FC Dallas refused to relent despite playing the final 51 minutes a man down and held on for a scoreless draw with the league-leading Philadelphia Union on Saturday in an interconference match in Frisco, Texas.
The Union (10-3-4, 34 points) extended their streak without a loss to nine straight matches (6-0-3) and improved to 5-2-1 on the road. Philadelphia has not lost since a 1-0 defeat at New York City FC on April 12 and went unbeaten in seven games in May (4-0-3).
Philadelphia outshot the home side 23-7, but Dallas held a 2-1 edge in shots on goal.
The Toros’ Maarten Paes stopped one shot to record his second clean sheet of the season, while Union keeper Andrew Rick had to make just two saves to earn his third clean sheet of the season.
FC Dallas (4-6-7, 18 points) have gone six matches in league play in May without a victory (0-3-3) but had to take satisfaction in splitting the points against the Union.
Scoring chances were limited in the first half as teams battled mostly in the middle of the pitch.
The complexion of the match changed in the 39th minute when Lalas Abubakar was sent off for a second yellow card, forcing Dallas to play the rest of the game a man down. Philadelphia pressed its advantage but could not get a shot on goal in the first half, with the first 45 minutes ending with neither team forcing the goaltender to make a save.
The Union’s Bruno Damiani had an excellent opportunity in the 50th minute, but his shot clanged off the right post and out of harm’s way. Dallas’ Anderson Julio produced the match’s first shot on goal in the 57th minute when he tested Rick from the right side of the box, but Rick was able to bat the ball away.
The Toros’ Petar Musa had a scoring chance in the 63rd minute, but his low-percentage shot from outside the center of the box was grabbed by Rick.
Philadelphia increased the intensity in the final third of the match. Jovan Lukic forced a save by Paes in the 67th minute, but the majority of the Union’s shots were wide of the mark, including a header by Damiani in the 74th minute with a 13 percent goal expectancy that went over the crossbar.
A right-footed shot by Damiani in the 80th minute with a 12-percent goal expectancy slid by the goal on the right. His left-footed shot in the 89th minute with an expectancy of 24 percent was too high.
–Field Level Media
