USL PRO Game Report
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
FRISCO, Texas – FC Dallas Reserves held on for a 1-0 victory against OKC Energy FC in an interleague contest at Toyota Stadium on Tuesday night. Andrew Jacobson's 53rd-minute goal off a nice feed from returned loanee Cobi Span gave FC Dallas the lead while Raul Fernandez's 90th-minute save of a penalty kick earned Dallas a shutout win.
FC Dallas looked as though it had taken a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute when Danny Garcia stole the ball off the foot of a OKC Energy FC midfielder and quickly knocked a pass to Andrew Jacobson. The Cal product walked the ball towards goal and fired a 30-yard shot towards the right post. Energy FC goalkeeper Jonathan Kempin did well to get down and make a diving save, but left a juicy rebound that was quickly deposited in the back of the net by FC Dallas’ first round SuperDraft selection Tesho Akindele. Unfortunately for Dallas, the assistant referee ruled that Akindele was in an offside position, negating the goal.
OKC countered in the 22nd minute with a slicing through-ball played into the feet of forward Kyle Greig by midfielder Abraham Villon. Greig looked to be in alone against FC Dallas goalkeeper Raul Fernandez, but could not corral the pass. Trying to catch up to the ball, Greig collided with the onrushing Fernandez at the top of the area, drawing the first yellow card of the game from referee Pedro Trejo Jr.
Trejo Jr. was forced into action again in the 36th minute, when Garcia walked the ball into the area and got the ball to Cobi Span, who went to ground in a scrum of OKC Energy FC defenders. After a long meeting with his assistant referee, Trejo Jr pointed to the spot. Span opted to take the penalty, firing a low, hard shot to Kempin’s right side, but the ‘keeper came up with an outstanding save to keep the match scoreless heading into halftime.
FC Dallas Reserves took a 1-0 lead eight minutes into the second half after Span worked around an OKC defender on the left flank and sent a low cross into the area. The ball from Span split two additional defenders and ended up on the right foot of Jacobson, who finished high to Kempin’s left side with his first touch.
OKC earned a free kick from a dangerous spot in the 79th minute when Ryan Hollingshead was whistled for a foul, 25 yards from goal. Michael Thomas stepped up to take the shot, but could only fire high off the wall and the ball was quickly cleared away from danger by an FC Dallas defender.
Energy FC continued to press in search of a tying goal during the final 10 minutes. Greig, Thomas and Peter Caringi each got off shots from dangerous areas, but OKC’s best opportunity came in stoppage time when FC Dallas center back Nick Walker was whistled for a shove in the penalty area. For the second time in the match, Trejo Jr pointed to the spot. Thomas stepped up for OKC and went the same way as Span had earlier in the match, but Fernandez also read the mind of the shooter, making a diving save, low to his right side to preserve the 1-0 win for FC Dallas Reserves.