for the home side came in the 14th minute when Hernan Grana served a perfect cross to the back post for Roland Lamah. The Belgian nearly scored his 10th goal of the season with a header at the far post but the attempt was pushed over the crossbar by Galaxy goalkeeper Clement Diop.
36’ – Mauro Diaz stole the ball back for FC Dallas and earned a free kick 27 yards from goal. The attempt was swallowed up by the wall but the loose ball came to Carlos Gruezo at the top of the area. A sharp pass into the box was collected by Lamah and punched home from close-range to make it a 1-1 game.
41’ – Defender Matt Hedges put FC Dallas up 2-1 after Ryan Hollingshead sent a cross in from the left flank. Lamah came free and won the header once again, pounding a shot directly at Diop. The goalkeeper kept the ball from crossing the line but Hedges was first to react, sending the ball into the back of the net for his second goal of the season.
Second Half Notes:
49’ – Lamah put FC Dallas up 3-1 on a corner kick taken by Mauro Diaz to start the second half. Diaz sent the free kick to the near post and Lamah redirected a header to the far side netting to give FCD a two-goal advantage.
68’ – FC Dallas took a commanding 4-1 lead on a goal scored by Michael Barrios. Diaz earned his second assist of the match and his eighth of the season after finding the midfielder at the top of the area. Barrios cut inside his defender and beast Diop with a shot that zipped over his left shoulder.
74’ – Diaz added a goal to his two-assist performance on a penalty kick after Kellyn Acosta beat Diop to a through ball and the goalkeeper swept the midfielder’s legs out from under him in the area. Diop was shown a red card and backup goalkeeper Brian Rowe stepped in to face Diaz on the penalty kick. The Argentine fired a right-footed blast into the corner of the goal to make it a 5-1 game.
Scoring Summary:
LA – Michael Ciani (Romain Alessandrini) 2
DAL – Roland Lamah (Carlos Gruezo) 37
DAL – Matt Hedges 41
DAL – Roland Lamah (Mauro Diaz) 49
DAL – Michael Barrios (Mauro Diaz) 68
DAL – Mauro Diaz 74
Lineups:
FC Dallas – Jesse Gonzalez, Ryan Hollingshead, Maynor Figueroa (Atiba Harris 75), Matt Hedges, Hernan Grana, Kellyn Acosta, Carlos Gruezo (Javier Morales 81), Roland Lamah, Maxi Urruti (Atiba Harris 75), Michael Barrios, Mauro Diaz.
Substitutes Not Used: Chris Seitz, Victor Ulloa, Walker Zimmerman, Tesho Akindele.
LA Galaxy – Clement Diop, Bradley Diallo, Michael Ciani, Dave Romney, Ashley Cole, Romain Alessandrini (Brian Rowe 73), Jermaine Jones, Bradford Jamieson (Baggio Husidic 55), Emmanuel Boateng (Ariel Lassiter 67), Jonathan Dos Santos, Giovani Do Santos.
Substitutes Not Used: Hugo Arellano, Rafael Garcia, Jack McBean, Raul Mendiola.
Misconduct Summary:
LA – Michael Ciani (caution) 65
LA – Clement Diop (ejection) 71
DAL – Kellyn Acosta (caution) 84
Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero
Assistant Referees: Brian Poeschel, Danny Thornberry
Fourth Official: Marcos Deoliveira
Video Assistant Referee (VAR): Kevin Terry, Jr.
Attendance: 15,383
Weather: Clear, 71
