FRISCO, Texas – And that is why they play injury time.
In a game where both teams squandered scoring opportunities consistently throughout, Moises Hernandez and Blas Perez came through for FC Dallas to deliver a 1-0 victory over San Jose on opening night at Toyota Stadium.
In the 92nd minute, Hernandez found Perez right in front of the net, where Dallas’ leading scorer the past three seasons headed the ball past David Bingham to break what looked sure to be a scoreless draw.
Both teams had multiple point-blank opportunities to get on the board all throughout the match. But until those late-game heroics, neither team was able to put the finishing touches on their chances.
In the first half, Perez was the biggest aggressor. The FCD veteran fired off three shots – two of them on goal – with both of them requiring a heads-up defensive efforts by the Quakes to prevent an early deficit.
His first attempt came from a Mauro Diaz free kick, where Diaz tapped the ball to Perez, who then fired the ball directly off the mitts of Bingham.
Just minutes later, Perez fired a low shot past a diving Bingham, but San Jose defender Paulo Renato scrambled over to prevent the ball from finding the back of the net.
On the other end, Chris Seitz started ahead of Dan Kennedy in goal for Dallas and was tested early. From his own box, Dallas defender Matt Hedges sent an errant pass right to San Jose forward Chris Wondolowski, who fired a zinger towards the left corner of the net. Seitz was able to atone for Hedges’ mistake with a diving save.
Hedges put Seitz in another one-on-one situation early in the second half after a similar error. Hedges gave the ball up to a pursuing San Jose attack, and Wondolowski had another clear attempt with Seitz. This time, he sent the ball high and wide left.
The second half belonged mostly to Dallas, seeing shots by Diaz and Fabian Castillo sail over the net, with Castillo’s just missing the crossbar. Tesho Akindele got in on the second-half action as well, firing an uncontested grounder from inside the box just wide of the San Jose net.
Michael Barrios saw his first action in an FCD uniform after subbing in for Ryan Hollingshead in the 75th minute, and he made his presence felt. Barrios showed his speed and played two passes inside the box that resulted in scoring opportunities, but a whiffed header and an Akindele shot right to Bingham’s midsection left Dallas coming up empty.
Even after 90 minutes, however, Dallas did not take their foot off the gas and finally solved the San Jose defense in extra time.
San Jose travel to Seattle next Saturday, while Dallas will host Sporting KC.
