Sunday, February 22, 2009

FC Dallas 1, BK Hacken (Sweden) 1

By Pegasus News wire

FC Dallas got an early goal from Jeff Cunningham, but could not hold onto the lead as the team tied Swedish first division side BK Hacken 1-1 on Saturday night at the Central Broward Regional Park Cricket Stadium.

fc.dallas.mlsnet

Jeff Cunningham

It was FC Dallas who applied the early pressure, putting the Swedish club on its heels and creating early scoring opportunities. The first came just four minute into the game when Dax McCarty controlled a ball with his back to the goal, cut to his left, and fired a shot that was saved by BK Hacken goalkeeper Christoffer Kallqvist.

FCD forward Cunningham would not let the next chance get away. In the 7th minute, Pablo Ricchetti won the ball in the middle of the field and played it to the 32-year-old, who spun his defender around and placed a right-footed shot inside the left post to give Dallas the early lead.

Hacken built momentum in the latter part of the first period, with its best opportunity coming a minute before the halftime whistle. A corner kick from Janne Saarinen sailed high above the Dallas defense where only Mohammed Ali Khan could reach it. However, Khan’s well-placed header was denied by Dario Sala, who dove to his right to get a hand on the ball, allowing FCD to take a 1-0 lead into halftime.

Dallas made no changes at the break and regained the momentum in the second half. McCarty stole the ball at midfield and pushed forward to Kenny Cooper. Cooper curled the ball behind a Hacken defender into Cunningham’s path, whose first-time shot went wide left.

BK Hacken’s persistency earned the club a corner kick in the 67th minute, which this time would set up the game’s equalizer. A hard driven ball from Vinícius Lopes traveled through the Dallas defense and bounced inside the box, allowing central defender Tom Soderburg to redirect into the back of the net.

An unfortunate incident occurred in the 80th minute when Peter Nilsson was ejected for a hard tackle on McCarty from behind. However, McCarty did not appear hurt, and Hacken was permitted to replace Nilsson as both teams had agreed to before kickoff.

Hacken continued to push forward in the waning minutes in an effort to score the go-ahead goal, but the Dallas defense was able to fend off the attack and conclude its Florida preseason trip with a 1-1 draw.

With the result, Dallas is now 3-1-2 in preseason play. FCD will return to Dallas on Sunday, before departing for Curitiba, Brazil on Feb. 25, where the team will continue preseason training at the home of partner Clube Atletico Paranaense through March 6.

Source: FC Dallas Communications

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