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Steve Ralston's 80th minute penalty was the difference in Saturday's 2-1 win over FC Dallas. (Photo by Joyce Furia) |
Gambian international Sainey Nyassi tied it for the Revolution in the 56th minute. The third-year midfielder received a long pass from Shalrie Joseph and used his pace to beat two defenders and cut towards the box. Nyassi then sent in a powerful left footed shot from just outside the box past Dallas keeper Ray Burse to tie it at 1-1.
Ralston scored the deciding goal in the 80th minute after the Revs earned a penalty kick when Kheli Dube was dragged down from behind in the box by George John. Ralston stepped up to take the penalty, using a stutter-step to get Burse to commit and then slotting it into the other corner of the net.
“It was a difficult night,” said Revolution head coach Steve Nicol. “The wind is blowing, it’s difficult to judge your passing and everything else, but we did create a lot of chances. By the letter of the law it was a penalty, he did pull him. Obviously it was not a complete and utter mauling, but at the same time it made up for the second goal we should have had when Jeff [Larentowicz] made a great challenge, won the ball and we scored and he (the referee) gave a free kick.”
“Tonight was huge,” said Joseph. “The conditions were not ideal just because it was raining, but we had great fan support and we played a lot better in the second half than we did in the first half. To get two goals in the second half, that was huge for us.”
Nyassi had the first opportunity of the match in the 8th minute when Wells Thompson sent him down the right flank with a well weighted pass. Nyassi used his speed to beat Blake Wagner and get into the box before hitting a hard shot wide of the far post.
FC Dallas’s first shot came in the 12th minute, when a cross from the left flank found Kenny Cooper just inside the box. Cooper sent a header towards the far post, but it lacked the power to trouble Revs keeper Brad Knighton.
The Revs had another chance in the 18th minute on a long throw in from Darrius Barnes. Barnes found Chris Albright at the near post and he redirected it on frame with a header. Burse was well positioned and made a diving save.
Dallas caught the Revs’ defense off guard with a quickly played free kick to Dave van den Bergh on the left flank in the 22nd minute. Van dan Bergh dribbled in alone on goal before sending a hard shot across the goalmouth. Knighton got down quickly to make the save and keep Dallas off the scoreboard.
Cooper nearly put Dallas in the lead in the 31st minute, after van den Bergh found him with a cross to the far post. Copper’s header from point blank range was well saved and held on to by Knighton.
Things started getting testy around the 32nd minute and both Larentowicz and Dallas’s Andre Rocha were handed yellow cards for fouls. In the 34th minute Kenny Mansally also went into the book for fouling Burse after he made a save.
Dallas took the lead in the 38th minute, when Michael Dello-Russo made a run down the right flank and sent the ball across field to van den Bergh. The Dutch midfielder sent a low cross in front of goal that beat Knighton, and Cooper was able to tap it in.
Knighton came up big in the 42nd minute, denying a curling long range blast from van den Bergh destined for the upper corner with a diving save. Three minutes later Knighton again had to punch a van den Bergh shot from distance over the bar.
The Revolution switched things up at half time going to the 3-5-2 formation they have employed for most of Nicol’s tenure as head coach. Ralston substituted in for left back Chris Tierney and played as the central attacking midfielder.
“Obviously getting an extra guy further up the field kind of stops them from getting into yours,” said Nicol. “But I think the biggest difference was when we turned the ball over we never let them get at us. In the first half, every time we turned it over they seemed to get at us and consequently we lost the ball 35 yards out and it ends up in the back of the net 20 seconds later. We knew bringing Ralston on would give them a problem, and also it would help us.”
“If you get a guy like Ralston coming back, it helps to build the confidence of the guys,” said Kheli Dube. “It helped too because he can pass the ball well. Having him there holding the ball for us and passing the ball, that’s why we succeeded in the second half.”
Less than a minute after Nyassi had tied the match, Dube appeared to have put New England ahead off a pass from Larentowicz, but the goal was called off due to a questionable foul call.
Dallas nearly retook the lead in the 58th minute when David Ferreira got in alone on goal. Knighton was quick off his line and managed to tip Ferreira’s shot just wide.
The Revs almost went ahead in the 62nd minute, when Ralston got free down the right flank and sent in a cross towards the six-yard box. The Dallas defender failed to clear the ball and it fell to Dube near the penalty spot. The Zimbabwean striker sent a powerful shot on frame, but it was right at Burse.
Knighton was forced into action again in the 72nd minute, when a turnover by the Revs eventually led to Cooper getting the ball just inside the box. The US international turned and got off a hard shot towards the near post that Knighton just managed to keep out with a diving save.
Ralston nearly had one for the Revs in the 76th minute. After some nice play by Nyassi down the right flank, the ball sprung loose to Ralston in the box. Ralston’s quick shot from about eight yards from goal was stopped by an impressive kick save from Burse.
“It felt good,” Ralston said of his first game back since last season. “Obviously it’s been a long time. It’s been a while since I played a game, so I was thankful to [head athletic trainer Sean] Kupiec and those guys for helping me get back and get fit. Hopefully I can keep building on this.”
Dube had a golden opportunity to put the game out of reach three minutes after Ralston had put the Revs in the lead. Some nice combination play between Thompson and Kenny Mansally on the left flank led to Joseph getting the ball at the top of the box. The Revolution captain played it through to Dube, who beat the defense, but sent his shot wide of the goal.
With Dallas pushing forward late in the match, the Revs had several chances to get a third goal with some quick counter-attacks. Despite having number advantages going forward, the Revs were unable to capitalize, but still managed to get the win with a solid defensive effort.
“If we’d gotten a third goal, whether it was in the 93rd minute or the 90th minute it would take a bit of pressure off because you never know what can happen,” said Nicol. “At the same time I was also disappointed in a couple of occasions when we should have gone to the corner with the ball.”
The Revs have next weekend off before heading to Washington, D.C. to face D.C. United on Friday, April 17.
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