Photo by ISIPhotos.com
When Omar Bravo finished off a Teal Bunbury pass to give Sporting Kansas City a 2-0 lead on FC Dallas in the 68th minute on Saturday night, the match-up of top MLS clubs looked to be over. The home team was leading, the visitors were feeling the grind of a busy week, and it would have been easy for Dallas to look ahead to Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup semifinal.
Dallas never gave up though. Instead, the reigning Western Conference champions overcame fatigue and the absence of some key players and fought back with three goals in the final 20 minutes to record a dramatic 3-2 victory at Livestrong Sporting Park.
U.S. national team midfielder and MLS MVP candidate helped lead the rally. After a Daniel Hernandez free kick made the score 2-1, Shea followed up with a pair of beautiful cross converted by Maicon Santos and finally by rookie Bobby Warshaw, to complete the comeback. Warshaw headed home a Shea cross in stoppage time to seal the victory.
The victory was made more impressive by the fact FC Dallas played essentially two matches at mid-week when their CONCACAF Champions League match against Toronto FC was postponed at halftime on Wednesday due to terrible weather conditions. Dallas played another full 90 minutes on Thursday morning, winning 1-0 before heading to Kansas City.
The loss was a crushing one for Sporting KC, which could have moved to within a point of first place in the Eastern Conference with a win after the Columbus Crew's loss to Seattle. Goals from Kei Kamara and Bravo had Sporting KC looking like a team capable of continue its recent strong run, but another late-game defensive collapse doomed Kansas City.
What did you think of FC Dallas' comeback victory? Surprised Dallas came back? Think the loss could doom Sporting KC's chances of challenging for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs? Does Brek Shea have your MLS MVP vote?
Share your thoughts below.
