FC Dallas Ties Franchise Home Unbeaten Streak
FRISCO (CBSDFW.COM) – FC Dallas (8-2-3, 27 points) extended its home unbeaten streak to 12 games on the strength of a Fabian Castillo goal scored in the 33rd minute and six saves by goalkeeper Raul Fernandez, Saturday night at FC Dallas Stadium.
Castillo's counter-attack goal began with rookie Walker Zimmerman clearing the ball out of FC Dallas' penalty area with a header. Former MLS MVP David Ferreira collected the ball 30-yards from Dallas' goal, beat one defender and cut across the midfield line in a footrace with San Jose midfielder Adam Jahn. Ferreira carried the ball to within 30 yards of San Jose's goal before slipping a pass to the right side for Castillo. The speedy Colombian cut left, inside San Jose defender Jason Hernandez with his first touch, and slotted a low shot just inside the far post to give Dallas the lead.
San Jose came within inches of drawing level in the 41st minute when defender Victor Bernardez cracked the crossbar from just outside the area. The shot followed a punch-save by Fernandez on a header by Alan Gordon. The Peruvian sprinted off his line to clear the shot out of the six-yard box only to see the rebound fall directly to Bernardez, who volleyed the ball off the crossbar with his first touch.
Ferreira and Castillo nearly combined to score again in the 53rd minute. Castillo won the ball on the left flank and played a long give-and-go with Ferreira that resulted in a break-away attempt. Castillo tried to beat San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch with a hard shot from close range, but the veteran came off his line to deny the youngster of his second goal of the match.
San Jose forced Fernandez to make four saves between the 78th and 84th minutes. The first was a diving save to his right side to knock away a long-range effort by second-half substitute Shea Salinas. The third was Fernandez's best of the night. Once again it was Salinas who caused FC Dallas trouble by getting the ball to the end line and chipping a cross to the back post for Wondolowski. Fernandez tracked the ball post-to-post and was in perfect position to fight off a full-volley attempt from the two-time Golden Boot winner.
Fernandez capped his fifth shutout of the season with his sixth save of the game. A diving save to his right side, Fernandez once again denied Wondolowski off a goal via header. The shot was expertly placed, low to the post in the first minute of stoppage-time.
Scoring Summary:
DAL – Fabian Castillo (David Ferreira) 33
FC Dallas – Raul Fernandez, Jair Benitez, Walker Zimmerman, George John, Zach Loyd, Je-Vaughn Watson, Michel, David Ferreira, Fabian Castillo (Bobby Warshaw 83), Jackson (Matt Hedges 86), Kenny Cooper (Eric Hassli 69).
Substitutes Not Used: Chris Seitz, Kellyn Acosta, Stephen Keel, London Woodberry.
TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Jackson 3, Fabian Castillo, David Ferreira 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Fabian Castillo 2); FOULS: 13 (George John 3, Zach Lloyd, Michel, Jackson 2); OFFSIDES: 2 (Kenny Cooper 2); CORNER KICKS: 4 (David Ferreira 3, Michel 1); SAVES: 6 (Raul Fernandez 6).
San Jose – Jon Busch, Steven Beitashour, Victor Bernardez, Jason Hernandez (Mike Fucito 83), Justin Morrow, Marvin Chavez, Sam Cronin, Adam Jahn, Walter Martinez (Shea Salinas 58), Chris Wondolowski, Alan Gordon (Steven Lenhart 46).
Substitutes Not Used: David Bingham, Rafael Baca, Mehdi Ballouchy, Dan Gargan.
TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (Chris Wondolowski 4, Marvin Chavez, Victor Bernandez 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Adam Jahn, Alan Gordon, 2); FOULS: 12 (Adam Jahn3, Steven Lenhart, Shea Salinas 2); OFFSIDES: 1 (Alan Gordon 1); CORNER KICKS: 7 (Marvin Chavez 6, Shea Salinas 1); SAVES: 3 (John Busch 3).
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Adan Jahn (caution) 4
DAL – George John (caution) 40
SJ – Victor Bernardez (caution) 67
SJ – Steven Lenhart (caution) 73
Referee: Hilario Grajeda
Referee's Assistants: Paul Scott, Jason Cullum
4th Official: Ted Unkel
Attendance: 15,063
Time of Game: 1:53
Weather: Cloudy, 71 degrees
FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman's general thoughts on tonight's match…
The game was about the way we thought it would be. We played a very difficult team, a team that's playing its best soccer right now, ateam that's recovered from injuries, and are a very strong, physical team. They've got a great game plan and they came at us. I thought David [Ferreira] did a great job on the break away. Adam Jahn had a yellow card early in the game, within the first four minutes, and Jahn was the player tracking David through the midfield, but he couldn't foul him because it might have been a second yellow, and that gave David enough time to give a good ball to [Fabian] Castillo, who cut inside with the left foot and what a great job he did on finishing that one.
In the second half things got a little bit difficult. We had some good chances, as they did. Walker [Zimmerman] and George [John] were under a lot of pressure with balls in the air, a lot of services, far post balls, second balls. Raul [Fernandez] did a fantastic job tonight, making some very key saves. All in all, it was a good win for us at home against a very good team.
On Walker Zimmerman's first MLS start…
He did a very good job. When we drafted him, we did a lot of studies on the type of player we like to get. We've been very fortunate with the types of players we feel like are natural center backs, like George John and Matt Hedges. We thought Walker fit into that category. He didn't really have any kind of preseason, any scrimmages or games, so you never really know what you're going to get. But, we knew what we were going to get from San Jose, and that's a very strong, athletic, physical team. We felt that out of our selection of players, Walker might have matched up the best and he proved that tonight.
FC Dallas defender Walker Zimmerman's general thoughts on tonight's match…
It was great, a great performance. It was a really good job by Raul [Fernandez], a really good job by the back line.
Quite a team to get your first start against – talk about matching up against San Jose.
We prepared all week training for them. You know, [Chris] Wondolowski, his crafty runs off the ball and also, the size of [Steven] Lenhart and [Alan] Gordon. It was a physical match. You saw the blood from Lenhart and all his tackles, battling with George. It was pretty physical, but it was something we were prepared for and I thought we did a good job handling it.
How does the pace of the pro game compare to what you saw in college?
It was just a matter of getting the timing down. Compared to the college game, it's a much different element of timing. It's kind of a learning process with balls in the air. There is a difference of the timing it affords here versus college, where it's an easier air battle. It's definitely a good learning process as far as learning how to compete and learning on my timing to win those balls.
On his clearance that started the breakout by David Ferreira, leading to the goal…
When that play happened, it felt like we were back out on the practice ground. George [John] covered near post. I'm watching the runner and so we picked it up well and I got a solid header to it. David did a great job with the counter and Fabian with a great finish for the goal.
On playing next to George John….
George is definitely a leader back there. We've seen the past few games without him and he's definitely a presence, someone who's very essential to this team. It was great getting to play next to him and have him communicating with me the whole game. We were really encouraging each other and there was great communication out there.
FC Dallas midfielder Fabian Castillo's general thoughts on the match…
It was important that the guys defended to the end, as we had to defend to get a result. I was nervous when they were pressing late in the second half but now that we accomplished what we set out to do, let's not think about it anymore because the important thing is we won and now we just need to keep working on improving our form.
Describe your game-winning goal…
It was a great play by David [Ferreira]. All the teams know that if they give him space, he's very quick and he's going to punish them. On this play, David took the ball and went at the defense. I just kept running by him. When he saw me open, he made a great pass to me and I did what I know how to do, which is to go to the inside and score a great goal.
On winning again at home…
It's very important that the team keeps adding three points at home. We can't give anyone the advantage here at home, especially with our fans supporting us so much. I think it was an excellent win.
FC Dallas goalkeeper Raul Fernandez general thoughts on the match…
The important thing was to win at home, especially after our loss against Seattle. We knew it was going to be a tough match. I'm happy we came up with the three points.
We already knew how the match would play out. As the game went on with [San Jose] being down a goal, we knew they would be trying to create a lot of shots. We stayed focused the entire 90 minutes, which is why we were able to add the three points tonight.
Overall thoughts on the game…
Towards the end, you could notice some of the players were getting a little tired. We played well enough to get the result we were seeking. The shutout was important to me and I am glad I was able to come up with some quality saves.
On Walker Zimmerman's first start…
Walker is having a good moment right now, he's been training well during practices and coach gave him his trust because he has earned it. He took advantage of his moment, seeing as we had an injured teammate. He came in very focused and motivated. Before the match, we told him he had the trust of the entire team.
San Jose Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop's general thoughts on the match…
Obviously we are disappointed not to get something out of the match. We had plenty of chances, especially in the second half but that is just how the season has gone so far. We played pretty well tonight against a pretty good team at home and didn't get anything out of the game.
I haven't seen the play but the guys said there was a blatant hand ball late in the game. For some reason all the calls seem to be one-sided. They change during the season and we might start getting a few breaks.
On San Jose's road woes…
When you ask our players how they're feeling, they're just trying to win games. We don't think about it too deeply. We don't go in thinking 'we can't win on the road and we're playing Dallas.' We don't care who we play. It's getting our house in order.
We did enough to get something out of that game. If we'd have scored one, would have got another one. They were sitting back and we were taking it to them late in the game. Having said that, we went a goal down again, which we've done in 10 matches out of 14 and it's a mountain to climb. We couldn't quite get back in the game but I can't fault the guys for effort.
On being shut out…
If we're not creating anything then we have a problem. If we're not finishing, we can work on that. The goalkeeper made a great save on [Chris Wondolowski's] shot. The other one [Wondolowski] couldn't quite get it out of his feet. That was a tough one. And the one that was going straight through, the boys said it was a hand ball. That would have been a good chance. So we had chances.
San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch
General thoughts on the match…
They got their one goal that they needed and that was the difference in the game.
On not getting results on the road this season…
You just keep going. You don't think about records, what we've done at home, what we've done on the road. None of us think about that. You take each game at a time and try to win each game at a time. That's all we're concerned about. Winning games and picking up points.
On how his defense played against FC Dallas…
We did pretty well defensively. They're a dangerous team. They're going to create chances. We scouted them, their last game they created a lot of chances. We knew they're dangerous going forward on the break. We knew they'd have chances. I did my job. I saved a couple of shots.
On the bad luck San Jose has faced this season…
Looking at the second half, we had some good looks. And we've had some good looks in other games as well. It's just not falling for us this year… Right now. Last year, almost everything we hit went in the goal. That's just how it goes sometimes.
San Jose forward Chris Wondolowski
On the second half…
We started creating a bit more havoc, a bit more chances. I found myself on the end of them and I couldn't finish so it makes it a bit disappointing.
On FC Dallas GK Raul Fernandez…
He made some great saves, credit to him. He did a great job and was in the right place and made the saves. Truthfully though, I need to finish those no matter who is in net.
On the lack of results on the road this season…
It's definitely frustrating at times but if I didn't have 100 percent faith in this locker room it'd be really frustrating. I know we're going to turn it around. We've been treading water but now it's time to swim.
[Keeping] the faith is a huge aspect of it. It's something everybody believes in, but the only way to turn it around is if we continue to do the little things, finish chances, track runners, win our 50-50 battles, things like that. When we do that the faith builds. We snowball with confidence. We're going to make a run here soon and it's going to be nice.
On the goal-scoring opportunities he had tonight…
I thought I hit them well. I hit that volley well but it was hand level and you can't hit that hand level. I've got to either find the corner or hit it low or drive my laces through it. I was just a little bit too worried about getting it off. I thought the header was a little bit closer. I kind of misjudged where I was. I should have gone far post with it. But hindsight is always 20-20.
Is there is any comfort in forcing the goalkeeper to make those saves?
I won't find comfort in it when I can't sleep tonight. It shows we can play well and create opportunities and create chances. I know if I get those chances, more often than not I'll find the back of the net or at least work as hard as I can to find the back of the net. That's my goal right now. Just to work hard.
San Jose defender Jason Hernandez
On the goal San Jose allowed in the 33rd minute…
Anytime [David] Ferreira is running down the center of the defense, it's kind of a fire drill situation. You've got to retreat and make a play. He put it out to [Fabian] Castillo and he's tough to deal with at full stride. He's one of the faster players in the league and he can stop on a dime. Unfortunately, as a defender, I'm at his mercy there. You just try and come up big and make a play. Castillo on his left foot isn't the worst thing in the world but tonight he made us pay for it. He slotted it well.
FC Dallas is notorious for being very good on the break, very good on the counter. They have a couple of players that can single-handedly break out and make plays. We were trying to do out best to stick with Ferreira and Castillo and deal with those guys in open spaces. They've done very well this season and they're going to break you down and get chances. I felt we were pretty strong but it's a game of inches. We get one or two bounces our way and the game's totally different.
On San Jose's road results this season…
When you're on the road and you're able to put more shots on target and make the goalkeeper make a bunch of huge saves, you've got to feel good about that. Unfortunately we just can't seem to keep teams out of the back of the net right now.
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