Coming into Saturday's match between the Chicago Fire and FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park, it was the Fire who would have been pleased with a point while last year's MLS Cup finalists, Dallas, were looking for three points. By the end of the match, it was Chicago lamenting their inability to get three points after Dallas was put down a man, while the hosts were happy to take their point in the 1-1 draw.
Chicago Fire Vs. FC Dallas: 10 Men Dallas Hold On For Point In Season Opener
It was the visitors who notched the first goal of the game on a scrappy, but deserved sequence. The Fire had been pressuring and it finally paid off when Cory Gibbs was able to hit a soft shot on goal, but coming out of a pack of players it took Kevin Hartman by surprise. Hartman did well to dive and get a hand to the shot, but an onrushing Diego Chaves was there to tap in the rebound for the first goal of the match.
Nobody could excuse Dallas for getting down on themselves with the way they responded though. Zach Lloyd made a fantastic mazy run to turn the initial defender, blaze past another and get to the end line when he played a low, hard cross at the near post. Milton Rodriguez was making a run at that near post and with a defender on his back, Rodriguez played a tremendous backheel to beat the defense and keeper for a crucial equalizer.
The match turned early in the second half when referee Terry Vaughn decided he needed to be noticed and sent Brek Shea off. Gaston Puerari was looking to get on the end of a free ball behind the Dallas defense near midfield and as the last defender, Shea gave chase. With the slightest bit of contact, Puerari went to the turf and Vaughn inexplicably gave Shea his marching orders with a red card.
In front of a sold out and lively Pizza Hut Park crowd, the two teams played with great intensity. Cards flew for challenges much worse than Shea’s, but in the end, both teams had to settle for a point.
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