By CALEB SONNELAND
Captain Daniel Hernandez was on point to convert a penalty and give FC Dallas the win and three points at Pizza Hut Park in Texas. The call was a debatable one from referee Yader Reyes and it has, once more, called attention to the standard of officiating in the MLS.
In a depressingly vacant venue (due mainly to thunderstorms that subsided before kickoff), FC Dallas subdued a Toronto FC side that lacked offensive bite and ideas in the final third.
With Joao Plata coming off a flying week, many Reds fans were expecting big things from the Ecuadorian attacker. However, Plata did not emulate his Man of the Match performance from the game with Houston.
TFC midfielder got things going offensively for the Reds by forcing a smart save from goalkeeper Kevin Hartman early in the seventh minute.
It would, however, be largely uneventful until the 31st minute when Toronto defender Danleigh Borman almost put a Brek Shea cross into his own net.
Dallas began to apply pressure, primarily through the play of Shea and Marvin Chavez, that almost had Eric Alexander connecting with a cross right in front of goal but pressure from TFC Dicoy Williams prevented any threat.
Despite enjoying the majority of possession, Dallas was unable to click in the final third and could not find that killer ball into the area to break the deadlock. But as the first half began to come to a close, an Eric Alexander free kick was lofted into Toronto area that saw George John brought to ground by Adrian Cann as he attempted to meet the ball in the air.
While Cann clearly had a hold of the Dallas defender, the severity of the punishment could be argued to have been a little harsh for the foul committed.
Daniel Hernandez stepped up and had Frei diving the wrong way as he netted his first goal of the season to give Dallas the lead going into the break.
Following halftime, it was Toronto who again started the half more brightly as Tony Tchani had a long range effort that was well saved by Hartman.
But it was Dallas who responded with their own pressure for the majority of the half, the highlight of which was a clever run from Chavez which led to his blasted shot cannoning off the chest of Frei.
Chavez was easily one of the more productive players for Dallas and caused the Toronto back line all sorts of problems for the duration of the match.
In a very gritty clash, Dallas and Daniel Hernandez will be happy to take the spoils from a mediocre Toronto side. FC Dallas has remained unbeaten by TFC since their first meeting in 2007.