FC Dallas Defeats Toronto FC 3-2 After Lightning Delay
FC Dallas picked up a 3-2 win over Toronto FC on Saturday behind a brace from forward Fabian Castillo in a match officially lasting four hours and 29 minutes after a lightning delay halted play towards the end of the first half. FC Dallas Head Coach Oscar Pareja told reporters after his team’s win,
“The first half for us was very good. The second half, I thought Toronto put us on our heels. They made it difficult for us in the end when we gave up those two goals, but credit to our players. We bounced back from a difficult situation from last week and that shows character. Tonight was a very hard test for a group that in difficult circumstances could collapse and we didn’t. We showed that we are on our feet and that this team has the character to make things happen. We’re proud.”
FC Dallas Homegrown defender Moises Hernandez found Castillo down the left flank and the speedy Colombian attacked the near post, beating TFC goalkeeper Joe Bendik just 29 seconds into the match for the fastest MLS goal in FC Dallas team history.
Less than 10 minutes later, it was Castillo for Dallas once again after Blas Perez played a ball from the right side through the top of the box to find the midfielder who netted his second goal of the night, eventually earning Budweiser Man of the Match honors for his brilliant efforts.
Jozy Altidore almost pulled one back for the visitors in the 26th minute, slipping a low, hard shot through three defenders, but Chris Seitz reacted quickly, dropping to his knees to block the attempt. Mere seconds later, Perez made it 3-0 in favor of the home side after Ryan Hollingshead pressured Toronto FC into a turnover that the savvy veteran was able to pick up and deposit from the right side.
Despite a comfortable lead, Dallas continued to pressure and attack. Making his first start for the club, Michael Barrios had a good look at goal in the 42nd minute when weather caused half the stadium lights to flicker out as he was shooting. His attempt went wide left and play was suspended seconds later because of heavy rain and lightning.
For nearly three and a half hours, both teams waited out the storms in their respective locker rooms with several false re-starts, warming up only to be sent back for more lightning in the area. Finally, at 11:42 p.m., with faithful few of the original 16,176 fans remaining, play resumed.
Former FC Dallas man Jackson almost put Toronto on the board in the 45th minute, but Zach Loyd was there to clear the shot off the line. Finally, more than four hours after the opening whistle and early into Sunday morning, Toronto FC found its way onto the scoreboard behind two flawless goals from Sebastian Giovinco. After receiving a pass just outside the top of the box, the Italian danced along the end line and chipped a ball in near post for his first goal of the night. Six minutes later, the former Juventus man chipped in another shot, this time on a free kick, hitting it perfectly over the wall.
Despite the late match heroics from Giovinco, Toronto FC couldn’t quite complete its comeback bid and FC Dallas managed to hang on to its lead through the end of regulation, improving to 4-2-1 on the year.
Scoring Summary:
FC Dallas – Fabian Castillo (Moises Hernandez) 1
FC Dallas – Fabian Castillo (Blas Perez) 10
FC Dallas – Blas Perez 27
Toronto FC – Sebastian Giovinco (Nick Hagglund) 83
Toronto FC – Sebastian Giovinco 89
