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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. It could happen, but I see it as unlikely. It is kind of a Thierry Henry ritual to kick the ball into the back of the net after a goal. Hartman was just in the right place at the wrong time. Henry had already swung back to kick it when Hartman put his foot behind the ball. I see no malicious intent.

    Reply
  2. Get your little DVR ready, go back and rewatch that… Hartman’s foot was not on that ball it was at least a foot behind…. No comparison.

    (SBI-Hartman’s foot was to the side of the ball, right next to it, so when Henry kicked it with full force, the ball hit Hartman’s hanging leg right in the inside of the foot, which sent direct force to the inside of the knee. That’s why I said it’s probably an MCL, and you can see on the replay that Hartman immediately reaches for the inner side of the knee.)

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  3. really Shea got what he desrved. Nasty tackle Mendes comes in and shoves him and he shoves back which may earn him a extra game. Albright gets up and walks away.

    Henry after the play is dead comes in and drives a ball that the keeper has at his foot. dose not get anything and the keeper will probably end up missing a couple of games if Ives is correct on the MCL injury. Nor camparison at all.

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  4. I will preface my comment with the fact that I am a Red Bulls supporter, but . . . I’ve looked at that replay 10x, in slow mo and regular, and I think Hartman was definitely playing it up, brilliantly. Henry has a card, he saw Henry coming on, and took the fall hoping to get him out of the game. We’ll know when he plays in the rest of the games this year, I guess.

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  5. An MCL sprain actually is a tear — a partial tear — but it’s not a complete tear of the ligament. I can’t see the game, but it’s highly unlikely that the impact of a ball would cause such an injury. It generally requires more of a twisting — either occurring when your leg is planet on the ground or when held and twisted in an unusual manner.

    (SBI-What’s your point about the sprain/tear thing? Yes, all sprains are technically tears. We’ll see what the injury is. And seriously man, you’re intent on winding me up, aren’t you?)

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  6. Oh man, Hartman has to come out?!?! That really sucks. Henry must feel like a putz. Of course I still would an’t mind seeing him bury a few more goals tonight. Mercy is for the weak!!!

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  7. Well just great.

    Now… Hartman has to go off, someone behind me said it is meniscus damage.

    We are just falling apart… I hope this half we can do better.

    ATIBA! REALLY CLOSE

    Reply
  8. ??Nicely put.. for a backwoods, xenophobic, ignorant a$$. For the record, Henry has nothing to do with canada. Nicely put, though, for someone who has probably never read an entire book

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  9. I don’t know what the heck everyone is looking at. That was a clear dive by that idiot hartman. That’s why there was no yellow. That fat fool dove and hurt himself. What a loser. Look at the replay. Henry never even gets close to him. He goes straight down with both knees. You don’t fall like that if you are knocked off balance. It is as clear as day.

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  10. I am in agreement below me though, that if anything warrented a Red Card on that passage of play, it was the off the ball contact with the linesmen. That, was unacceptable.

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  11. Well, in general, Red Card tackles are attributed to reckless challenges without contact on the ball.

    Challenges from behind without contact on the ball.

    Or pulls, kicks, grabs, on players who are past the last man.

    In general.
    But, contact with the ball before contact with the man plays a very large part in attributing what kind of foul is commited.

    Call me a Eurosnob, most of my immediate family lives in Europe, so I do mostly cater towards a better product of football where I can discuss it with family, uncles, and cousins.

    So, right on, guy.

    Reply
  12. all of you that were calling Shea a thug should be talking about how stupid Henry is. That was pure stupidity. Henry had no resaon to come in a drive the ball like that.

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  13. Not a good way to close out the half Henry. Why the hell is he going in to kick the ball like that? Did anyone see something else happen with these players? Just nuts that he did that. Love to watch Henry play but this was just wacked.

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  14. Good point, but it was accidental. On the replay, Henry was just trying to hit it back in the net, as he often does. Hartman put up his leg at the last minute. Bad coincidence, not malicious.

    However, no love lost between these two teams. What a crazy half! Hernandez out, Break booted, Hartman limping, and new-man Ballouchy nets…wow! Fun match. Feels like playoffs.

    Reply
  15. From my iPhone:

    I’m here at the game… uhh. Henry just comes up after the goal and boots the ball while it’s under Hartman’s foot… the referee was right there.

    So… where is Henry’s second yellow?

    Am I missing something, I’m kind of new to the sport… but… are you allowed to just run up to players after a goal and kick the ball through people’s feet like that?

    Reply
  16. Honestly, no intent from Henry and obviously no embellishment from Hartman. Henry wasn’t paying attention when he went to kick the ball and it was just really freakish

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  17. It was a yellow card tackle. He did get the ball through the legs and then completely demolished Albright. Those tackles get yellows and red in the Premier League. More likely yellow 30 min into a game. He should have gotten a red card for touching and yelling at the side official. The Side official should have given himself a red for being in a bad position to say it was a bad tackle.

    Reply
  18. Yes, I get it, his back leg followed through on the challenge.

    He came in from the side, not from behind. He got the ball before he followed through on the man.

    And yes the back leg followed through, but I think it look WAY worse than it was.

    Reply

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