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FC Dallas vs. Red Bulls: Match Night Commentary

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The New York Red Bulls are in Frisco, Texas tonight to take on streaking FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park (9pm, MSG/Direct Kick).

FC Dallas is riding a 14-match unbeaten streak, but will face a stiff test from an improving Red Bulls squad that has been boosted by the arrivals or Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez.

The Red Bulls will be missing scoring leader Juan Pablo Angel tonight, but will be starting newly-acquired Mehdi Ballouchy, acquired from Colorado earlier in the week.

I will be providing commentary throughout the match so please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump):

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FINAL– That's all for me tonight. Please share your post-game thoughts in the comments section below. 

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FINAL– Some final thoughts. Dallas showed me a lot tonight. Still don't think they're on the level of Los Angeles or Real Salt Lake, but I wouldn't want to face them in the first round. New York still has work to do and tonight is the latest example of the inconsistency that keeps New York from being a serious title contender. They've got some time to work things out, but for now the Red Bulls remain a second-tier team until they can win games like these. 

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FINAL– Man of the Match- Eric Alexander. Not even close. Cleared one off the line, assisted on one goal and scored the other. Great game for the rookie, who's playing his way onto the MLS All-Rookie Team.

Ballouchy's debut went well. he was active in the first half, did well to finish the goal, but he did disappear in the second half. Overall, a good debut for him. 

Angel did NOT look happy about not starting tonight. Not sure if it was for rest, or something else, but the way Angel ran off the field makes me wonder whether he left angry.

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FINAL– Dallas 2, Red Bulls 2. A great game, physical game. Dallas showed heart tonight considering all the adversity, while New York did just enough on a night a win might have been expected given everything that went against Dallas.

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93rd Minute– Ballouchy with a yellow for a foul on Harris.

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91st Minute– Dallas holding on for the tie here down a man. Sala with a good punch away of a dangerous cross.

Four minutes of added time.

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90th Minute– Sala should be able to continue. He's a tough guy. Ask Hunter Freeman.

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89th Minute– This is so freaky, Albright goes in to challenge for a ball and appears to kick Sala in the head, but it's after that play, when Sala trips over Albright, that he tweaks his knee. He's walking around. Should be able to go.

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88th Minute– Sala is down, got run into on the latest sequence. Not another Dallas goalkeeper down? Who plays in goal next?

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86th Minute– What a game.

Chavez gets a yellow card for an apparent foul on Richards.

Salou Ibrahim is coming in for Dane Richards. Talk about going from fast to slow.

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85th Minute– SAVE COUNDOUL!! Denies a Harris blast. Great save.

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84th Minute– Lindpere sent a dangerous cross in front of goal to Angel, where Benitez raced in and headed into his own net. Looked like an Angel volley at first, but the replay suggests it was an own goal.

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82nd Minute- GOAL RED BULLS!!! And it's an own goal by Benitez, Lindpere with the dangerous cross. We're tied 2-2.

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80th Minute– Dallas is flat out-working New York tonight. Confidence is a beautiful thing. Dallas has it, New York still looks like a team trying to figure things out.

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78th Minute– Angel JUST wide, heads an Albright cross wide for a corner.

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74th Minute– Marvin Chavez comes in for Milton Rodriguez.

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70th Minute– Miller could have stepped up to challenge Alexander, but that one is on Ballouchy, who didn't do a good enough job of pressing him, leaving a lane for Alexander to run at goal. Great run and finish by the rookie.

Dallas showing a lot of heart and quality to take the lead on New York down a man.

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68th Minute- GOAL DALLAS, and it's Eric Alexander with a great run through midfield and finish. Dallas 2, Red Bulls 1.

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63rd Minute– Angel is in for Tchani.

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59th Minute– Not sure when we're going to see Cunningham and Angel in this game. Crazy to think there are 150+ goals sitting on the sidelines.

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57th Minute– It was Benitez who slapped Lindpere in the face inadvertently to cause him to bleed. Lindpere is back on the field.

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56th Minute– L:indpere walks off with a bloody nose. Not sure who from Dallas got him. This game is getting ugly.

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53rd Minute– SAVE SALA!! Stops a Ballouchy volley blast. New York starting to find a rhythm.

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52nd Minute– ALExANDER OFF THE LEFT POST! Great curling left-footed shot nearly gives Dallas the lead. He's been Dallas' best player tonight.

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51st Minute– Some good back and forth, but no clear dominance from either side. Dallas is holding on, New York is struggling to put the right sequence of passes together.

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48th Minute– Tchani fouls Ferreira, could have been a yellow, but a stern warning instead. This game is very testy right now.

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47th Minute– Harris races in behind the NY defense but Ream races in to kick the ball free before Harris gets a shot off. 

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HALFTIME– Hartman tested out the knee at halftime but couldn't go any longer. Dario Sala has replaced him.

All odds are against Dallas, but you can't help but feel if Karma is on their side now. 

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HALFTIME– Is the Henry/Hartman play a yellow card? Sure could have been, but it's such a freak play that it isn't surprising if none of the match officials were watching. 

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HALFTIME– I'm not a doctor, but being a bit familiar with knee injuries I wouldn't be surprised if Hartman at the very least has a sprained MCL. When you're leg faces force in the direction it did on Henry's kicked ball to Hartman's foot/leg, it has MCL written all over it. If it's just sprained he might have to sit a few games, if it's torn then you're talking some real time (though not as much as an ACL injury). 

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HALFTIME– A game that started so promisingly for Dallas has become a nightmare. Brek Shea gets a red and Daniel Hernandez and Kevin Hartman both get injured. That's a pretty awful half.

New York hasn't look particularly good with the man advantage, but Joel Lindpere gets tons of credit for his work on the goal, and Ballouchy scores in his debut. Your move Mac Kandji.

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HALFTIME- FC Dallas 1, Red Bulls 1.

Henry went to Hartman after the whistle and tried to explain that he didn't intend to hurt Hartman on the play, but Hartman is clearly still hurt and limping away. Not sure he comes back for the second half. 

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49th Minute– Ballouchy raced in near-post to finish off a Lindpere cross for the finish.

Hartman got hurt when he went to kick the ball after the goal and Henry came in at the same time and kicked the ball away. Wow. What a freak play. Looks like Henry was racing in to kick the ball away and didn't see Hartman walking in. Hartman had his foot right near the ball so the impact of the kicked ball jarred Hartman's leg.

Hartman is staying in the game.

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48th Minute- GOAL RED BULLS!!! And it's Mehdi Ballouchy with the finish. Great pass by Lindpere. Hartman is hurt. UH-OH.

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47th Minute– Henry with a yellow card for a challenge on Ferreira. Fair card there.

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46th Minute– Three minutes of added time.

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44th Minute– Dallas with a corner kick after a crazy sequence. This game has gotten pretty physical.

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41st Minute– Benitez looks to be coming back on. He's okay now.

Roy Miller gets a yellow card for a handball.

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39th Minute– Hartman raced out to get a dangerous New York pass and crashes into Jair Benitez, who landed right on his head. A neck sprain is a good bet there. You pray it's nothing more serious like a spine injury. He's moving well so he is okay.

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34th Minute– Albright is back and playing. I have to say I didn't think he would after that tackle given his injury history.

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33rd Minute– Eric Alexander will need to slide out right to help cover for Shea's absence, which will free up room for Ballouchy and Marquez to create.

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32nd Minute– New York had better take full advantage. I have a feeling we'll see Juan Pablo Angel sooner rather than later.

Here comes Dallas on the counter, forcing a corner.

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29th Minute– No doubt about it, Shea with a slide tackle from behind, through Albright's legs. No need for that one.

That'll change the game dramatically. Losing Shea and Hernandez is huge. Can Dallas hold on?

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28th Minute– Brek Shea has been sent off, straight red card for an ugly challenge on Chris Albright. What a bad tackle.

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26th Minute– Daniel Hernandez is hurt and is limping off. He would be a big loss for Dallas, though Dallas does have Dax McCarty on the bench.

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24th Minute– Nice cross in from Pearce, Alexander heads it to a wide-open Rodriguez, who slipped in between Mendes and Ream. Mendes had Rodriguez initially, but he floated away from Mendes and behind Ream, who had his back to Rodriguez as he faced up to Pearce.

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23rd Minute- GOAL DALLAS!!! And it's Milton Rodriguez with the header. Nice sequence for Dallas, some shaky defending for New York.

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21st Minute– Marquez goes down hard on a hard challenge. No card issued. New York is moving the ball around well now.

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18th Minute– Shea beats Albright to a long ball but Mendes closes him down before he can get a shot off. Shea has been causing problems for Albright so far.

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17th Minute– Dallas boasts two of the better rookies in MLS in Zach Loyd and Eric Alexander. Alexander has earned some starts lately and has played very well. I remember him from the combine and he stood out then. Good pick by Schellas Hyndman.

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16th Minute– Henry is being doubled every time he has a ball sent his way. Being the lone forward isn't really working out for him. New York is winning the midfield battle though.

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14th Minute– Hartman has been arguably the best goalkeeper in MLS this year. New York is off to a strong start and it would be 1-0 if not for Hartman's clutch stop.

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13th Minute– Decent turn out at Pizza Hut Park tonight. Rafa Marquez and Thierry Henry will get some credit for that.

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9th Minute– SAVE HARTMAN, stops a Richards shot. Nice run into the area, but Hartman gets low to stop it.

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8th Minute– Dallas defenders George John and Ugo Ihemelu are out injured. John has had a strong season for Dallas, but I would have liked to see him matched up against Henry and Angel tonight. Dallas still has Hartman though, who has bailed the defense repeatedly.

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5th Minute– Marquez nearly finds Henry with a long pass, but Dallas' defense is there to minimize the trouble.

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4th Minute– The corner was cleared away.

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3rd Minute– Shea with a dangerous ball in that Ream cuts off. Dallas corner.

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1st Minute– Ballouchy's first possession leads to a pass to Richards in the area. Nearly connect right off the bat.

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1st Minute– We're underway.

Angel not starting is a coach's decision. No kidding. 

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PRE-GAME– Dallas goes with Jackson in central defense. He's got some speed to help deal with Thierry Henry, but it will still be a tough task.

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PRE-GAME– No, those won't be the only good match-ups to watch. You've also got Marquez-Ferreira, Richards-Benitez and Rodriguez-Ream. This is going to be a fun one to watch.

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PRE-GAME– The Shea-Albright and Lindpere-Pearce match-ups will be key in this game. The central midfields will be in good battles, but I see the wings dictating who wins this one.

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PRE-GAME– Mehdi Ballouchy gets the start tonight and he should line up a the central midfielder in a 4-2-3-1. Should be a good test for him against Daniel Hernandez and Eric Alexander.

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PRE-GAME– No Juan Pablo Angel in the starting lineup tonight. He's on the bench. He can certainly use a rest. With second place locked up in the East, it's a safe bet Hans Backe will be resting players who need it down the stretch.

Dallas starts out with Jeff Cunningham on the bench. Surprised to see that. Cunningham gave the Red Bulls fits last time out, and his speed would cause problems for Ream-Mendes.

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PRE-GAME– Here are the lineups:

RED BULLS

——————–Henry——————-

Lindpere——–Ballouchy——–Richards

———–Marquez——Tchani————-

Miller—–Ream———Mendes—-Albright

——————Coundoul——————–

BENCH– Sutton, Petke, Borman, Ubiparipovic, da Luz, Ibrahim, Angel

FC DALLAS

——————Rodriguez———————-

Shea————-Ferreira—————-Harris

———-Hernandez—–Alexander———–

Benitez—-Goncalves—-Loyd———Pearce

——————-Hartman———————–

BENCH– Sala, Davies, McCarty, Avila, Chavez, Luna, Cunningham.

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Comments

  1. Oh, I haven’t mentioned him in about a year. Be a sport. Let’s just say..for WHATEVER reason…in past years (including the Arena otr Bradley or Firmani years, RBNY/METRO would have found a way to lose.

    Reply
  2. Dallas not on the level of LA & Salt Lake? Are you absolutely crazy Ives? This ame proved that FC Dallas is the best team in MLS by far. They basically played the whole game with 10 men, had several key injuries, and essentially dominated play. NY was LUCKY to escape with a tie. Dallas = MLS Champions!

    (SBI-Dominated play? Settle down buddy. They stepped it up in the second half and showed great heart and confidence, but yes, I still think they’re a touch behind RSL and LA in my opinion. We’ll see come November. I’ll be glad to say I’m wrong if proven so.)

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  3. I feel like I could write a dissertation on that game. My final thoughts.
    1) Ballouchy looked great. Great goal, adds a lot to the team.
    2) NY needs yet more time to gel with Ballouchy around. They looked like a team that just added a new player.
    3) Why bench JPA? Makes no sense. JPA and Henry should have started up top, and Ballouchy OR Tchani should have started in midfield. Period.
    4) Backe didn’t coach well tonight. JPA aside, he should have taken Miller off early in the second half. Tons of bad passes and terrible defense. Second goal 95% Miller’s fault.
    5) It’s not that crazy that Dallas held on for a draw. 10-man teams often bunker, then exploit counter-attacks when opposing team is rusty on defending. Reminds me of CL final between Inter and Barca. Again, losing a man (while having the lead) can be an advantage.
    6) Lots of physical plays and injuries in that match. Shea’s tackle was reckless, and the other injuries were unfortunate…..
    7) Including Hartman’s. Whether he ‘sold’ it or not, I don’t know, but I think it was mostly an accident. Henry often tries to re-bury goals made by his teammates, and Hartmans, for some reason, tried to block him.
    8) FMLS will NEVER suspend Henry for that play, because they want all the stars at LY/NY on the 24th.
    9) Despite the drama, a really fun and entertaining game, especially for the lukewarm fans in Dallas. Truth be told, a draw was the fairest result.

    Reply
  4. Ives – you’re misreading this game. RBNY played terribly & still got a tie. That’s a contender. They would havelost this game 2-1 if the former Coach of Once Caldas was still in charge.

    (SBI-What did I tell you about talking about your favorite coach? Nevermind that the rumor of him being fired was false. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.)

    Reply
  5. Sorry mate intent to injure is also a Red Card, the kick after he got the ball is why it’s a red. And by the way I lived in Europe and I know Americans know the game just as much as Europeans.

    Reply
  6. it wasn’t during the run of play and he made contact with his leg which was locked into place. But the mls will protect its stars and nothing will happen. It is unbelievable. Hartman was having a career year. He is likely out for awhile if not the rest of the year with an MCL sprain. FC dallas’s playoff run may have just been torpedoed. MLS can not let this type crap go on. They need to hand down a suspension.

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  7. As a dc fan i want nyrb to win dallas is playing too defensive @ home its sickning. Its the 75th min and theyre dribbling to the corner thats pathetic. Good the equalizer.

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  8. I’m hoping the Red Bulls win, but I am glad that Dallas has been able to show well in this game with a packed house. Hopefully this is a start in getting fans back out to games.

    GOAL ANGEL!!!!

    Reply
  9. It defiantly deflects off hartmans foot, after watching it a third time. However it still looks like he was not in contact with the ball before Henry struck the ball.

    Reply

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