HARRISON, New Jersey (Friday, April 29) – FC Dallas (5-3-2, 17 points) dropped their second-straight road result, 4-0, to the New York Red Bulls on Friday night.
Making his first start of the season at center back, Maynor Figueroa made an outstanding slide tackle on Lloyd Sam, blocking a shot and taking away a dangerous goal-scoring opportunity in the ninth minute of the match.
Nine minutes later, Jesse Gonzalez, who was making his first start since March 19, was called upon to making a diving save to his left side after Red Bull’s Mike Grella slipped in between a pair of FC Dallas defenders on the left side of the area.
New York took a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute on a free kick from just outside the area. Sacha Kljestan took the set piece, lofting a pass to the back post. New York’s Sal Zizzo was there to win the header, nodding a pass back in front of the goal to Lloyd Sam, who pounded the ball on net from close range. Gonzalez did well to get a hand on the shot but was unable to push it wide of the post.
Dallas started the second half on the attack and produced a chance for Carlos Gruezo in the 48th minute. The Ecuadoran midfielder took a pass from Mauro Diaz and hammered a low shot on net but New York goalkeeper Luis Robles was in position to make the save at the front post.
Five minutes later New York took a 2-0 lead when Gonzalez came off his line to clear a ball played over the top by the Red Bulls. His clearance attempt deflected off a Dallas defender, to the feet of Sam, who tried to beat the goalkeeper with a long shot into the empty net. Sam’s shot struck the crossbar and rebounded perfectly for Kljestan, who was first to follow the shot. The New York midfielder easily nodded a pass into the back of the net to make it 2-0 in the 53rd minute.
FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja inserted Kellyn Acosta and Mauro Rosales into the lineup in an effort to spark the team in the 65th minute. Rosales won back position of the ball and created a dangerous chance for Dallas immediately but the opportunity disappeared quickly and New York finished a third chance at the opposite end moments later.
Mike Grella found the back of the net with a sharp header into the corner of the net in in the 71st minute. The cross was setup by Felipe and Sam, who bent a hard cross into the six yard box from the top of the area to make it 3-0.
Felipe tacked on a fourth goal in the 83rd minute. The midfielder ripped a hard shot to the top left corner of the area after receiving a pass from Alex Muyl at the top of the box.
Scoring Summary:
RBNY – Lloyd Sam (Sal Zizzo, Sacha Kljestan) 37
RBNY – Sacha Kljestan 53
RBNY – Mike Grella (Felipe, Lloyd Sam) 71
RBNY – Felipe (Alex Muyl) 83
Lineups:
FC Dallas – Jesse Gonzalez, Ryan Hollingshead, Maynor Figueroa, Zach Loyd, Atiba Harris, Victor Ulloa, Carlos Gruezo (Kellyn Acosta 65), Fabian Castillo, Mauro Diaz (Tesho Akindele 76), Michael Barrios (Mauro Rosales 65), Maxi Urruti.
Substitutes Not Used: Chris Seitz, Carlos Lizarazo, Juan Esteban Ortiz, Walker Zimmerman.
New York Red Bulls – Luis Robles, Kemar Lawrence (Justin Bilyeu 80), Roland Zubar, Chris Duvall, Sal Zizzo, Dax McCarty, Sacha Kljestan (Sean Davis 84), Lloyd Sam (Alex Muyl 72), Mike Grella, Felipe, Bradley Wright-Phillips.
Substitutes Not Used: Anatole Bertrand-Abang, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Kyle Reynish, Karl Ouimette.
Misconduct Summary:
NYRB – Roland Zubar (caution) 22
DAL – Mauro Diaz (caution) 38
Referee: Jair Marrufo
AR1 (bench) Eric Boria; AR2 (opposite): Matthew Nelson; 4th: Jamie Herrera.
Weather: Rain, 54
Attendance: 18,025
