Posted on July 15, 2012
COMMERCE CITY, Colo — Panama Under-23 international Carlos Rodriguez helped FC Dallas to a 2-1 comeback victory over the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in a Major League Soccer game on Saturday night.
Rodriguez scored the equalizer after Jamaican international striker Omar Cummings had given the Rapids a 1-0 lead. Dallas (4-9-7, 19 points) snapped its 13-game winless streak, the fourth longest in league history while the Rapids (7-11-1, 22) dropped their third in a row.
“We’ve gone I don’t know how many games, 14 without a win, maybe more,” FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman said. “The last time we won was April 14 and we talked about it. We try to really keep the pressure off these guys. We’ve been going without six or seven starters. The result is the result. The thing I’ve said to these guys is we’ve fought in every game. In every game we fight and we just don’t find the way to get the win, or we beat ourselves or we get fatigued.”
Cummings scored via a counterattack. Conor Casey set up the play after controlling the ball 35 yards from goal and slipping a through ball to Cummings, who darted in from the right flank. Cummings walked in one-on-one on goalkeeper Kevin Hartman and looked back post before hammering a low shot past the goalkeeper at the near side.
Dallas, however, tallied twice in the final 20 minutes to grab the three points as Rodriguez tallied nine minutes later. The play began with an FC Dallas corner kick that was cleared out to the left flank. Fabian Castillo recovered the ball and sent a cross to the back post for Rodriguez, who had just come on in place of Ricardo Villar in the 57th minute. Unmarked, Rodriguez nodded a header to the back post that gave Colorado goalkeeper Matt Pickens no chance to save.
Cummings almost picked up his second goal in the 72nd minute. Tony Casico ran down a through ball on the right flank and cut a pass back for a late-arriving Cummings, who hammered a shot off the outside of the near post.
Fabian Castillo put the visitors in front for good in the 81st minute when David Ferreira hit a sharp through ball to Rodriguez. Rodriguez cut back to avoid Pickens before bending a shot to the far post. There, Colorado’s Jeff Larentowicz recovered in time to head the ball off the goal line. The clearance, however, only went as far as Castillo, who cut to his right and buried a hard shot into the center of the net for a 2-1 lead.
“The play started with Carlos getting a good shot on goal, where the ‘keeper had to deflect it into space where there was two FC Dallas players,” Casillo said. “Fortunately, I was able to get on top of it, create some separation with my first touch, and put it in. It was good motivation for me to get on the score sheet.”
Photo: Carlos Rodriguez played a vital role in FC Dallas’ 2-1 comeback win. Andy Mead/YCJ
Categories: Caribbean, Central America, Jamaica, Panama
Tags: Carlos Rodriguez, Colorado Rapids, David Ferreira, FC Dallas, Kevin Hartman, Major League Soccer, Omar Cummings, Schellas Hyndman
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