photo by Jerome Miron/USA Today Sports

By FRANCO PANIZO

There was no penalty shootout, but it was from the spot where the FC Dallas-Real Salt Lake match was essentially decided.

Tesho Akindele converted his second-half penalty kick while Javier Morales missed on his, paving the way for FC Dallas’ 2-0 win at home on Saturday night. Akindele netted on his attempt from 12 yards out in the 51st minute after drawing a foul in the penalty area, but Morales’ effort to equalize was denied by the right post 27 minutes later.

The miss, and Joao Plata’s botched rebound attempt, proved doubly costly for Salt Lake at Toyota Stadium. Fabian Castillo capitalized on some subpar defending a minute after Morales’ miss, hitting a low shot past Nick Rimando and effectively putting the game out of reach.

The win snapped Dallas’ three-game losing streak and moved the club into third place in the Western Conference. RSL, meanwhile, remains in last place in the conference with little hope of making the postseason.

Oscar Pareja’s side was the better one in the opening minutes of the match, but Rimando came up with multiple saves to keep his struggling club level. Rimando denied David Texeira as early as in the third minute, block a low line drive with his feet.

RSL eventually found its rhythm, but wound up conceding a penalty kick after Demar Phillips was deemed to have brought down Akindele. The Canadian forward made no mistake on his ensuing opportunity, slotting a shot down the middle for his first tally since May.

Salt Lake had a golden chance to equalize in the 78th minute after new Designated Player Juan Manuel Martinez was brought down in the 18-yard box by Kellyn Acosta. The visitors failed to capitalize, however, as Morales nailed the post before Plata skied the rebound.

Caught out of shape, Jeff Cassar’s men fell prey to a nice run-and-finish from Castillo, who celebrated his recent call-up to Colombia by beating Rimando with a shot from the top of the penalty area.

Morales came close to pulling one back for Real Salt Lake, but his finessed shot in stoppage time was pushed a foot wide of the near post.

Dallas will take this next week to prepare for a Sept. 6 road game against the Columbus Crew, and Salt Lake will have a bye before returning to action by visiting the Houston Dynamo on Sept. 12.

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What do you think about FC Dallas’ 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake? Which players on Dallas impressed you? Is it time for RSL to waive the white flag?

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