FC Dallas given a helping hand in tie with San Jose

FRISCO — It was looking bleak — the game, the playoff chase, everything for FC Dallas before a late equalizer gave it a 1-1 draw with San Jose on Thursday night.

FC Dallas trailed until the 89th minute before a controversial hand ball call allowed FC Dallas a penalty kick, leading to the tie at Pizza Hut Park.

The draw moved FC Dallas (8-9-10, 34 points) temporarily into a tie for third place with Colorado and Salt Lake in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference.

"If this team is not going to get into the playoffs, it’s not because we’re not good," FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman said. "It’s because we’re running out of games. That’s where we are, we’re running out of games. Getting a point there at the end did some good things. ... It stopped them from getting three."

FC Dallas has three matches left in the still undecided Western playoff race.

After watching the replay in the locker room, San Jose players and coaches were adamant that the penalty never should have been called.

"I think we got robbed to be honest," San Jose midfielder Ronnie O’Brien said. "From what I gathered, from people’s reaction that have seen the penalty, I think we’ve been robbed. I don’t think we played great last week and this week; I don’t think we’ve played well as a team, our worst performances of the year. But tonight we did enough to get a win and I think the referee took it away from us."

With his team trailing 1-0 late in the match, FC Dallas substitute midfielder Eric Avila got down the right flank. He drove a cross into the FC Dallas penalty area that struck San Jose’s Francisco Lima.

Referee Abby Okulaja deemed Lima had committed a hand ball and awarded a penalty kick.

FC Dallas forward Kenny Cooper scored from the spot for his 16th goal of the season, and the game was tied.

San Jose (7-10-9, 30 points) opened the scoring in the 58th minute when substitute forward Ryan Johnson flew behind the Dallas defense. He slipped the 1-on-1 shot through the legs of FC Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala.

FC Dallas dictated play through the opening half and had an 8-4 advantage in shots. However, when it came to shots on goal, the teams were equal at 1-1.

San Jose kept an organized defensive-first posture in the opening half, making it tough for FC Dallas to break through.

FC Dallas’ best opportunity came when O’Brien turned over possession in FC Dallas’ attacking third. Cooper bolted into the San Jose penalty area, but was thwarted at the last second by Nick Garcia (of Plano), who slid in to prevent Cooper’s shot.